Are you tired of experiencing power outages, and you wonder what causes them? A random power outage can occur without warning and last for hours or days. It could affect your professional activities and personal life. Having a backup generator can be helpful in these situations. Therefore, it is important to be prepared by knowing what can cause a power outage and what you can do to avoid it. Here are the six most common causes of power outages.
1. Weather
The most common cause of power outages is bad weather. Diverse reasons can be causing that situation, but they are mostly related to natural disasters. Bad weather can be strong winds, ice, lightning, or even flooding.
When the wind is strong, power lines can come in contact with objects or trees and cause a short circuit, resulting in a power outage. In the worst cases, the wind can break power lines and poles, creating ever bigger power problems.
In winter, ice storms create particles that build up on power lines, making them heavy. These power lines break because they can’t sustain the pressure.
When lightning strikes, it takes the fastest route to transmit its charge to the ground. Utility poles are often struck by lightning, resulting in damage to power lines and other equipment.
Heavy rains and melting snow can cause flooding, resulting in damage to electrical substations located on lower ground.
2. Accidents
Vehicular accidents can cause local power outages. Cars sometimes knock down power poles, causing power lines to break. Accidents in which a vehicle hits a power pole are among the most common causes of power outages.
Some preventable accidents can be a reason for power outages. Due to human errors, construction equipment can knock down power poles while excavators and landscapers can cut underground lines.
3. Trees
Falling trees are another common cause of power outages. Trees can fall on power poles or power lines, even in ideal weather. Tree branches growing under power poles can come in contact with the wires, resulting in power outages.
4. Animals
Small animals like birds and squirrels can chew power lines, knock over components while searching for food, or short out connections while building nests. The hum of electricity flowing also attracts some animals.
5. Equipment
A power surge can occur if too many electrical appliances are used at the same time, especially at full power. In order to avoid an overload, it is then necessary to distribute these important electrical loads correctly on different electrical circuits.
Also, it is quite possible that your installation is not powerful enough and can not support the electrical load you ask to ensure. Thus, if your needs in terms of electricity are more important than those that your installation can provide, an outage or short in the current is inevitable.
In case of a power failure in one room only, the cause is probably a malfunctioning appliance. In the event of an electrical problem, one of the individual circuit breakers on your electrical panel will blow to protect your panel and your installation.
When the electrical installations of a house are old, they can cause some issues. If you are frequently plagued with power outages, it is undoubtedly time to check the age of your installation.
6. Maintenance
Utility companies must undergo maintenance from time to time to ensure quality services to their customers. These companies shut down the power supply during maintenance to protect their employees. But the good part is that customers are notified in advance. Usually, they only last a few hours.
While there are many reasons for power outages that are out of your control, there are a few precautions you can take personally to prevent them. At Lakeview Electric, we will check all your electrical installations and ensure that they are working properly and safely.