Brownout (electricity)

A brownout is a drop in the magnitude of voltage in an electrical power system.

For other uses, see Brownout (disambiguation).

Unintentional brownouts can be caused by excessive electricity demand, severe weather events, or a malfunction or error affecting electrical grid control or monitoring systems. Intentional brownouts are used for load reduction in an emergency, or to prevent a total grid power outage due to high demand. The term brownout comes from the dimming of incandescent lighting when voltage reduces.

In some countries, the term brownout refers not to a drop in voltage but to an intentional or unintentional power outage (or blackout).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.