Power Quality

Today's businesses are becoming more dependent on electronic and microprocessor-based equipment. Since many electronic devices are sensitive to even the slightest electrical disturbance, reliable electricity is more critical than ever. Our engineers understand the requirements of these electronic processes and how disturbances and interruptions can affect business. Costly downtime. Reduced productivity. Equipment damage and product loss.

We work with industries throughout Georgia to address power quality issues.

Power quality disturbances are electrical supply conditions that result in problems, mis-operation or even failure of equipment. Typical disturbances include sags, surges, spikes, noise, interruptions and outages. The most common is voltage sags, usually resulting in equipment shutdown.

While external factors are sometimes the origin of these disturbances, there are other causes. A great majority originates within the customer's own facility: improper wiring or grounding, circuit overloads, defective or improperly installed equipment and interaction between equipment.

Regardless of the cause of the disturbance, eliminating or correcting the problem is possible once the source is located and the problem is analyzed.

Power Protection Equipment

To eliminate or correct a power disturbance, there are two main categories of equipment: power enhancement and power synthesis. Power enhancers modify and improve the incoming power through a filtering process. Power enhancement equipment includes surge suppressors, power line filters, isolation transformers, voltage regulators and conditioners. While they reduce spikes, noise, and harmonics to safe levels, power enhancers are not designed to provide protection for power interruptions. Power synthesizers utilize incoming power as an energy source to create new, undisturbed or uninterrupted power. They are more complex and more expensive than power enhancers and include magnetic power synthesizers, motor generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Depending on the degree of protection you need, we'll get you in touch with the right engineers at GTC or at your local cooperative to provide the best solution for your operation.

Our Services

If you suspect a power quality disturbance in your facility, our engineers are ready to help. Through on-site problem analysis and data collection, we can locate the source of the disturbance and assist in selecting the best method to correct it. We can perform diagnostic monitoring at a location to determine what protection is needed, and we'll assist you in choosing the most cost-effective solution. Engineers at GTC and at your electric cooperative will be happy to provide a pre-construction and expansion review of your electrical plans to assist with preventative measures. And through customized training courses, we can educate your staff about power quality issues, your facility's sensitive equipment and how to avoid power problems in the future.