So why do you need standby power?

Did you know that 80% of computer problems are power-problem related – far more than viruses!
No matter where you look in your office, you’ll find advanced technology at work.

• Scanners
• Laser printers
• Photocopiers
• Computers
• Fax machines
• Servers

These electronic items are highly sensitive. Their operation can be affected if anything disrupts the electrical current powering your office. Your computer might shut down unexpectedly or you suddenly lose data. Your fax machine malfunctions. Or lights flicker. These can all be signs of power quality problems. In fact, any distortion of electricity that damages an electrical device, or causes it to malfunction, is considered a power quality problem.

What causes spikes, surges and other power quality problems? The answers can be complex. Sometimes, they happen when a storm knocks a tree onto a power line or if your power supplier’s distribution equipment fails. But in many cases, the answer can be found in your own office. The culprit may be the wiring in your building, interconnected office equipment or the electrical connections powering the elevators or heating and cooling systems.

As well as total mains failures there are several other power related problems that can harm your equipment, or cause data loss

• Sags - Transient under-voltage which can be caused by heavy loads such as air conditioning or industrial machinery - Causes IT hardware to lock-up, fail or re-boot.
• Surges - Relatively short duration of high voltage. Power surges could be caused by the shut-down of a generator or other industrial motor on the local supply circuit - will cause systems to crash and causes components to wear over extended periods.
• Brownouts - Under voltage for an extended period of time. Prolonged and frequent brownouts cause equipment to malfunction or not work at all.
• Over voltage – Long periods of high voltage can cause blown fuses or breakers to trip
• Line noise – Distortions/electrical superimposed on the power waveform - causes electro-magnetic interference and data corruption.
• Frequency variation - Deviation from the nominal frequency - causes motors to increase or decrease speed.
• Switching transient - Instantaneous over or under voltage. Causes erratic behaviour in electrical equipment - memory loss, data error, data loss and premature component wear.
• Harmonic distortion - Multiples of power frequency superimposed on the power waveform - causes excess heating in wiring and fuses.

For non-critical electrical equipment, an off-line UPS will protect against:

• Power outages
• Sags
• Surges

For more sensitive electrical equipment, a line interactive UPS will protect against all the off-line UPS protected problems plus:

• Brownouts
• Over voltage

For mission critical electrical equipment, an on-line double conversion UPS will protect against all the listed power problems.

If long periods of complete power protection are required for a long period an on-line double conversion UPS with generator back-up is the answer.