Many times we have told you that the Power source it is, electrically speaking, the most important piece of PC hardware, because it depends on it that the electricity reaches all the components in its proper measure. However, it is also important because it is the element that protects everything else against electrical problemsas the power surges which we are going to talk about today.
As you know, the vast majority of PC power supplies have a series of protection mechanisms, such as OCP (Over Current Protection), PVO (Overvoltage protection) o SCP (Short circuit protection), all very important to ensure that our equipment will be protected against possible problems of the electrical network. Thus, from the outset we can answer the question in the statement, and it is that the source effectively protects you against overvoltages thanks to its OVP safety circuit, but how does it do it and to what extent is it sure
What are power surges and why do they happen?
The definition of overvoltage is “electrical surge in a circuit”, something you could already guess just from its name. As you know the PC power supply needs a certain range of voltages to be able to operate and then convert the electricity into something that the hardware can use as power, but when that voltage or voltage is excessive, it may damage components. including its complete destruction.
In other words: the Spanish electrical network provides a voltage of 220V, and PC power supplies are designed to operate with a range that goes, approximately, from 240 to 200 volts. If at some point there is a breakdown in the electrical network and the source receives, for example, 380V, it would cause a breakdown or something worse.
Why do power surges occur? The most common reason is due to atmospheric phenomena, such as thunderboltbut can also be caused by what is called “switching surgeswhich are generated in power lines due to the connection and/or disconnection of high power (usually industrial) electronic devices. The electrical network itself has mechanisms to mitigate this, but sometimes it is not enough or outages occur causing us to experience surges in the home electrical network.
How Food Protects You
The power supply overvoltage protection circuit, also known as OVP for short. Over voltage protectionis responsible for detecting the input voltage of the power supply, and in the event that it is higher than the established range, directly will turn off the source to avoid damaging the electronic components of the circuit.
So if, for example, an electrical storm occurs in your area and the PC suddenly turns off for no apparent reason, it is most likely because a lightning strike has affected the electrical network and the protection circuit against computer surges. the power was turned on, shutting down the PC to prevent further damage.
