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Innovations
March 1999

Power Quality and Your Computer

Copper Applications in Electrical Area
By Martin Conroy, President, CPC, Inc.
Did you hear the one about the car that was designed to run on a PC? Guaranteed to crash
at least once a day.
Just kidding. But since you use your computer regularly, you're probably used to the
occasional crashes, hang-ups, etc. that come with the territory. It happens, you re-boot,
mutter a few words in the general direction of Redmond, Washington, and off you go again
until the next glitch comes along.
It's usually a software problem, maybe accompanied by an ominous message like "YOUR
SYSTEM HAS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION " or "INSUFFICIENT MEMORY TO
RUN THIS APPLICATION". But sometimes it's not the software's fault. It could be a question of
inadequate power quality. Power quality? Since when does power have "quality"? It's either
on or it's off, right? Well, yes and no. Back in the dark ages BC (before computers), it usually
was sufficient that the power turned on whenever you flipped the switch. And it usually did,
except during summertime brownouts when too many people turned on their air conditioners
at the same time or after the occasional blackouts when lightning (or some motorist) struck a
pole. Other than that, electric power quality was unremarkably adequate.
That's no longer the case, because the way we use electric power has changed significantly.
Just a few years ago, most of the electrical uses in our homes (and in our factories and
offices, for that matter) involved lighting, electric motors and a few transformers. We still need
those things today, but we also increasingly rely on what we might call "electronic"
applications of electric power. Electronic applications include not just computers and their
peripherals, but all of the appliances, tools, instruments, thermostats, burglar alarms,
audio/video equipment, copiers, fax machines and other gadgets that contain some form of
microchip or "logic circuits". It's those electronic gadgets that are so finicky about power
quality. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) even has a name for them;
they call them "Sensitive Electronic Equipment," and have published special recommended
practices to deal with them correctly. These things simply can't tolerate the sort of lapses in
power quality that light bulbs and electric motors routinely shrug off.
Since more and more sensitive electronic equipment is finding its way into our homes especially as home offices become more popular - we've prepared this article to explain the
concept of power quality and how it can affect you. We'll also explain how the proper use of
copper wiring can ensure that your sensitive electronic equipment functions properly. And, if
you're considering building a new home or thinking about re-wiring your current one, we'll
mention a few pointers that will "build in" good power quality from the start.

Continuity, Voltage and Frequency/Waveform

Because of the various ways we use electricity, power quality means different things to
different people. Still, there are three basic attributes that we can use to "rate" power quality,
at least qualitatively, from the point of view of the homeowner or home office user. These
attributes are:
1. The continuity with which the power is supplied,
2. The voltage seen at the point of use, and
3. The power's frequency and waveform. (We'll define these terms in a moment.)
Continuity, or how continuous the supply is, means more than that the power should simply
turn on and stay on whenever you flip the switch. It means that there can be no gaps, even
momentary ones, when power is flowing. That's important because sensitive electronic
equipment requires almost total continuity, literally down to the millisecond. For example,
you've probably experienced something like this:
There's a thunderstorm brewing. Miles away, lightning strikes your utility's power grid.
Your lights flicker off and on and electric motors hesitate. But just as quickly, everything
returns to normal, except that your computer has re-booted, the satellite TV is asking
you to reprogram its available channels, the thermostat has to be reset and all your
digital clocks are blinking "88:88".
Or maybe you've seen this situation:
Your computer is plugged into a wall outlet that also feeds your monitor, printer,
scanner, zip drive, copier and maybe a fax machine; a typical home office setup. You
hit the "Print" button and everything shuts down because you've tripped a circuit
breaker. (Did you save your work?)
The first case wasn't your fault, the second one was. Either way, you've experienced one
form of poor power quality - an interruption - and your sensitive electronic equipment couldn't
cope. What can you do about continuity problems? The quick-and-dirty solution is to install an
uninterruptible power supply, popularly known as a UPS, between your equipment and the
wall outlet. A UPS is essentially a battery that is continuously charged by line power, its ac
voltage suitably stepped down and rectified to dc. The battery's dc power output is reconverted in the UPS back to ac power by a device called an inverter, whose "synthetic" ac
power is then output to your equipment. When line power is interrupted, the battery acts as a
reservoir, providing a few minutes to a few hours of power so your equipment can ride out the
outage. There are many types and sizes of UPS units. The better ones have built-in surge
protection devices. They're cheap insurance: UPS units that are adequate for home offices
retail for about $100-$200. If your power grid has frequent outages, consider a conservatively
rated (long runtime) UPS.
On the other hand, if you've overloaded the circuit that feeds your computer, you should think
about installing a UPS and distributing your electrical loads by adding additional circuits. This
is the correct long-term solution to frequent circuit breaker trips. There are several benefits to
adding more circuits, but maintaining continuous power is reason enough to give the idea
some thought. The cost of the few additional yards of copper wire and a few hours of an
electrician's time can be inconsequential compared with the cost of lost data.
Voltage variations are another common source of problems to home computers and other
sensitive electronic equipment. Voltage variations can be positive (higher than normal) or
negative (lower). Variations can be huge, reaching thousands of volts, but even small ones

