I’ve been thinking about the weather lately. Here in Buffalo, our spring so far has been sunny. Almost too sunny – not exactly an ordinary springtime here, but we’ll take it!
Other parts of the country haven’t been as lucky. Right now, many parts of the South and Midwest are battling floodwaters brought upon by violent storms. As these storms have made their way across the country a brief electrical storm passed over our way as well, which got me thinking; what is the one problem I have most frequently seen this time of year?
Power issues.
Spikes, sags, interruptions and cycle or frequency variations threaten the health of electrical components, computers, networks and the data they carry and store. A server or PC lost to a sudden, unexpected power issue can be devastating, and it doesn’t take much. A common static discharge, although harmless to a person, can be lethal to a circuit board.
Lightning generated in storms, which increase in frequency this time of year, can pose a larger problem. Lightning can create an enormous environmental disturbance, threatening any device that can carry electrical currents. Furthermore, it doesn’t take a direct lightning strike to cause damage. The electromagnetic fields created by lightning can be just as damaging. These electromagnetic fields can be strong enough to induce a current into any nearby conductive structure, including electrical infrastructure, telephone and coaxial cables.
A sudden change in voltage can cause a system failure, threatening data storage and consistency.
Protection from these environmental hazards is a must. But what is required?
We see a lot of people, in an attempt to keep costs down and increase the number of outlets available near equipment, purchase very inexpensive surge suppressors or even simple power strips. This is an inadequate solution to protect equipment from power issues and can even create other unexpected issues.
At a minimum, one should consider investing in a good surge suppressor. Our recommendation is nothing lower than a 1500 joule rating. A joule is the amount of energy the suppressor can absorb before it fails. The higher the rating, the better it will protect the equipment attached to it. Of course, nothing is fool-proof and even the best suppressor will fail given a large enough spike. Also, if you’re using traditional phone-line communications with a modem, look for a surge suppressor with a telephone line protection jack.
A good surge suppressor will protect your equipment from over-voltage events, but is not effective for other power events – under-voltage, interruptions, and other out-of-phase occurrences can still cause damage by creating instability in the electrical system your technology depends on. That is why at Aspire we always recommend an Uninterruptable Power Supply, or UPS, for every computer, printer, server and phone system we sell, service and/or install.
There are three basic types of UPS units:
1. Standby UPS – this is the most basic type of UPS. In a standby system, under normal A/C power, the attached equipment will be powered from the A/C source while the UPS unit maintains a constant charge to its battery. When a power event occurs, the UPS will switch to battery power. This switch-over can be as long as 25 milliseconds, but in most cases will keep your electronic equipment running smoothly. They also provide surge suppression against over-voltage situations. The benefits to these UPS units are their relative affordability and surge suppression. The drawback is they provide no line conditioning and even with a fast switchover it might not be fast enough at times to keep your attached equipment powered properly through the event.
The Eaton Powerware 5110-1500VA is a great all-purpose Line-Interactive UPS!
2. Line-Interactive UPS – similar in design to a Standby UPS, but these devices can maintain a consistent energy flow to attached equipment using variable-voltage transformers to balance electrical output through over and under-voltage events. This is becoming a more common technology even in inexpensive UPS options.
3. On-Line UPS – Provides electrical isolation by powering attached equipment from the battery at all times. The battery power provided maintains a consistent cycle and flow regardless of the events on the electrical system. These tend to be larger and more expensive, used more commonly in data-center and enterprise environments
Of course when considering a UPS solution, other factors such as equipment voltage, amperage and desired run-time on battery power must be determined. Aspire Technology Solutions can help you find the UPS solution that will best fit your requirements!
And remember the only sure way to protect your equipment during a storm is to shut it down properly and unplug it from A/C power. And I can’t stress this enough; always make sure you do regular and frequent data backups to guarantee your data will be safe regardless of what Mother Nature surprises us with!
