A power conditioner is an electrical device that provides clean power to your electronic devices. A power conditioner provides not only surge protection, but noise filtration. Some models even supply phone line, Ethernet, and cable conditioning. To maintain the long-term stability of your electrical equipment, a power conditioner is an excellent investment.
The absolute last thing you want to do is feed dirty electricity to your electronic devices. It can adversely affect the health of your system by allowing incoming voltage to fluctuate. Dirty power complicates data transfers and might even damage sensitive components of expensive electrical equipment. Power that has been filtered only allows a specific frequency to reach your equipment. Filtering power allows you to smooth out harmful alternating cycles of current. There are a few types of dirty electricity that can affect your home: brownouts, line noise, surges, and spikes.
Brownouts
Brownouts are caused by overloaded circuits and result in a reduction of the power supply. These can even be intentionally started by power companies during peak demand. It is important to have a power conditioner that can handle lower voltage frequencies. Brownouts are one of the top reasons people experience power issues with their computers.
Line Noise
Line noise is expressed in terms of decibels and different power conditioners can filter out different amounts of noise. Be sure to get a power conditioner strong enough to filter out the appropriate number of decibels coming through your line. Electromagnetic interference and Radio Frequency Interference (EMI/RFI) are classic causes of noise on the line. Line noise can also be caused by electrical motors turning on and off, poorly connected electrical poles, radio transmitters, and lightning. Therefore, line noise often gets worse during a thunderstorm. It is important to protect yourself from line noise so that you can secure all your data transfers.
Surges and Spikes
Many homes experience frequent increases in electricity coming through the circuits. An electrical surge only lasts a short time while a spike lasts longer and goes throughout the entire electrical system. A spike is most often caused by lightning strikes and is more severe than a surge. An electrical spike can destroy your electronic equipment.
If you want to protect your home from brownouts, line noise, surges, and spikes, give Cathey Electric a call. We would be happy to talk you through the power conditioning solution that is right for your home.