Recently, a marketing consultant from Minuteman UPS/Para Systems, a power protection company that offers UPSs for computers, servers, peripherals, voice and data communication systems, security systems and other mission-critical equipment, wrote a report focusing on the importance of power protection within the educational environment.

The consultant, Duston Nixon, argued that this is a growing concern given that research conducted by the University of Minnesota suggests that non-disaster related power outages in the U.S. have increased 124 percent since in the early 1990s. So, while technology everywhere else is improving, power outages are rapidly increasing.

For educators, one unexpected power event can create a nightmare scenario for faculty, students and parents. Most of the controls within the educational environment put in place to create a safe environment are powered by electricity. If an unexpected outage occurs, the entire school and all inside are put at risk. This heightened risk puts additional attention on the importance of power protection.

This power protection is necessary to ensure consistent operation of security systems, which renders administrators helpless if access controls fail and the emergency notification system cannot detect fire or other problems. Clean electricity is also necessary for communications equipment and network devices, which help to deliver secure protection for all school students and staff.

Therefore, Minuteman suggests that the offensive approach to power protection is the necessary approach. This approach starts with ensuring all peripheral equipment is integrated with a quality surge suppressor, protecting against power surges and spikes. UPSs are also a must-have for vital systems, and mission critical situations may demand large amounts of backup energy, including gas or diesel power generators. Ultimately, the primary focus for any power protection plan is the elimination of a single point of failure.

For critical systems, standby UPSs, or off-line UPSs, are the lowest cost options. Standby UPSs offer surge protection and backup power through simple circuitry and passes utility power through until the power problem occurs. Line Interactive UPSs are a better option that offers automatic voltage regulation to boost power when voltage dips and buck power when a surge occurs. Still, true On-Line UPSs provide the highest quality power protection with a double-conversion of utility power.

Any organization that relies on electrical power for standard operation cannot afford to ignore the importance of a power protection plan. This plan needs to consider both the budget and the runtime requirements, but it will force the organization to understand the necessary tools to have in place to protect viable assets. In the schools, those assets are of course the children.