When Voltage is Increased in the Home, Devices Stop Working
A customer called with a problem of overvoltage. He said an appliance repairman came out to his house and checked his electrical voltage. What was supposed to be 120 was up to 135 and the repairman said the appliance he was there to fix will keep breaking if the voltage is not fixed.
In simple terms, overvoltage is when electronic and electrical devices are essentially working harder because voltage is higher. For example, an electric light bulb has a wire that at the given rated voltage will carry a current large enough to provide light and heat. However, if the voltage is too high, the wire can melt and burn out the bulb. This is what was happening to the above customer’s appliances. Devices are designed to operate at a certain maximum supply voltage, and when the voltage is increased, they stop working.
Aside from premature failure of appliances, which causes obvious wear and tear on them, another early sign of high voltage is unusual heat output. One solution to preventing this problem in the future is getting an Uninterruptible Power Supply.
If you would like a licensed electrician to come out to your home and check it for you, call Raynor Services today.
