If you’re reading this, there’s a strong chance that you already have an idea of what a UPS power supply is. I’d imagine that phrases such as ‘disaster recovery’, and ‘emergency power supply’ are flashing through your mind right now.
And you know what? You’re half right.
UPS power supplies do provide an emergency power supply in the event of a power outage, either to enable the safe shutdown of your equipment or as a stopgap until the backup generator system kicks in.
The trouble is, not only do UPS systems have another (more important) role but if you’re only considering implementing UPS power supplies on the basis of disaster recovery, it probably won’t happen until it’s too late. You see, as a species, we’re terrible at assessing risk.
But more on that later. For now, let’s consider what an uninterruptible power supply actually is.
More Than Just An Emergency Power Supply
A UPS, or uninterruptible power supply, is a device that sits between the mains power supply and your critical systems, performing two primary functions:
1. Providing an emergency power supply in the event of a power outage
2. Filtering disturbances from the mains power supply to provide safe, clean power
Disturbances? What disturbances?
Well as it happens, power outages are not the only thing that can go wrong with your mains power supply. Here are some of the others:
· Spikes– Short, rapid fluctuations in voltage, ranging in intensity from a malfunction at the power company to a locally grounded lightning strike
· Electrical noise– A ‘catch-all’ term for interference in the power supply lines, which might be caused by load switching, cable faults or radio frequency interference (RFI)
· Surges– A sustained voltage increase, usually occurring after a large load is switched off
· Sags– A drop-off in the mains power supply, usually occurring when a large load is switched on
· Brownouts– Identical to sags, but with much longer duration; these occur when the mains power supply is unable to cope with the current load demand
· Harmonics– Current and voltage distortions caused by loads such as computers, photocopiers and laser printers, which pull current from the mains supply in large peaks
Power Outages: A Red Herring?
OK, so there are plenty of things that can go wrong with the power supply, and in fairness, many people are aware of that. The problem is that these minor fluctuations are often more damaging to your equipment than a complete power outage would be. It’s easy to imagine the implications of a power outage on your organisation – Loss of business, inability to trade, data loss or corruption, and so forth.
But did you know that temporary, generally unnoticed fluctuations in your power supply often do far more damage to your equipment than power outages? The phenomena described above can easily result in a reduced lifespan or even failure of your critical UPS power systems.
But what does all this have to do with risk assessment?
If you read the Schneier article linked earlier – and I suggest that you do – you’ll notice that he highlights the tendency for people to worry about spectacular (but rare) risks whilst ignoring far more likely ‘mundane’ risks.
In the UK the average time between mains power outages is 10,000 hours or 445 days. By contrast, the average time between power disturbances is as low as 50 hours in some areas. Combine these figures with the damage caused by disturbances, and we find that power outages are not only by far the least frequent of power issues affecting your systems, but they’re also almost always the least expensive.
Clearly, then, it doesn’t make sense to consider uninterruptible power supplies purely on the basis of power protection against outages.
Protecting Your Business
Hopefully, this article has helped to explain what UPS power supplies are, as well as putting the various risks averted by UPS systems into perspective. The headline that you’ll still be able to work (or at least safely shut down your equipment) in the event of a power outage is a good one, but I can’t emphasize strongly enough the importance of protecting your business against power disturbances.
If you’re running a small business, KOHLER Uninterruptible Power offers a range of strong, single-phase UPS systems which are designed to provide small scale critical power protection for computers, small-medium sized server rooms, network hardware, telecommunication systems, CCTV and more. These UPS power supplies will offer power protection for your equipment every day from the impact of harmful disturbances in the mains power supply, and – of course – in the event of a power outage they’ll enable to you safely shut down or transfer to an emergency power supply.
Don’t get me wrong – defence against power outages is very valuable, and if you’re constructing a business case for implementing an uninterruptible power supply I wouldn’t blame you for using it as a major argument.
But when you come to the cost/benefit analysis, it’s vital to include the impact of power disturbances – Quite simply they’re much more common, more damaging, and more expensive.
For more information regarding any of our UPS power supply products or services, you can get in touch with KOHLER Uninterruptible Power via our contact page or call us on 0800 731 3269.
