Learn about lightning, surges, and voltage protectors to protect the safety of electrical appliances

In life, we may have all encountered such a situation: on a stormy night, a flash of lightning streaked across the night sky, and then the electrical appliances at home suddenly "went on strike"; or one day, when you turned on the TV, you found that the picture flickered and the sound became abnormal. These seemingly accidental phenomena may be related to surges. To understand surges, we must first talk about lightning.

Lightning is a powerful natural discharge phenomenon that contains huge energy. When the charge in the clouds is unevenly distributed and a strong electric field is formed between the ground, lightning will be triggered. Imagine that the energy released by a flash of lightning in an instant is enough to light up all the street lights in a city. Such a powerful energy, once it affects our home circuits, the consequences will be disastrous.

When lightning occurs, it will produce strong changes in the electromagnetic field in the surrounding space. This change will induce additional current and voltage in nearby wires, which is one source of surges. In addition to lightning, switch operations in the power grid, starting and stopping of large equipment, etc., can also cause surges. Surge is like a "little devil" in the circuit. Although it lasts for a very short time, maybe only a few microseconds or even shorter, the instantaneous high voltage it brings is enough to cause serious damage to our electrical equipment.

Various electrical appliances we use in daily life, from refrigerators, and air conditioners to mobile phone chargers and computers, have sophisticated electronic components inside. These components are very sensitive to voltage changes, just like delicate flowers, and need a stable voltage environment to work properly. The instantaneous high voltage brought by surge is like a storm, which may break through the insulation layer of electronic components, causing component damage and making the electrical appliances unable to work normally. Even if a surge does not directly destroy the electrical appliance, long-term accumulation will shorten the service life of the electrical appliance.

So, how can we protect our electrical appliances from surges? At this time, the voltage protector comes on the scene. The voltage protector is like the "super bodyguard" of the electrical appliance, silently guarding the circuit and always ready to deal with the threat of surges.

The working principle of the voltage protector is not complicated.

Inside the voltage protector, there are particularly critical components such as varistors. Think of the varistor as a super-intelligent "gate switch". In daily life, when the voltage at home is kept within the normal range, it is like everything is going according to plan. The resistance of this "gate switch" - the varistor is particularly large, so large that it can almost be regarded as a completely blocked road. The current is like usual, and it flows steadily along the normal circuit channel to power our electrical equipment. The voltage protector stays quietly aside and does not "disturb" everyone.

However, once there is a sudden attack of the "uninvited guest" of the surge, the voltage rises instantly like a rocket.

In addition to the varistor, the voltage protector also uses gas discharge tubes suppression diodes, etc. They all play a role in their respective "positions" and work together with the varistor to protect the safety of circuits and electrical equipment.

There are many types of voltage protectors on the market, and their functions are also different. When choosing a voltage protector, we need to pay attention to some key parameters. For example, the maximum continuous operating voltage indicates the highest voltage at which the protector can work stably for a long time; the nominal discharge current reflects the maximum surge current that the protector can withstand; and the voltage protection level tells us how low the protector can limit the voltage when a surge occurs.

For ordinary families, it is very important to choose a suitable voltage protector. We can choose according to the total power of the home appliances and the use environment. If you live in an area prone to lightning, or if you have many expensive electrical appliances at home, you need to choose a voltage protector with better performance and higher protection level.

Whether it is the elderly, young people, or children, each of us may be affected by surges when using electrical appliances. Therefore, understanding the knowledge of lightning, surges, and voltage protectors is not only to protect our property safety but also to make our lives more stable and convenient. Let us act together and install a "protective shield" for our electrical appliances so that they can be safe under the threat of surges.