According to Eben Owen, Enterprise and Solutions manager for South Africa at Schneider Electric, the threat of power surges, spikes and lightning during the South African summer, makes it critical to have reliable power protection in the home or business.
“Although most people use a reliable surge suppressor or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to protect their PCs, many do not understand the need to protect themselves from ‘back-door’ surges, such as those from communication lines and computer peripherals,” he says.
South Africans have come to expect load-shedding during the winter season, but according to Eskom the longer days and warmer weather of summer also put pressure on the country’s power grid. As the temperature soars in any location, so does the demand for electricity. Increased use of air conditioners and indoor electronics accompanies such heat waves, taxing most electricity providers’ supplies.
“This is also often the time that the utility carries out maintenance measures which essentially means more outages,” says Owen. “Companies and individuals need to keep power protection as top of mind in order to avoid permanent damage to expensive and sensitive electronic equipment, equipment downtime, lost productivity and lost data caused by power fluctuations.”
“Furthermore, South Africa’s summer months bring with them rain, storms, lightning and over-voltage, particularly in Gauteng. Frequent lightning accompanying summer thunderstorms may cause over-voltage that can damage electronic devices and can lead to short-circuits or even fire,” he explains.
Owen adds that Schneider Electric recommends power protection for PCs and peripherals including printers, telephone/fax lines and cable modems, as well as other sensitive household devices such as televisions, stereo systems, DVD players and satellite dishes.
The first point is to start with AC line surge protection. At the very least, any “critical” electronics should be protected from harmful surges or spikes.
“Regular outlet strips aren’t helpful unless they contain a surge suppression capability. Look for surge protectors with low let-through voltage ratings. This can assist during a blackout by evening out the fluctuations in electricity when the utility restores power. A surge protector should also offer a warranty that not only covers the surge protection device, but the electronic equipment that it is protecting,” he advises.
The next step is to close off any possible entry for surges, which can enter equipment via any connection leading into the unit, including electrical or telephone cords, data lines or coaxial cables. This can be done by choosing a surge protector with telephone/data/line/coax protection.
In order to deal with high power demand, overburdened utilities often reduce their voltage output. This process sends sags, short term decreases in voltage, along AC power lines. Also known as brownouts, sags are the most common power anomaly, accounting for up to 87% of all disturbances.
Bearing this in mind, the third step to consider is runtime. Owen explains: “In addition to basic surge protection, users should consider devices that would benefit from continued operation during an outage. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a complete power protection solution that provides battery-supplied backup power in the event of a brownout, blackout or over voltage.
“A UPS allows the user to complete a transaction, save ongoing work and gracefully shutdown the equipment. Surge suppressors and UPS systems on the market today can also provide protection against the risk of surges through telephone/fax/modem, cable, television and network lines.”
If a particular application requires constant uptime and safe shutdown is not an option, companies should size their UPSs according to the runtime needed during a power outage. Battery backup units range from a few hundred VA for the protection of desktop electronics, to the millions, sufficient enough to protect an entire facility.
For the larger-sized applications, customers have options as to whether single- or three-phase UPSs are the best fit for their power needs.
“Users should ensure they have some options for the update of older power protection solutions. This could be as simple as a battery replacement, but it is recommended that users replace their older solutions where possible,” adds Owen.
During the initial moments of a blackout, business users anticipate the kick-in of an onsite generator and imagine this to be sufficient for the normal, continuous operation of their sensitive IT equipment; but battery backup is still considered a wise investment for several reasons. “Most large, onsite generators take time to start up, requiring a crossover solution until they reach the appropriate power level.
“A quality UPS can handle this transition. Also, the operation of motor-driven generators is typically accompanied by voltage transients. A decent quality UPS helps filter the sags and surges that can harm sensitive electronic components. The same advice is applicable for smaller generators meant for home applications,” he explains.
Lastly, in terms of technology, computer users can also benefit from the use of power management software. This software monitors the quality of power entering the user’s building, keeps a log of power events and notifies the user if any preset threshold has been reached.
In addition, most power management software allows for the ability to automatically and safely shut down operating systems and certain running applications, as well as save any data in progress.