can cause problems. Most computers can withstand variations of 10% (12 volts on a
120-V circuit), although they can detect, and may be affected by, smaller variations. The
human eye can distinguish a lamp flicker caused by a 1.5v change in voltage, so if you
can see the effect of a voltage change, chances are good that your computer can feel it. An
important point to remember is that the computer manufacturers base their voltage range
assuming a true sine wave voltage waveform. If the voltage waveform is flat topped or
distorted, your computer may not operate within the stated voltage range. We'll explain sine
wave distortion in a moment. Let's get back to that overloaded branch circuit we described
earlier. This time, we won't quite trip the circuit breaker.
Everything's running well. Your spouse turns on the dishwasher. Your desk lamp dims
but doesn't go out. Still, your computer hangs.
Or,
You decide to move your home office to the other end of the house because it's quieter
there. You don't add any equipment; you just move what you have. Your equipment is
now more than 50 feet (15 m) from the electrical service entrance panel. You begin to
notice that your computer doesn't work as reliably as it used to, and you start having
problems with your monitor.
The problem in these cases may be low voltage. In the first case: Switching on a high-startupcurrent appliance (usually one containing a powerful motor) will momentarily reduce line
voltage in that branch circuit. Everything else connected to that circuit would feel the
reduction. In the second case: Your standard 20-amp circuit may have reliable 120v at the
electrical panel, but after running through 50 ft of wire, what your sensitive electronic
equipment sees at the outlet is a voltage that may be reduced by as much as 5%. This
voltage reduction (or "delta v") can have several effects:
First, low voltage can cause the dc power supplies in your equipment (all electronic
equipment has them) to run hotter than normal.
Here we have to introduce a little algebra to explain our point. The power (P) these
power supplies draw is equal to the line voltage (E) at which they operate (nominally
120v) times the current (I) they draw, or P=EI. The power drawn is constant, fixed by the
needs of the equipment; so any decrease in voltage must be compensated by a
proportional increase in current. Now, the amount of heat dissipated by the power
supply (specifically, by resistive (R) elements such as resistors, wires, etc.) is
proportional to the square of the current flow, P=I2R. Therefore, the end result of a drop
in voltage at the wall outlet is a rise in the temperature in the equipment. At best, this
excess heat is represents wasted energy; at worst, it can shorten the equipment's life.
Second, low voltage can cause components to fail because the increased current
exceeds the components' ratings.
Power supplies in computers are usually more powerful than they need to be because
manufacturers understand that owners often add equipment (additional hard drives,
tape backups, etc.) after the computer has been placed in service. As an incidental
benefit, such oversized power supplies can accommodate the extra current drawn
when line voltage drops. Power supplies in monitors, on the other hand, are sized just
large enough for the existing load, there being no need to expect any later additions.
High currents caused by low line voltage can damage such power supplies.
Finally, a drop in line voltage may interfere with your computer's operation, particularly if
the computer is networked. The power cable that supplies your outlet contains three

