Power Quality

More than just amps 

We all take electricity of granted until it’s not available. We also take for granted that the electricity received is of good quality: proper voltage and free of disturbances and harmonics. Unfortunately, this is frequently not the case and power quality problems may be costing your business thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.  Here are a few examples of how power quality can be a big issue for your business:  

Ice cream manufacturer 

An ice cream manufacturer knows that his ice cream production line will randomly shut down as many as a one-half dozen times every year…usually in the summer. An unexpected shutdown requires every pipe and piece of the process line to be cleaned and sterilized before the 3-hour startup process can begin. The cause is a random 300 millisecond voltage sag. 

Machine shop 

A machine shop upgrades some of its equipment. Unexpectedly, monthly electric bills increase substantially even though the total motor horsepower has been reduced. The cause is the local utility charging for a substantial decrease in load power factor. 

Data Center

A data center has a curious problem. Some of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units that protect data servers will randomly fail to recharge their batteries. Just as randomly as the problem occurs, it disappears. However, this problem can leave critical data servers unprotected in the event of a power outage. The cause is a combination of issues. The data center is at the end of a long distribution line with accompanying voltage drop. Then, the local utility occasionally reduces the nominal system voltage to maintain grid stability. This results in an incoming electrical service voltage too low to recharge the UPS batteries. 

Be Proactive

When you home or business experiences electricity-related problems with no clear resolution, call us to discuss a power quality audit.  Frequently we can identify and issue and prevent further incidents that could result in production shut downs.  

Additionally, power quality can damage motor and electronics, resulting in the costly replacement of capital equipment before the normal end of its useful life.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure where power quality is involved.