Power surges happen whenever the wiring in your home or office experiences brief jolts of high electrical voltage. Power surges can be minor or severe. Even appliances or electronics that are turned off can flicker or buzz during a power surge. Far from harmless though, power surges can damage your electrical outlets, fry your appliances and electronics and start dangerous electrical fires. Being cognizant and proactive against the causes of power surges can potentially save your electronics and more importantly, your life. To protect device from this harmful situation an surge protector is designed. An intelligent surge protective device (SPD) is a device designed to protect against damaging and dangerous short, high voltage transients that are created by devices outside or inside the home or studio. Microcontroller is embedded into this system to make it smart or intelligent enough to handle all the issues intelligently and to provide control signals to turn on and off AC main power supply.

 

CHAPTER ONE
    1.0                                                     INTRODUCTION
The basic concept of Smart Grid is to provide interoperability of the national electrical delivery system by means of monitoring, information, control, and communication capabilities to the national electrical delivery system to maximize the reliability of the system while reducing the energy consumption. The intent of the Smart Grid is to allow utilities to transmit and distribute electricity throughout the system reliably through the deployment and use of intelligent electronic equipment in the sub-domains associated with the electric power and the public and private communications. This will allow homeowners, businesses and industrial facilities to use electricity more intelligently.

The traditional power distribution arrangement is to have central power generation with radial distribution. If there is too much load for the available generation or transmission it will cause the generation to slow down or the transmission system to break apart in an effort to reduce the sag in the transmission lines. Most transmission systems have automatic frequency and under- voltage load shedding plans in place. Modeling the power system determines what are the maximum distributed energy resources that can be absorbed on the transmission facilities. One thing that can occur is that voltage and frequency regulation is going to be degraded any time the grid is put under too much stress. Intelligently interlinking distribution systems in a grid allows for the continued delivery of power during fault or excessive demand situations.
One of the aspects of the Smart Grid is the ability to monitor, control and coordinate alternative energy resources at various points in the grid. Problems exist when a radial distribution system has to accept two way flow of real and reactive power. To manage this problem there has to be a greater dependence on monitoring, information exchange and control (MIC). It is imperative to understand how to protect all communication system elements from unnecessary upset or damage from lightning, both direct and indirect. It is also necessary to assure that surge protection and/or other technologies are in place to mitigate switching surges anywhere in the electrical delivery system causing upset or damage. Non-traditional sources like energy storage; flywheels, batteries and high energy capacitors and renewable such as; wind photovoltaic, require new standards to define the surge protection requirements. Power surge is one of the major problems that face power supply that powers our appliances.
This device that is discussed in this work is designed which automatically turn on and turn off main power supply in case of power surge in AC main power supply and on one need to control it manually. Microcontroller is embedded into this system to make it smart or intelligent enough to handle all the issues intelligently and to provide control signals to turn on and off AC main power supply.
1.1                                         OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
The objective of this work is to construct s device that protects appliances from power surge.

1.3                                              CAUSES OF POWER SURGE

Overloaded Outlets or Circuits

Survey the outlets under your desk, behind your television set, or anywhere else you have a tangled web of wires. Plugging in too many appliances or electronics in the same socket can lead to power surges and electrical fires.
If you are experiencing power surges, have an electrician check to see if all of the outlets in a room might be operating on the same circuit. If so, overloading one outlet might not be the problem. The circuit itself may be overloaded trying to power too many appliances in the same room.

2. Damaged or Exposed Wiring

Pesky little critters such as mice or squirrels can chew on the wiring inside the walls of your house or building causing the wiring to fail. Damaged or exposed wires can cause power surges because the electricity flowing through them is not being directed or handled in the way it normally should.
If wires are damaged, you may even smell smoke as the wires can melt or burn up due to the abnormal flow of voltage. Note that exposed wires should not be handled as they can cause electrocution. Instead, consult an electrician who can test and replace the affected outlets and wires as needed to ensure safety.  