conductors, a phase (or "hot") wire, which usually has black, red or blue insulation; a
neutral wire, usually white, and a ground wire, conventionally green. If your computer's
plug has three prongs, the round "third" one is the ground.
When we speak of voltage in the conventional sense, we refer to the voltage between
phase and neutral conductors. However, a voltage can also exist between the neutral
and ground conductors at distances well removed from your house's service entrance
panel (it has to be zero at the panel because that's where the neutral and ground
conductors are joined). This neutral-to-ground voltage is normally zero or close to it, but
when the phase-to-neutral voltage drops, the neutral-ground voltage rises. In fact, it
rises by exactly one-half as much as the drop in phase-to-neutral voltage, e.g.,
reducing the phase voltage from 120v to 110v incurs a 5-v increase between the
neutral and ground conductors.
Most desktop computers can tolerate as much as 10% variation in phase-to-neutral
voltage, but they are quite sensitive to small changes in neutral-to-ground voltage. This
is particularly true for newer computers whose logic circuitry may operate at less than
one volt. (Laptop computers aren't as sensitive to this situation because they generally
don't have an external ground connection.)
Moral of the story: play it safe, play it smart, use a separate circuit, or add one, for your
sensitive electronic equipment.

Positive voltage variations can be even more troubling than negative ones. If powerful
enough, they can destroy components in sensitive electronic equipment. Such positive
variations, or "transient voltage surges" as they're called, can arise outside your home.
Lightning striking power lines is a frequent cause, as is load switching (re-routing power
around the grid) by your utility. Voltage surges can also be caused by equipment in your
home. Refrigerator motors, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and other electrical loads can
generate voltage surges and electrical noise.
The best defense against voltage surges is to install a transient voltage surge suppressor
(TVSS) between your equipment and the wall outlet. As with uninterruptible power supplies,
surge suppressors are cheap and widely available in a variety of styles and sizes. You may
already have one: it's the "power wand" containing about half a dozen outlets into which you
connect you computer, monitor and other equipment. Check the label to see if it has TVSS
protection. If you need to purchase a TVSS make sure it is UL 1449 listed. This assures the
product has been tested and meets industry standards.
No amount of additional copper house wiring will protect you against voltage surges, although
a good lightning protection and grounding system will isolate your sensitive electronic
equipment - along with the rest of your home - from nearby lightning strikes. We'll talk about
grounding and lightning protection in a future article.

Frequency & Waveform

In North America, household electric current and voltage alternate (it's the "a" in ac) or switch
back and forth between positive and negative poles at a frequency of exactly 60 alternations
each second. Engineers call that the fundamental frequency; it's usually expressed as 60
cycles per second (cps) or 60 Hertz (Hz). In most other parts of the world, the fundamental
frequency is 50 Hz.
Alternating voltage/current alternations take the form of a sine wave. That is, if you could see
the current changing over one ac cycle (which takes 1/60th of a second or 16.7 milliseconds)
the shape of the alternations, the sinusoidal waveform, would look like this:

