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Tutorial: About Power
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Power Problems Cost U.S. $26 Billion Annually Poor power quality goes right to the bottom line. According to estimates published in Business Week magazine and the Electric Power Research Institute Journal (EPRI is a non-profit R&D lab of the U.S. electric utilities), power quality |
| problems are costing U.S. businesses $26 billion a year to accommodate and correct. Power Problems: Computer Enemy #1 Half of all computer problems and 1/3 of all data loss can be traced back to the power line (Source: Contingency Planning Research, LAN Times, Business Systems magazine and others). Based on an estimated downtime cost of $18,000 per hour for a mid-sized LAN (Source: Sentry Market Research 1994), an investment in power protection can typically pay for itself after only one or two power problems. Power Problems: Network Enemy #1 Utility power is the least reliable component of any computer or network system (Source: IBM, Bell Labs and others). According to an IBM study, each month computer systems are typically subject to more than 125 power disturbances that can potentially crash computer systems and destroy valuable data. Since power is the weakest link in any network, power protection is your #1 defense against costly network downtime, equipment damage and data loss.  Today's electronics demand quality power The complex nature of microprocessor-based electronics makes electronic equipment highly vulnerable to power disturbances. Power disturbances are frequently the cause of subtle problems such as computer lockups and electronic component wear. However, they also cause more devastating damage--data loss, disk crashes and burnt electronics. Despite giant technological advances in computer microelectronics, one law of nature still exists: no power, no data! All it takes is one small power outage to lose data. Worse yet, if the outage strikes while the computer is saving a file to disk, all the data stored on the hard disk may be lost. Unacceptable Utility Power By their own admission, electric utilities cannot provide the clean and consistent power required by today's electronic equipment for safe operation. According to PEAC, "... the modern desktop PC and the public power supply system are not considered to be compatible." Due to power line hazards, load interactions, power line switching interruptions by the utility, etc., utility power is not compatible with computer systems without additional power protection and conditioning. Switch-Mode Power Supplies Require Clean Power As stated by PEAC, the switch-mode power supplies of PCs and other electronic equipment are NOT compatible with the public power supply. In fact, switch-mode power supplies add to the "dirty power" problem by generating much of the harmonic distortion noise on the power line sine wave (Source: PEAC, Maintenance Technology magazine and others). Poor Outlook for Utility Power Unfortunately, the bad news about "incompatible" utility power is that it is expected to get worse. Due to environmental and nuclear safety concerns, the construction of new power plant capacity is increasing at only half the rate of power demand (Source: North American Electric Reliability Council).In 1999, almost every region of the U.S. is expected to have inadequate electric power capacity. The same is also true for parts of Europe and other areas of the world. Faced with a shortage of power, utilities are forced to cope with excessive power demand by scheduling "rolling brownouts" in certain areas during peak demand hours. Power Problems Within Your Own Facility According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and other power quality research labs, 50% to 80% of the power problems affecting normal equipment operation are generated from within your own building or local vicinity. On-site electrical equipment such as air conditioners, elevators, copiers, laser printers and even other computers may cause computer data loss or shortened equipment life by generating voltage sags/swells, spikes or line noise. | |
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White Paper - 223 KB - Download a black and white 14-page analysis of uninterruptible
power supplies, detailing the key things you should consider when choosing a
UPS. This file is in .pdf format; for more information, see the downloads section. |
