The frequent voltage fluctiations and device damage risk..

[Jose]

Seems that energy suppliers sometimes have problems with  voltage fluctuations that can damage consumer devices. I've been told hard discs are a frequent prey. Having just added a UPS to my Amiga and winblows machines I noticed that sometimes the power is VERY low (like 160W). So not being an electronics expert and having heard by some so called ones that low voltages can also damage home equipment (I though only higher ones did, and lower ones made them work badly) I decided I'd ask here if that's true, I know there's a couple of you that are into electronics. My emphasis is on computers but general home electronic devices like TVs VCR's etc. would be nice to hear about too...  

[lurkist]

Voltage (V) and current (W) are completely seperate things.  You should expect the current to fluctuate depending on which parts of the appliance are in use (e.g. when your cd-rom spins up, when you put a floppy in etc.) but generally speaking the voltage should remain constant.  (e.g. 240 v AC in the UK)

[Piru]

Voltage (V) and current (W)

It has been some years since my physics lessons, but:

Unit of voltage is V (volt), symbol is U (or E or V.. varies).
Unit of current is A (ampere), symbol is I.
Unit of power is W (watt), symbol is P.
Unit of resistance is O (ohm), symbol is R.

And useful chart for cheating:
Calculation: electrical voltage, current, resistance, and power
:-)

[sundown]

@Jose

Electronic equipment manufactured today are designed to
handle fluctuations in voltage. If the voltage gets too high,
a fuse blows, too low & the unit will not work.

Motors in refrigerators, washers, & dryers can be damaged by
low voltage. They tend to draw more current under low voltage
conditions. Most motors fail with power-on surges after
power is restored after an outage.

Getting that UPS was a very good idea.

[Jose]

"Getting that UPS was a very good idea"

Great. I noticed a problem though... If I plug the monitor in it (a 19 incher with 160W) sometimes when I switch it on (the monitor) the power led starts flashing without going off completely and the monitor emits a strange noise. This is not normal, I thing the UPS just can't handle the initial current demand when the monitor is powered on. My AMD machine goes off when that happends. This only happends when voltage, (or probably current;)) is low, like when I have a whole bunch off equipment at home turned on the consumer very much current...
To resume I think I better switch UPS before the monitor is screwed...