Power Protection Featured Article

Let’s pose a very simple question: How can you protect your equipment from power problems? You may think this is simple and self-explanatory, but millions of businesses worldwide lose power – and more importantly, profit and customer satisfaction – every year. What about problems that can occur with utility power, which types of protection (surge protection and Uninterruptible Power Supplies – UPS – or a battery backup system) are needed for your various applications? Perhaps even more importantly, do you know the difference between each type of power device?

Don’t sweat it, because industry expert and power protection solutions provider, Minuteman UPS/Para Systems (News - Alert), has got you covered. In a brand new edition of its power learning series, Minuteman’s Director of Marketing, Bill Allen, tells all.

So let’s get to the very basics by answering the question of what kind of power problems businesses can encounter. Four scenarios Allen gives are as follows:

• Blackouts: A total loss of utility power (equipment shuts down)
• Brownouts: A short-term decrease in voltage (equipment shuts down)
• Surges: An over-voltage which can burn out power supplies and internal components
• Spikes: A short-term server over-voltage which can cause severe damage to internal components

Image via Minuteman

 “These problems can have a range of causes, including lightening, floods, wind and other natural forces, as well as manmade events such as construction accidents, fires, utility power issues and rolling brownouts,” Allen explains.

Now on to the power protection equipment. We’ll start with surge protectors, which are protection for non-critical equipment. “For non-critical items such as…printers and other devices that will not be required during an outage, a relatively low-cost surge protector will provide protection from spikes and surges that can cause permanent damage,” Allen says, citing Minuteman’s MMS Series Surge Protectors, which utilize hardware that directs excess voltage away from your equipment during a spike or surge.

“While a surge protector is great for defending against over-voltage situations, these represent only a small fraction of the total power problems that can occur,” he notes; however, when it comes to the biggest power problem scenarios involving mission-critical equipment, one needs to rely on more than what only encompasses the tip of the iceberg.

Stay tuned for our second informational piece, where we’ll dive into Minuteman’s full range of power protection solutions for your business’ mission-critical equipment.

And even better, Minuteman’s surge products are included in the company’s Instant Rebate Program, happening right now. Click here to learn more on how you can save for a limited time only.