Equipment malfunction: Equipment being switched on in adjoining offices can cause transient surges. Any equipment sharing the ring main can be effected. This can cause computers to crash unexpectedly, and sometimes this can result in the loss of hours of work. When a computer hangs or crashes we usually blame the software. This is not necessarily the case. It is not just computers that suffer, any equipment with electrical components or circuit boards get damaged. Fax machines, printers, hi-fi, TV’s and many other electrical devises are equally affected. Equipment degradation: This has a more serious side effect in that long term exposure of lower levels of transient overvoltages will degrade electronic components and computer circuitry affecting the equipment’s life and increasing the possibilities of total equipment failure. This can result in no fault found service call and either the isolated component or the whole unit being replaced. Equipment damage: Larger surges and transients overvoltages can cause serious damage. The increase in voltage will vary from a few volts to thousands of volts. Electrical components and circuit boards in the path of these surges and transients can be burnt out causing instant malfunction of product, but usually there will be no visual indication of component failure except that the unit will no longer operate. This can all take place in less than a microsecond.