What Happens When a Power Surge Leads to a Complete Power Outage?
Power surges can be unpredictable and, while they may only last for a fraction of a second, the resulting power outage can have far-reaching consequences. Entire systems can go offline, leading to significant disruption, equipment damage and potential financial losses.
A comprehensive power assurance strategy, enabled by robust stand-by power solutions, allows operations to continue uninterrupted during these outages.
In this blog, we’ll explore how power continuity solutions, including switchgear power maintenance systems, help businesses maintain operational efficiency, ensure safety and protect assets to avoid costly downtime and potential hazards in key industries.
Preventing Equipment Damage
Power surges can cause immediate damage to sensitive equipment by overloading circuits and components. However, the aftermath of a surge—complete power loss—can be just as damaging. Without consistent power, equipment may experience sudden shutdowns or restarts that lead to malfunctions or permanent damage.
Here are some of the consequences of surge-induced power loss:
- Overheating: Sudden shutdowns can cause equipment to overheat as cooling systems fail.
- Component failure: Electrical components may burn out or become damaged when restarted after an abrupt power loss.
- Calibration Issues: Precision machinery may lose calibration settings, leading to faulty outputs or production errors.
Stand-by power solutions work together to maintain operations during power disruptions. This ensures safe and controlled shutdown sequences after surge events, preventing or reducing the mechanical stress and electronic damage caused by sudden power loss. This ensures safe and controlled shutdown sequences after surge events. Preventing or reducing the mechanical stress and electronic damage caused by sudden power loss. For example, automated production lines can complete their current cycle before shutting down, rather than stopping mid-operation.
Minimising Operational Downtime
For many industries, any interruption in power can lead to substantial operational losses. These interruptions can result in missed deadlines, lost production and compromised data, all of which directly impact a company’s bottom line and reputation.
For instance, in manufacturing environments where precision machinery is used, even a brief interruption can result in calibration errors or mechanical failures. The financial impact of these failures can be significant, with unplanned downtime costing manufacturers up to $260,000 per hour according to a study by Aberdeen Research.
A comprehensive stand-by power strategy, which includes maintaining live switchgear through DC charging systems, enables operations to continue through surge events. These systems work alongside UPS solutions to ensure essential processes remain operational during power disruptions.
Preventing Data Loss
Data integrity is key to sectors such as data centres and financial services. Power surges followed by outages can corrupt files or lead to lost transactions if systems are shut down unexpectedly. Data loss not only disrupts operations but also leads to long recovery times and increased costs.
The risks of data loss can be severe:
- Data breaches: According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2020 report, power outages represented 10% of the root causes of data breaches, with an average cost of $217 per compromised record.
- Downtime impact: In 2023, power outages have continued to be cited as the single biggest cause of data centre outages.
- Costly Recovery: A 2023 study by Verizon found that small instances of data loss (fewer than 100 files) cost businesses on average between $18,000 to $35,000. Large-scale data loss (100+ million records) can cost up to $15.6 million.
Stand-by power solutions give businesses the time they need for safe data backup and system shutdowns. This means that critical information can remain intact and accessible even during unexpected disruptions.
Extending Equipment Lifespan
Frequent power interruptions—whether from surges or outages—can significantly reduce the lifespan of industrial equipment. Sudden shutdowns and restarts can place stress on equipment and lead to wear and tear over time.
The consequences of shortened equipment lifespan include:
- Increased capital expenditure due to premature equipment replacement.
- Higher maintenance costs and more frequent repair cycles.
- Reduced operational efficiency as equipment performance degrades.
- Potential safety risks from operating stressed or failing equipment.
Stand-by power solutions incorporate power conditioning and smooth transfer capabilities. This eliminates micro-interruptions and voltage variations that contribute to equipment wear and catastrophic failures.
Stand-by Power is a Critical Component of Power Surge Protection
Surge protection for industrial equipment, such as UPS surge protectors or industrial power surge protectors, cannot guarantee operational continuity when faced with unpredictable electrical disruptions. Stand-by power solutions provide Power Assurance through various components. PB Design’s DC chargers and battery tripping units are engineered to power and maintain critical switchgear systems, which help:
- Support continuous operations by ensuring power distribution systems remain ready to transfer between main and backup power
- Prevent cascading failures by maintaining critical switchgear systems that enable power distribution
Effective stand-by power solutions translate to maintaining critical operations: keeping production lines running, ensuring continuous data centre uptime or even powering life-saving equipment in healthcare facilities. These solutions help keep the lights on no matter what to ensure business continuity, which safeguards human life and assets.
Don’t wait until a surge or outage disrupts your operations — assess your current power protection measures today. Speak with our expert team to explore how our tailored Power Assurance solutions can keep your operations running smoothly — even when the unexpected happens.