{"id":7004,"date":"2024-08-16T10:57:44","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T16:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grupoindustronic.com.co\/?p=7004"},"modified":"2024-12-05T05:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T11:41:53","slug":"what-are-electrical-faults-and-how-to-prevent-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grupoindustronic.com.co\/en\/what-are-electrical-faults-and-how-to-prevent-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Causes of electrical faults affecting power supply"},"content":{"rendered":"

The malfunction of a circuit or an electrical network is produced by human or external causes, and is known as an electrical fault. The implementation of the most suitable solution will depend on the correct analysis of this situation or set of events.<\/p>\n

What is a power failure?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

This concept is also known as a fault current in an electrical power system <\/b>and evidences the existence of an anomaly or a condition that generates negative impacts.<\/p>\n

What are the external causes of electrical faults?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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  1. Climatic phenomena: <\/b>one of the most common are atmospheric discharges, as well as strong winds and hailstorms that damage substations and other components of the electrical network. Even floods cause damage and make it difficult to restore the grid.
    \nFor example, Colombia is one of the places with the highest lightning activity on the planet: 15 million flashes can fall in a year, ten times more than those recorded in Europe, according to measurements by Keraunos <\/strong><\/a>spin off of <\/i>the National University of Colombia.<\/li>\n
  2. The effects of climate change<\/b>: heat waves or rising temperatures can overload power grids. Likewise, the demand for refrigeration and air conditioning systems also exceeds the installed capacity.
    \nIn turn, prolonged outages or blackouts, as a result of these external causes, increase the incidence of power failures, especially in areas with poor infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What are the internal causes of power failures?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Human error: <\/b>these occur for a wide variety of reasons, from a high altitude truck knocking down a cable in a rural area, to errors in the operation or maintenance of the electrical infrastructure.<\/li>\n
    2. Insulation failures: <\/b>when the condition of cables or other electrical components is not maintained, current flows through undesired paths, creating fault currents.<\/li>\n
    3. Short circuits:<\/b> this phenomenon produces high intensity fault currents that can even cause fires.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What are the consequences of electrical faults?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

      The most tangible effects of a power failure are power supply interruptions. There is also excessive heating of conductors and equipment or voltage drops. All this affects equipment and components.<\/p>\n

      Even the so-called electric arcs, which differ from short circuits, occur with noise, light or intense heat and can cause injuries to people as well as damage to property.<\/p>\n

      How do you know if an electrical failure has occurred?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

      The most visible signs are:<\/p>\n