Power Cuts - What You Can Do

Electrical power cuts & outages are frustrating to say the least and they seem to occur at the most inopportune times.

Here are some typical examples:-

1.      You’re in the middle of a assignment on your PC when the screen goes blank. How on earth are you going to complete this task in time? If you have a laptop, you may have some built in battery backup - but how will you print it or scan it?

2.      You’re at the local supermarket and your items are being scanned by the cashier when suddenly the lights go off and the cash register will not open. The cashier cannot even swipe your credit card due to the power outage. You have no alternative but to walk out.

3.      You have an important appointment but your electric gate won’t open as the gate motor is now without power – you’re stuck! Or, you cannot get into your property as the electric door and security gate refuse to respond to your remote control.

4.      You’re reading a report that you simply have to get through but you find yourself in the dark. You wish you had another electrical source so you could at least read and function instead of sitting in the dark trying to remember if you have any candles and matches.

5.      You’ve had a long stressful day and you’re watching a favourite TV show to unwind. The screen goes blank and the lights go out and the sudden loss of power frustrates you. You determine to get an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that will provide emergency power and will last for a few hours.

Sound familiar? Wouldn’t some standby power be a better alternative?

There are solutions to all of these problems and all of them can be solved through the use of modern technology and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). A UPS simply uses an inverter to convert normal electricity supply to charge a battery. When there is a power outage, the battery then converts its own power to provide normal 230volt power. Simple, effective and affordable too.

UPS’s have been providing emergency power to businesses and for home use for years. What if all the data used by your bank were to disappear overnight – can you imagine the chaos it would create? Thankfully, we can sleep at night because all banks have UPS systems that continue providing power when municipal or utility company power is disrupted.

The normal power supplied to your electric plugs by your utility company is known as pure sine wave current and many UPS’s are able to provide this pure sine wave electricity. This type of equipment is more expensive to manufacture than UPS’s that provide modified sine wave (sometimes called ‘square wave’) current.

 Modified sine wave systems are cheaper to purchase than pure sine wave systems but are not suitable for some equipment or applications e.g. sensitive medical or laboratory equipment.

 Over recent years many business owners and home owners have bought UPS’s to minimize disruption when a power cut strikes. Modern man lives a complex life and electricity constantly runs in the background helping us to cope with the myriad of things such as transport, water supply, banking, education, manufacturing and a host of other services we depend on. Many of them rely on alternative forms of electrical power whenever there is a power disruption. We should too.

Here are more problems associated with power cuts:

• Computers stop working – important data is lost, e-mail communication is lost and the internet is inaccessible.
• Cash tills stop working – you cannot receive or dispense cash; credit card machines also become inoperable.
• Office equipment stops working – you cannot copy, fax, scan or print
• Employees stop working – they become frustrated, miss deadlines, zero productivity
• Lights stop working – customers cannot see, staff cannot see, theft becomes easy
• PABX stops working – no calls in or out
• Security doors refuse to open and lifts get stuck.

Home owners can have similar problems such as lights, PCs, TV, hi-fi, garage doors and security gates no longer working.

Whether you own a business or you live in an apartment, you can avoid so much unnecessary frustration by simply purchasing a reasonably priced UPS system! A UPS should form part of your life as much as a TV does!

What about generators? Shouldn’t you purchase one of these?

It depends on the circumstances.

Generators certainly have their place and are often used to provide power to larger electrical installations such as buildings, shopping malls, hospitals etc. where UPS systems are inadequate or would require massive banks of battery power. However, generators are not always suitable due to the following

• Noise factor – some establishments will not allow noise.
• Fuel is required to run them and an adequate supply must be on hand.
• Exhaust fumes are created which can cause health problems and unwanted smells
• Maintenance is required to service the generator
• Generators are bulky and very heavy

As stated previously, generators do have their place, however, they also produce “dirty electricity” with spikes and harmonics that can damage sensitive equipment unless buffered with a UPS system. Also, neighbors may have a legal right to object to a generator.

UPS products come in a variety of sizes and power outputs and you should look for models that suit your needs and your finances. Also, how much back-up time you need will affect the price.

As with most things, supply and demand determines the price of a product at any given time. If you decide to wait until there are regular power cuts, the chances are that you will pay more as everyone will want to solve their problem just like you do. Nobody wants to sit in the dark for extended periods.

I hope this information is helpful to you.