Voltage and current begin each cycle at zero (the

horizontal line), rise to a maximum in one-quarter of a
cycle, fall back to zero at the half-cycle point, then
reverse polarity and fall to a maximum negative value at
the 3/4 cycle point before rising to zero again. All of this
repeats every sixtieth of a second. If you've ever touched
a live electric line, the vibrating shock you feel is this sixty-time-per-second voltage reversal.
In ordinary house current, 120 volts is what engineers call the effective voltage, which is
actually a sort of average (the root mean square value) of the varying voltage depicted by the
sine wave. The actual peak voltage in a 120-V circuit can be as high as nearly 170V. Except
for simple things like incandescent light bulbs, most of the electrical and electronic devices we
use today are designed for ac power that follows the sine wave curve. To these devices, the
right voltage plus a perfect sinusoidal waveform add up to ideal power quality. By the same
token, anything that disturbs either the power's frequency or its waveform detracts from
power quality, and in so doing, reduces the ability of electrical devices - especially sensitive
electronic equipment - to operate properly.
What can disturb the frequency? Not much, so far as power supplied by the utility is
concerned. In fact, electric utilities go to great lengths to make sure that their generators
operate at precisely 60Hz and that they're all synchronized as closely as possible. When the
current produced by a power station in Bangor, Maine is at the exact maximum point of the
sine wave, current coming out of a power station in Los Angeles - and out of your wall outlet is there, too.
Most frequency disturbances actually originate inside buildings. Ironically, it is mainly the
sensitive electronic equipment that is at fault. Remember those dc power supplies we keep
mentioning, the ones that power most of our "electronic" equipment? These days, most such
power supplies are of a type (called "switched mode power supplies") that draws current in
sharp pulses rather than in a smoothly flowing sine wave. As they do so, they echo those
pulses back into the power line, where they are superimposed on the normal sine-wave
current flowing there. Other common household sources of these erratic disturbances
include:
dirty switches or relays that arc when they make or break contact;
worn dc electric motors (you know you have a problem when you can see sparks in the
commutator);
portable arc welding machines;
certain UV lights, and
many electronic fluorescent light ballasts.
Add them all up and the result is a messy waveform circulating in your house current.
Normally, waveform disturbances are not a problem in a home-office situation. Really serious
problems arise in offices and commercial buildings where there may be hundreds of
computers, electronic lighting ballasts and similar equipment on the same floor. The power
disturbances generated by all those switched mode power supplies can add up to wreak
havoc with computer reliability, not to mention fire hazards and other problems.
The number of computers and peripherals installed in a home office is far to small to cause
that level of disturbance. On the other hand, there is a real possibility that by concentrating all
of your sensitive electronics on one branch circuit, you can degrade power quality enough to
provoke the occasional electronic hiccup and crash your computer.

Harmonics
The main cause of waveform distortion in modern "electronics"-loaded circuits, including the
ones in your home office, is an electrical phenomenon known as harmonics. All commercial
power is based on a pure sine wave waveform (remember physics class?). The utility
generates 60-Hz sine wave power and transmits it to your home. Your home wiring distributes
the sine wave power to your wall outlet and your computer power supply is designed to run
on it. The assumption is that the power maintains the correct sine wave shape from
generation to utilization. This assumption is not always correct. It is now understood that the
very power supply that is in your laser printer and computer can cause a distortion of the
voltage waveform, superimposing electrical jiggles that can be expressed as multiples of the
standard 60-Hz frequency, i.e., 120Hz, 180Hz, 240Hzetc. These jiggles are called
harmonics.
The amount of distortion is measured in total harmonic distortion, or THD. The IEEE has
issued guidelines for recommended levels of THD. Generally anything over 5% voltage THD
is unacceptable.
Harmonics have created serious problems in offices that contain a high density of computer
equipment. We routinely find a high level of voltage THD in office buildings. It far less likely
that you would have a harmonic problem in your home. However, if you have undersized
wiring or overloaded circuits, you could have this problem.
What problems do harmonics cause? The most common problem is a flat-topping of the
voltage waveform. This causes a reduction of the peak voltage level, which in turn can starve
your computer's power supply of energy. To put it in simple terms, running your computer on
a distorted 140-volt (instead of the expected 170-v) peak voltage is like running it on about 95
volts AC. You may not see the problem, but your computer does! It takes special equipment
to measure harmonics so the problem may very likely go unnoticed.

Thinking about Remodeling? Think Extra Circuits.

