Have you encountered problems such as transformer noise or overheating recently? These are all direct signs of dirty power. Where does dirty power come from? How does it happen? Below is a guide to the causes and remedies of dirty power and a comparison of clean power and dirty power.
1. What is dirty energy?
Dirty power is a wide-ranging term that refers to various abnormalities in the power of running equipment. This broad power problem is also caused by the same diversified power problem. In any case, power problems and problems are destructive, inconvenient, and expensive.
On the other hand, there is clean energy. Clean power is any power without spikes and voltage drops, which is called voltage ripple. In a slightly different context, clean energy, also known as green energy or green power, is electricity generated by using renewable energy sources without causing pollution.
2. Clean energy VS dirty energy
Clean energy is electricity generated through power sockets, and there is almost no electrical noise. “Electronic noise” does not necessarily mean audible noise, although it can appear under certain circumstances.
Ideally, it means that the electromagnetic frequency is outside the expected range of any power supply.
On the other hand, the dirty power supply has electromagnetic noise, which will interfere with the power supply. These noises come from external sources, such as electrical wires, or from inside your house. Dirty electricity abnormalities include:
- Frequency changes
- Low power factor
- surge
- Voltage changes
- flashing lights
- The problem with the transformer
- Poor network communication
- Printed circuit board failure
- The motor fails prematurely;
Dirty electricity usually comes from inside and outside your house. Naturally occurring things, such as lighting and unnatural sources such as utility switches, can affect the quality of power even before reaching your property.
In addition, daily internal electrical equipment fluctuations may cause accumulated and potentially fatal electrical hazards. However, most people generally tend to ignore or downplay minor pollution power issues, such as flashing lights.
Unfortunately, if left alone, minor pollution power problems can lead to more troublesome power failures. Fortunately, most power problems occur on the user of the meter, which means you can take appropriate corrective steps.
Taking these measures will help avoid costly power outages, improve energy efficiency, and reduce costs overall. The first step of the method should be to determine what caused the polluted electricity.
3. What causes dirty energy?
Dirty voltage is mainly caused by electronic devices connected to the circuit (such as smart meters) manipulating current in any way, such as converting alternating current to direct current. This can cause higher frequency spikes and surges that radiate out of the wires and into your property. Here are some common dirty power disturbances and their causes:
- Normal mode noise-low level signal. Common causes include power line modulation equipment, switching power supplies, and computers
- Normal mode pulse and ringing transient-this is a narrow, fast rising voltage change. Causes include utility switches, switching loads on or off, and lightning strikes
- Common mode interference-EMI/RFI noise and pulse superimposed on power conductors. They are usually caused by computers, radios, lightning, and arc-shaped contacts.
- This is a low voltage condition or more stages. Reasons include lightning strikes, insufficient system capacity, excessive starting load, ground faults, etc.
- Overvoltage caused by rapid load drop and utility switching
- This is a zero-volt state caused by lightning, natural behavior, accidents, and ground fault equipment failures.
Please contact your local electrician to accurately diagnose the cause of dirty voltage in your property.
4. How to solve the pollution problem
In most cases, dirty electricity is inevitable. Fortunately, with a little knowledge and expertise, this situation can be reversed. The following are the methods recommended by experts to solve dirty electricity:
- Measure your dirty power. Find a qualified electrician to use a dirty electric meter to assess the degree of damage. The solution you will adopt depends on the outcome of the assessment. If this is a small dirty power problem, you may only need to install a dirty voltage filter to reduce noise.
- Choose your electronic equipment and appliances wisely. Before buying, consider appliances and equipment that can use electricity smoothly. In addition, reduce the use of equipment that is known to pollute electricity.
- Consider switching from compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) to incandescent or LED lamps. As we all know, energy-saving lamps will produce polluting energy.
- Consider replacing the SMART meter with an analog meter. Unfortunately, smart meters may be the main source of polluting energy.
- Turn over unused electrical appliances and equipment.
5. How to detect dirty electricity?
Methods of testing dirty water include:
Graham-Stetzer meter
This is a common device (meter) that measures harmonics or dirty electricity on the wires of your property. The Graham-Stetzer meter uses its independent Graham Stetzer (GS) unit to measure. The meter shows that the reading is ideally below 50gs units, which is quite rare.
Most houses with readings below 200gs are considered safe. However, if your reading exceeds 200gs or the power is expressed to the maximum value in 2000gs units, you will need to perform power filtering immediately. The meter can pick up frequencies from 10KHz to 100KHz.
FM radio
AM radio is a basic, effective and simple EMI detector. Dial the AM radio to the left (500KHz) and right (2MHz). The radio will show differences in static electricity according to changes in the electromagnetic environment. This is a good way to detect dirty household power supplies.
6. Conclusion
Dirty voltage is usually unavoidable, and it will affect the power of your property. From the simple definition of dirty electricity, it is a kind of trouble, which can be quickly escalated into potential damage and cost. Unlike clean power supplies, dirty power supplies are characterized by electromagnetic noise, which can interfere with the power supply of your property.
Fortunately, as long as there is a little electrical knowledge and professional knowledge, dirty electricity can be solved. Before taking any actions and solutions, Graham-Stetzer is an ideal way to test dirty capabilities.
