The term “dirty power” is getting thrown around quite a bit, and you might be reading this to see if you can find out the truth behind the concept. Maybe you’ve heard of harmonics or variations in energy that cause energy bills to go up and you want to know what the deal is.
Plus, with the proliferation of dubious home energy-saving devices touting easy power savings, you might be wondering if “dirty power” is a scam. Well we’re here to tell you that in fact, it’s the other way around: common household energy-saving devices are the real scam, while dirty power is very real. Ask any audio engineer or technician working with sensitive equipment, and they'll confirm that dirty power is a very real issue that can significantly reduce the lifespan of your electronics or even cause damage.
So let’s take a look at what dirty power really is, how it could be sabotaging your business operations right now, and what you can do to eliminate it from your power supply.
What is dirty power?
Dirty power is a catch-all term used to describe electrical power that deviates from the ideal sinusoidal waveform expected from an electrical source. If that sounds confusing, just think of dirty power in your facility as a musician playing a guitar way out of tune. Not great.
There are actually a few different ways that dirty power can manifest:
- Harmful Harmonics: These are voltages or currents at multiples of the fundamental frequency that can distort the power signal.
- Frequency Variations: Fluctuations in the power frequency that can cause instability in the operation of electronic devices.
- Voltage Variations: Also known as voltage sags or surges, these variations can stress electrical components and reduce their lifespan.
What are the consequences of dirty power?
The impacts of dirty power are far-reaching and often costly. Consider a home office setup with a computer, monitor, and printer. If these devices are constantly subjected to voltage spikes and harmonics, they may start malfunctioning or even fail completely within a few years, far sooner than their expected lifespan. The same principle applies to industrial equipment, where the stakes are even higher due to the cost and complexity of machinery involved.
And consider this: dirty power can lead to a lower power factor, which means that less of the supplied electrical energy is converted into useful work. This inefficiency can increase energy costs over time. And even worse news for businesses is that sensitive electronics are particularly vulnerable to dirty power. Over time, the erratic power supply can cause components to fail prematurely, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
How to clean up dirty power?
Addressing the issue of dirty power requires specialized equipment designed to filter out unwanted electrical noise and stabilize your power supply. A cleaner power supply will help improve the efficiency of your electrical system and potentially lower energy costs.
One effective solution is Electripure's proprietary harmonics filter, the CleanPQ, which is designed to eliminate harmful harmonics and stabilize voltage and frequency variations, ensuring that the power delivered to your equipment is clean and consistent. Electripure's CleanPQ harmonics filter works by using advanced filtering technology to remove harmonic distortions from the power signal. It smooths out voltage variations, protecting your equipment from spikes and sags. Investing in a harmonics filter like the CleanPQ can save you money in the long run—even up to 20% on your energy bill each month—as well as protect your equipment and reduce energy wastage.
Whether you’re a data center managing critical servers or a manufacturing plant running precision machinery, ensuring a clean power supply is crucial. Contact us today and one of our experts will come out to inspect your facility for free to determine if you have dirty power holding you back and making you pay more each month for your power. We’re ready to help you get your money’s worth out of your energy.