The Greeks discovered that “amber” rubbed with fur attracted light objects such as feathers due to stationery charges or electricity. Other discoveries have been made since then which included the study of the negative electrons that carried electricity, production of the first light bulb and then the construction of the first central power stations. Since then, it has greatly influenced our work, leisure, healthcare, economy and our livelihood which fully depend on the supply of electricity.
The temporary outage of power can cause turmoil, financial setbacks and even loss of life. Power outages are the sudden loss of electricity from the main power grid or the electric network system. The power outages may happen in a small area or the entire city may be out of power depending on the cause of the outage. There are different types outages which include blackouts, rolling blackouts, permanent blackouts or brownouts.
Brace for cross arms are used to attach the electrical cross arm by bolts and nuts. This helps to support the electrical crossarm and make the power pole cross arm steady. It can either be made from flat steel and be hot dip galvanized in order to be durable and resistant to all weather conditions.
Table of Contents
Power Outage Causes
There are diverse causes of power outages are they are as discussed below.
Natural Causes
These are by far the most common causes of power outages. They involve lightning, rain, snow, ice, wind, and dust. It has proven to be difficult to prevent power outages from such occurrences but you can be able to prevent your electronic appliances from water and dust. Electrical switchboards, wires and circuits should be protected from exposure to water since the repair of damage caused by water is very expensive. Cross arm braces are hot dip galvanized and made from stainless steel which is able to resist weather conditions such as water and dust.
Dust can bring disaster to electrical systems and lead to short circuits and power failures. It is advisable to use sealed circuit boxes in order to help in protecting your critical electrical equipment and prevent unwanted power failures. Other causes natural of power outages include earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, wind storms, tsunamis among others. These can cause severe power outages which may even take weeks to repair.
Short Circuits
This has been frequently used to refer to the main cause of power failure. A short circuit transpires when an electric current flows along a path that is different from the intended one in an electrical circuit. When this happens there is an extreme electric current that leads to circuit damage, fire and even explosion. They occur mostly when an insulation of the wiring tears down. It can also happen due to the presence of an external conducting material such as water that is presented accidentally to the circuit.
They can be avoided by ensuring that all the equipment that is used in your electrical installation is made of good material and meets the precise specification of your application. The wires should be of the highest quality and of the correct measure for your intended use. Reduction of the electric load is also beneficial as overloading leads to overheating which causes the insulation to break down. Braces for cross arms have no welded or jointed sections at any piece of the cross arm brace as it is a single piece or carbon steel.
Power Surges
Power surge is the sudden excess current in an electrical system. It can lead to fast overheating and loss of critical and expensive equipment. In order to prevent such occurrences, the use of surge protectors and circuit breakers is available. There are surge protectors that are installed into the main power switchboard and there are other smaller ones that are serve a limited number of equipment.
Electrical Trees
The electrical trees affect the high power installations such as high voltage power cables and transformers. The use of high voltage installations with contamination and mechanical faults can cause partial electric discharges in the equipment. The cross arm braces can also be used in telecommunication poles and streetlights. The electrical damage happens in a tree-like structure where the name electrical trees came from. If it goes undetected over a period of time, it can lead to constant degradation of the equipment and eventually result in a total breakdown.