Surges and Brownouts: Safeguard Your Electronics from Unstable Power
Most people are familiar with blackouts, but far fewer understand the dangers of brownouts, which occur when your lights dim and voltage dips without completely cutting off power.
While they may seem less severe than an outage, brownouts and the surges that follow can damage sensitive electronics and reduce the lifespan of household appliances. This article explores the causes of brownouts, their impact on electronics, and practical steps to protect your home or business.
What Is a Brownout and How Does It Happen?
While we all know what a blackout is, when the electricity suddenly shuts off, leaving us without power, many of us are still unaware of what a brownout is. The difference is that when a brownout happens, it means that the entire electrical system doesn’t actually shut down, but instead experiences a noticeable drop in voltage.
The term “brownout” originates from the noticeable dimming of lights that often occurs when the voltage of electricity in your home is reduced.
Causes of Brownouts
Now, let’s examine the different reasons why brownouts happen.
Damage to the Grid
Noticeable reductions in voltage in the electrical grid can occur due to aging equipment that fails, human error, cyberattacks impacting inadequately protected systems, or rare solar flares.
Increased Energy Demand
Increased energy demand, such as during heat waves when air conditioners are used more extensively in densely populated urban areas, can place additional stress on the electrical grid, potentially leading to brownouts before rolling blackouts occur.
Utility Voltage Reductions
Sometimes, power companies will intentionally reduce the voltage on the grid, such as during heat waves, to reduce stress on the electrical grid. This is a strategy they use to try to prevent damage that could otherwise lead to a complete electrical grid outage.
Severe Weather
Severe weather events, including high winds, lightning, and ice, can damage power stations, lines, and transformers. If the damage is not too severe, it can lead to brownouts rather than full-scale blackouts.
To help protect you and your family from severe weather, ensure you have a backup energy source so you can stay connected, regardless of what happens to the grid. The EcoFlow RAPID Pro-X Power Bank has ample power to keep your phone, tablet, and laptop charged, allowing you to stay connected to weather apps and monitor any storms to help protect you and your family.
Effects on Electronics and Home Appliances
Brownouts can and do damage sensitive electronics. Appliances with electric motors, such as refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and air conditioners, are at risk because, as voltage declines, the motor draws more power, which can cause it to overheat and potentially damage or burn out completely.
These same appliances are also prone to damage if a power surge happens when the brownout ends and regular electricity returns.
The other types of devices that are most vulnerable to brownouts and power surges are things like phones, tablets, smart home devices, routers, televisions, computers, game consoles, cable boxes, streaming devices, printers, and peripherals.
These contain very sensitive components that require constant voltage to protect them. Reductions in voltage from brownouts, as well as the surges that may follow, can damage those components.
Home and Small Business Readiness: Practical Steps
Now, let’s examine some practice steps to help you prepare for brownouts.
Purchase an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Robust battery backup systems can be designed to turn on automatically during a blackout or brownout, acting as a UPS to provide immediate backup voltage and protect sensitive electronics from damage.
Utilize products like the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus to power sensitive computers, routers, and other devices during brownouts and potential power surges, ensuring your devices continue to run safely.
Use surge protectors for all sensitive appliances and electronics to prevent damage. They won’t help during a brownout, but they will protect your devices in the event of a power surge when the brownout ends. You can even purchase whole-home surge protection devices, so you don’t have to worry about each individual device you have.
When a brownout occurs, immediately unplug sensitive appliances, especially those not protected by surge protectors. This will ensure they won’t be damaged if a surge occurs when regular electricity returns.
Immediately after a brownout, the power can be unstable for a while. Always wait 10-20 minutes or longer before plugging sensitive devices back in.
Upgrade to a smart meter because it allows the power company to view the entire system, identifying localized electrical problems at your home or on your street, enabling them to respond and adapt more quickly.
Set up a home solar system with battery backup for long-term energy stability and independence, offering peace of mind and clean, free energy for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Protect Your Electronics From Power Surges?
To protect your electronics from power surges, install high-quality surge protectors for sensitive devices or consider a whole-house surge protector. You can also use battery backups as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for sensitive electronics, and always unplug devices during severe weather events.
Do Brownouts Damage Electronics?
Yes, brownouts can damage electronics because the reduced voltage can cause overheating, leading to the failure of motors and other components, especially in sensitive devices like computers and household appliances. Furthermore, when full capacity is restored, voltages may surge, potentially causing further damage to sensitive electronics.
Ready To Protect Your Electronics and Stay Powered During Outages With EcoFlow Delta Series and Delta Pro Ultra?
Brownouts may not leave you completely in the dark, but they can be just as damaging as blackouts. Sensitive electronics, appliances with motors, and even routers and game consoles are all vulnerable to low voltage and sudden surges when the power stabilizes. The good news is that preparation is simple.
Using surge protection, unplugging during unstable power, and investing in backup systems ensures your devices stay safe. With EcoFlow’s DELTA Series, you’ll have clean, reliable indoor power and UPS protection, ensuring your home stays powered and your electronics are protected, no matter what the grid throws your way.