Ting monitors the electricity in your home 30 million times every second of every day. This allows Ting to analyze the quality of power delivered to your home at super high resolution. Power quality problems can potentially cause damage to appliances, electronics, or other devices in your home.
The power delivered to your home is typically supplied at 120 volts (V), +/- 10%, so the normal range can be from 108V to 132V. The most common power quality problems are:
Surges: events when voltage spikes to values >132V. The severity of a surge is determined by both the amplitude of the spike (how high did the voltage go), and the time duration of the spike.
Brownouts (sometimes referred to as sags): events when the voltage drops below 108V. The severity of a brownout is determined by both the amplitude of the drop or sag (how low did the voltage go), and the time duration of the drop.
In many cases, a single power quality event, or problem, will not necessarily cause damage (depending on the severity), but an accumulation of power quality problems can lead to damage to important devices in your home.
If you are experiencing ongoing power quality events as reported by Ting, you may consider contacting your utility, which supplies your power, to let them know of the problems that you and possibly your neighbors are experiencing. You can use your Ting Home Monitoring Reports as support.
We've provided additional information here and an email template that you can use to be in touch with your utility. You'll also see a list of sources where you can learn more information about power quality, and steps that you can take to help prevent damage to your devices.