Wondering if I should give FP&L a shout about incoming power. Here's the deal: I have a CyberPower UPS for my desktop that includes a monitoring program that among other things lists the power event history for up to 6 months. Periodically I'll get an alert pop-up that tells me the UPS has jumped in for one reason or another. The one that concerns me is the "Overvoltage", just happened again this morning so I checked the report and using the 6 month monitor it shows the UPS has jumped in 22 times for a total of 49 seconds in the past 24 weeks.

Question: Is this a lot? Something I should be concerned with or report?

Thanks.

 

What is the algorithm for over voltage? Level of Volts and perhaps duration? Any set point below 125V / high duration will cause nuisance alarms.

 

Have you checked your voltages at the main panel feed with a load on such as a stove or electric heat to see if the voltages are stable between legs. A bad neutral can cause voltage between legs to become out of balance such as one leg being 100V and the other becoming 140 as an example.

 

I don't think a UPS triggering once a week for a few seconds is anything to worry about. There will always be brief over/under-voltage events that occur, even more so on older sections of the power grid. Most devices are designed these days to handle it, but that's also the reason to use a UPS on sensitive equipment.

If it was happening a few times a day, or when your fridge or dryer kicked on, that's another story.

For reference, my little UPS at my desk kicks on probably once every 1-2 weeks for no apparent reason. I don't see the lights flicker, but it's apparently sensing something I don't.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Power company's product is regulated by state and federal (if power plant is nuclear powered) mandates. FP&L has nuclear power plants. I am sure the equipment used by power plants to maintain the voltage and frequency of their product (stated in regulations) is superior to those manufactured for home use like Cyber Power. You can't blame the power company for lightning storms or magnetic interference, both affecting voltage on a power line. You could contact the power company and discuss the parameters(with tolerances) monitored by your UPS to see how they line up with those maintained by the power company.

 

The UPS that I have allows you to set the under- and over-voltage amounts... like a high of 123, 126, 129. I set mine to the highest and lowest setting and have never had any issues.

 

My previous UPS had that, the current one is fixed values.

 

This is the same POCO that told me to bang in my own ground rod at their pole. Its vertical ground wire was hanging loose.

 

Take a picture of the loose ground wire and send it to the POCO with your state's power company licensing authority carbon copied. Getting evidence the POCO is generating power outside the tolerances of their license is a much harder issue for a home owner.