How to protect household appliances from damage due to power outages: expert advice
4 July 2024 20:01
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
Due to the constant power cuts, Kyiv residents began to complain about the damage to their appliances, and sometimes even their complete failure. The main reason is that when the power is restored, voltage surges often occur, which negatively affect household appliances. For example, instead of 220 V, the voltage in sockets sometimes rises to 400 V. This is mostly the case with refrigerators.
How to protect yourself and household appliances in your home [Kommersant] energy expert Serhiy Dyachenko told.
Buy appliances with protection
First of all, the expert advises to buy appliances with protection against power surges – these are additional features and technologies that will protect against sudden voltage surges in the power grid. Special technologies will help to avoid unwanted situations and accidents. Most modern household appliances, such as televisions, refrigerators or computers, already have built-in voltage stabilisers or other systems. These include:
Powersupplies with short-circuitprotection
They have a built-in protection function. They can detect high voltage, which indicates a short circuit. The protection circuit automatically reduces the current to a safe level. Once the problem is fixed, some power supplies can resume operation on their own. Some still require a manual reset.
Also, power supplies with this feature last longer because they are not subject to damage due to short circuits. Prices for such devices range from UAH 2000 to 5000.
Extension cord protection
This is a function that switches off the power strip if the total power of the connected devices exceeds the permissible limit. It also protects against power surges that can damage electronics. Prices for such equipment range from 500 to 1000 UAH
Relay protection
To save all appliances in the home from damage, the expert advises installing relay protection.
This is an automatic voltage regulator that provides independent monitoring and regulation of the mains voltage, as well as protection against voltage surges and high-voltage impulses. It is designed primarily for household refrigerators, autonomous heating control systems (gas boilers), and other electronic equipment with a total power consumption of up to 250 W.
You can buy such a stabiliser from 1200 to 2500
“Relay protection is more serious, it automatically disconnects the entire apartment network from the power supply if the voltage jumps,” says Sergiy Dyachenko
Unplug all appliances from sockets
Until the house is protected by a special device against power surges, a number of experts advise unplugging all appliances from the sockets. However, according to Sergiy Dyachenko, this method may not always help to avoid equipment malfunctions.
“Yes, it’s better to switch off, of course, but appliances are more likely to break down when the lights are switched off rather than on. Therefore, unplugging appliances from sockets cannot provide one hundred per cent certainty that your household appliances will not break down,” the expert said.
Author – Alyona Kaplina
