Power surges, brownouts, and blackouts are some of the electrical problems that homeowners face due to voltage fluctuations.

A brownout is more common and also more dangerous. Such a temporary lack of power at your home or even damage some equipment permanently.

Before you know how to achieve whole house brownout protection, you should understand some crucial things.

What Is a Brownout?

If you are confused about brownout vs. blackout, here is a short explanation. Blackouts occur during natural disasters like hurricanes and are rare events.

Brownouts can be the result of a system-wide power drop in your area. It can occur when electrical companies decide to lower the supply to reduce the power grid burden.

It may also happen if there is an issue with the home electrical system, such as faulty wiring, improper use of electricals, and overloading circuits.

Whether deliberate or not, brownouts can overheat specific electrical components in your home and start a fire. Motors, HVAC units, computers, and furnaces are among some of the things that are vulnerable to brownouts.

Power sags are not so dangerous and are the most common of the three. Dimming or flickering of lights for a few seconds when you switch on multiple appliances at once is an example of an energy sag.

Best Tips for Whole House Brownout Protection

To counteract the sudden voltage drops, homeowners can try:

Installing a UPS

Perhaps you have seen UPS or Uninterruptible Power Supply devices hooked to computers at the office. They can offer protection for your at-home equipment, too. They maintain a uniform flow of energy and voltage even during power fluctuations.

Hence, when a brownout happens, you have a steady stream of regular power. Another benefit of using a UPS is that you can save and restore critical information on your computer files.

Buy Under-Voltage Relays

Electronic under-voltage monitoring relays are devices that protect sensitive equipment like computers against brownouts. They have contacts that detect voltage drops and short-circuit faults and operate by turning off the connected machines.

They offer motor protection by preventing it from drawing higher currents. Thus, you can increase the longevity of these elements and avoid electrical fires in your home.

Use Power Strips

No matter the debate, brownout vs. blackout, or simple energy savings, power strips are an ideal investment to save your devices. Also called surge protectors, they can keep your expensive electronics from getting destroyed due to low voltage. They even work in the time of a high voltage supply.

Furthermore, they offer the added comfort of switching off several connected devices at once. So, as you retire to bed every night, you no longer have to worry whether you turned off the video game console, DVD player, TV, etc.

In addition to trying these whole house brownout protection solutions, you can also reach out to your electricity provider for more tips. At Shop Texas Electricity, we have valuable resources that help with your home energy needs.