If you're considering building a new home or thinking about remodeling your current one, you
should be aware that there a many advantages to bringing your wiring system up to current
practices. This is especially true if you plan to add more sensitive electronic equipment (which
is likely), maintain a home office or create a local area network (LAN) to link your home
computers.
Consider this:
The National Electric Code (NEC) governs the way we wire our homes, offices and
commercial buildings. The NEC permits up to 13 outlets on a 20-amp branch circuit, the type
commonly found in homes. This limitation is based on safety: limiting the number of outlets
effectively limits the total load (total current flow) on the branch circuit and thereby eliminating
overloading and circuit breaker tripping. Recommended practices for home offices with a
number of technology systems include:
1. Branch circuits that feed sensitive electronic equipment should be kept separate from
branch circuits that feed ordinary loads, such as lighting and motor-driven equipment. If
possible, use separate circuits for your laser printer and the rest of your computer
equipment.
2. In older homes with two-prong, non-grounded outlets, upgrade to three-prong
grounded type circuits. The only way to correctly do this is to run a new copper cable
from the main service to the office area. Remember that a grounded circuit is required
for protection of your computer from static electricity and power surges. Without a

grounded circuit your modem may become the ground source.

3. Have an electrician check your main service for proper grounding. In the past the metal
water main was used to ground the service, but now many communities are using
plastic water piping. If your home does not have a ground rod, install a 10-foot long
ground copper clad rod to supplement your home's grounding. This is cheap insurance
and enhances safety.
4. Make sure that your home's telephone and cable (CATV) are grounded and bonded to
the main electrical service ground. Without this bonding, lightning and power surges
can circulate through your computer system. In fact your computer may be the one
piece of equipment in your home that combines power, telephone (modem) and cable
(cable modem or video), thereby becoming a path for any type of lightning surge.
5. Have an electrician install a main service surge protector (TVSS) ahead of your main
service entrance electrical panel. This will protect your home from large power surges. A
basic unit will cost about $ 150 installed. Make certain that this TVSS is properly
grounded or it won't work when it has to.
6. Use TVSS protection between the wall outlet and your computer. Use a unit that
protects the power, telephone and cable service.
7. For additional power protection consider installing an uninterruptible power system
(UPS). Choose a system large enough for your equipment power needs.
8. To minimize static electricity consider a hard surface floor covering or a static dissipative
mat. Make sure all static mats are grounded to the power outlet. There are also some
anti-static sprays that you can treat carpets, chairs, upholstery and desk surfaces.
For the most part, these recommendations will not involve major expenses in homes that
already conform to practices permitted under the National Electrical Code. They are
especially inexpensive when you compare their cost to the cost of losing your sensitive
electronic equipment and all of the data you've stored in it.
You can do something about power quality. Think about it the next time your PC starts acting
up.

Computer Power Corporation Company (CPC Inc.) Profile

The company has specialized in the field of power quality, power monitoring, harmonics,
grounding, site surveys, and testing for over 18 years. Our in-the-field experience tells us that
the rapid evolution of technology has brought forth a multitude of power and grounding
problems widely affecting every industry segment. In light of these growing needs, we have
developed the following mission statement.
Our mission is to assist companies in "Making Technology Work" by insuring that the
client's infrastructure will support their technology needs.
The company is currently focused in the following areas:
1. Providing consulting and technical services to identify, diagnose, and correct power quality
problems.
2. Providing consulting services for the design/build of technical facilities such as call centers,
computer rooms, and channel assembly facilities. We work with the client through the entire
project from initial concept to design then implementation and acceptance.

3. Providing educational services through power quality and grounding seminars and
technical papers and articles.
Industry segments have included financial, insurance, health care, educational,
manufacturing, utility, communications, broadcasting, and government.
For more information, please contact Jill Grebe at jgrebe@cpccorp.com
(mailto:jgrebe@cpccorp.com). Additional information is available on our web site
www.cpccorp.com (http://www.cpccorp.com).
If you have a Case History to share or would like to receive additional information,
contact:
David Brender
National Program Manager, Electrical
Phone: (212) 251-7206
Fax: (212) 251-7234
Email (mailto:david.brender@copperalliance.us)

Also in this Issue:

Power Quality and Your Computer
Property Data on The Copper Page (properties.html)
Summary of 1999 Detroit International Auto Show and Potential Changes in Copper
Content (auto.html)
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