Power Conditioning
Power conditioning is modifying the power to improve its quality.
An uninterruptible power supply can be used to switch off of mains power if there is a transient (temporary) condition on the line. However, cheaper UPS units create poor-quality power themselves, akin to imposing a higher-frequency and lower-amplitude square wave atop the sine wave. High-quality UPS units utilize a double conversion topology which breaks down incoming AC power into DC, charges the batteries, then remanufactures an AC sine wave. This remanufactured sine wave is of higher quality than the original AC power feed.
A surge protector or simple capacitor or varistor can protect against most overvoltage conditions, while a lightning arrestor protects against severe spikes.
Electronic filters can remove harmonics.
Read more about this topic: Power Quality
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