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Causes of Power Surges -
Power surges occur when the flow of electricity is interrupted, then
started again, or when something sends electricity
flowing back into
the system.
Surges
can range from five or ten volts when you turn on your hair dryer to
thousands of volts if lightning strikes a transformer.
More
than half of household power surges are internal. These happen
dozens of times of day, usually when devices with motors start up or
shut off, diverting electricity to and from other appliances.
Refrigerators and air conditioners are the biggest culprits, but
smaller devices like hair dryers and power tools can also cause
problems.
An
external power surge, stemming from outside your home, is most
commonly caused by a tree limb touching a power line, lightning
striking utility equipment or a small animal getting into a
transformer.
Surges can also occur when the power comes back on after an outage,
and can even come into your home through telephone and cable TV
lines. |