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4.0 Principles of operation
4.8 Operation during a utility failure (continued)
of the battery (the battery could be charged faster, but wouldn’t last as long).
Utility voltage sags are temporary amplitude reductions of the normal 120 Vac
line. Utility voltage sags can be caused by local high power demand equipment
such as elevators, air conditioners, shop tools and electric heaters. Brownouts,
defined as long lasting utility voltage reductions, are sometimes initiated by the
power company itself. During the hot season, the utility may choose to reduce
the line voltage in order to cope with the huge power requirements of home and
commercial use air conditioners.
Blackouts are defined by a complete loss of power. Often, blackouts are caused
by accidents or acts of nature. However, they can also be created by overloaded
“branch” circuits (building wiring segregated by fuses or circuit breakers), faulty
circuit breakers or even a tripped-over line cord!