How Higher Altitude Effects Electricity

You may not realize it but living high up above sea level effects a lot of things in our daily lives. Have you ever brought a ketchup bottle into the mountains and had it explode all over you? That has to do with the new altitude you have introduced it to, but what does that have to do with electricity? Pulling back to the last topic of AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) power supplies, AC is what we use for our power grid, while DC is used more in electronics like televisions and cell phones. If you want a more basic understanding of these, refer to our article on ‘The Basics of Electricity as a Water Hose’.

Now going back to the question why would altitude affect energy, we have to dive into that air is used as a insulator. Because ‘air’ is employed as an electric insulating medium (aka, dielectric) in the building of power supply and most electronic devices, altitude has an impact on their design.The air around you is heavy, and it pushes against everything it comes into contact with. Atmospheric pressure is the name given to this pressure.The force exerted on a surface by the air above as gravity draws it towards our planet is known as atmospheric pressure.

Altitude determines the level of force. At sea level, air has a high density and dielectric strength (insulating property), but at higher elevations, the thinner air loses some of its dielectric strength, which must be accounted for.

So when we are working in higher altitude conditions it is important to have proper safety features installed. Switchmode power supplies work at high voltages (90 to 265 Vac inputs) and generate even higher voltages (400Vdc or more) internally, which must be insulated and contained to prevent high voltage arcing or breakdown within the supply, as well as to safeguard end-equipment and operating employees.

Knowing all of this now it is very important that you check with the manufacture to see if the power supply is appropriate to where you are living and if the conditions will work for you, or if an alternative design made for higher altitudes is needed.