While electronic equipment is different for a sports arena, a nightclub or an office building, they all need energy for their operation and in the same way they all face the same dangers inherent in the energy grid. Generally the first thing that comes to mind when talking about the dangers of AC energy is lightning, especially in some areas of South America that experience the highest lightning strikes per year on the planet.
Although these natural phenomena can have devastating effects on equipment due to the high amount of energy they transmit, it cannot be ignored that there are other factors that cause havoc in electronic devices. In this sense, we must bear in mind that the AC energy infrastructure was built more than 100 years ago, and although the technology in our equipment has evolved, the basic system to power them is still outdated and in many areas it presents poor maintenance and has many problems.
By design, power substations send countless pulses through AC cabling over the course of a week. This is due to the necessary change from one transformer (or substation supply) to another during the day, thus adjusting high demands. This hidden danger is the cause of many seemingly unexplained problems and many erratic behaviors in today's electronics, and without proper protection the problems will manifest themselves more frequently over time (increased digital errors, data loss and distortion, just to name a few.)