3. Lightning Strikes

Lightning touching down simply near your power line can lead to an extra spike in electrical voltage of millions of volts. That’s why your cable box, lamp, or computer do not stand a chance against a power surge caused by lightning strikes, unless you are using a surge protector. During especially severe storms however, it may be best to power down and unplug expensive equipment.  
Power surges from lightning strikes can destroy your electronics causing them to fail to power back on. This can be an expensive and annoying problem. For a business this can lead to data loss, or the need to replace costly equipment.

4. High-Power Electrical Devices

High-energy appliances or machines like elevators, refrigerators and air conditioners can cause energy spikes and power surges. That is because when they power on they tend to draw an abnormally large amount of electricity and that excess power courses throughout the circuit, overpowering other appliances and electronics in its path. When this happens it is common to notice the lights flickering or blinking off and on in your house or office.

5. Power Outages

Ever notice how momentarily bright all your lights get when they first come back on after a power outage? The idea that a power outage can cause a power surge seems counter-intuitive. However, that massive burst of energy that turns the power back on for a whole neighborhood, town or state may lead to excess energy coursing through the lines.  

1.4                                                TYPES OF POWER SURGE

Internal power surges
More than half of household power surges are internal. These happen dozens of times of day, usually when devices with motors start up or shut off, diverting electricity to and from other appliances.
Refrigerators and air conditioners are the biggest culprits, but smaller devices like hair dryers and power tools can also cause problems.
External power surges
An external power surge, stemming from outside your home, is most commonly caused by a tree limb touching a power line, lightning striking utility equipment or a small animal getting into a transformer.
Surges can also occur when the power comes back on after an outage, and can even come into your home through telephone and cable TV lines.

1.5                                              EFFECTS OF POWER SURGE

Appliances such as home theatre system in our home is filled with items susceptible to power surges. Anything containing a microprocessor is especially vulnerable - the tiny digital components are so sensitive that even a 10-volt fluctuation can disrupt proper functioning.
Microprocessors are found in hundreds of consumer items, including TVs, cordless phones, computers, microwaves, and even seemingly "low-tech" large appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators.
Large power surges, as with a lightning strike, can cause instantaneous damage, "frying" circuits and melting plastic and metal parts. Fortunately, these types of power surges are rare.
Low-level power surges won't melt parts or blow fuses, but they can cause "electronic rust," gradually degrading internal circuitry until it ultimately fails.
Small surges won't leave any outward evidence, so you may not even be aware they're happening - even though they may occur dozens or even hundreds of times each day.

1.6                                              PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The purpose of this paper is to build an intelligent surge protective devices play an integral part in improving the operability and reliability of appliances and its components. Applications include connection to power equipment, as well as data and signaling circuits for control, monitoring and communication. The selection and application of surge protective devices based on transient exposure levels are discussed.

1.7                                         SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
The advantage of this device is to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A surge protector attempts to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold.

1.8                                              PROBLEM OF THE PROJECT

1. One problem with surge protectors is that the voltage sensor can burn out with one good surge. This is why it's good to get a protector with an indicator light that tells you whether or not it's functioning properly.
2. Never use a surge protector with a step-down transformer usually, having 220 volts between neutral and ground in an appliance designed for 110 volts is not a problem — the insulation has a large safety margin. However, if you connect a surge protector (or a piece of equipment with built-in surge protection) on the 110 volt side, bad things can happen.

1.9                                 APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT
Surge protector can be use in  Power grid  High-power electrical devices, such as elevators, air conditioners and refrigerators. These high-powered pieces of equipment require a lot of energy to switch on and turn off components like compressors and motors. Home – in consumer appliances.

1.10                                                RESEARCH QUESTION

This work brings answers to question that related to this work, such questions are as follows: What is power surge? Where do these spikes transient surges in voltage or current come from, and what should you do about them? What are the causes and effect of surge on appliances? Where do spikes transient surges in voltage or current come from, and what should you do about them?

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