It is very necessary and important that appliances and similar kinds of equipment have reliable protection against transient voltage conditions because it is very common that these types of equipment can suffer significant damage caused when a transient voltage appears in the ac voltage line. Transients arise internally from normal circuit operation or externally from the environment. The latter is particularly frustrating because the transient characteristics are undefined. A statistical description can apply though. Greater or smaller stresses are possible. Long duration high voltage transients are much less probable than those of lower amplitude and higher frequency.