Integrated circuitry, motor insulation, motor starters, VFDs, contactors, and switchgear are all at risk. The highest risk of failure is Integrated circuitry since they are comprised of such sensitive electronic components.
Electronic devices may operate intermittently and computers lock up or produce garbled results. Damage is not readily seen and can result in early failure of affected devices. Integrated circuits (“electronic chips”) may fail immediately or fail prematurely.
“Surges can have many effects on equipment, ranging from no detectable effect to complete destruction…electronic devices can have their operation upset before hard failure occurs.” – IEEE
Most of the time, these failures are attributed to the age of the equipment when, in fact, modern electronic devices provided with clean, filtered power will survive those that are unprotected.
Another example
Motors will run at higher temperatures when transient voltages are present because transients interrupt the normal timing of the motor and result in vibration, noise, and excessive heat. Motor insulation deteriorates and fails.
Motors can become so deteriorated by transient activity that they actually produce transients themselves which, in turn, accelerates the failure of other equipment in the same electrical distribution system.
A motor with faulty winding or other insulation faults can produce a continuous stream of transients exceeding 600 volts!
Takeaways
A facility’s electrical distribution system can be severely affected by the transient activity. Transients degrade the contact surfaces of switches and circuit breakers and can produce “nuisance tripping” of breakers by heating the breaker and causing it to react to a non-existent current demand.
The semiconductor junctions of electronic devices are particularly susceptible to progressive deterioration…few solid-state devices can tolerate much more than twice their normal rating.