I was reading this article by A.N. Other UPS Company, who state “power protection should always begin with a power quality review to analyse the actually [sic] quality of mains supply and the level required” (Feel free to read it yourselves: http://plumbingsupplie-s.com/947024-Uninterruptible-Power-Supplies-UK.html ), and I thought “Why?”
Why do you need a power quality survey? It may be that you have poor power and so a power quality survey will show you this. So, you’re experiencing problems, you suspect power quality is the reason, a chap arrives with some gadgets and then tells you that you have a problem. OK, so far insomuch as you’ve confirmed that power is, or just may be, the cause of your problems.
What if the survey shows nothing wrong with your power? What then? Do you go searching for other causes? Or perhaps the power quality problems you have didn’t manifest themselves during the survey?
I bet I can predict without turning up at anybody’s premises whether or not they have good clean power. Here’s some rules. The further you are away from the substation, the worse your power quality will be. The more equipment there is on the same network, the worse your power quality will be. If you’re in a rural location, supplied by overhead cables your power quality is probably terrible. This is simply to do with impedance and current. Of course, conversely you can get good clean power if you’re close to the substation with minimal loading on the network. But what about during a thunder storm? Or during utility grid switching? Or during a fault?
The point is, a survey may reveal problems with your power. Whether or not these power quality issues have anything to do with the problems you experience is another question. However, there are also a multitude of power disturbances that may not be detected at a survey but can cause devastation to your systems. So, if any of your electrical/electronic systems are of value to your business, it’s wise to protect them from any eventuality in any case. Protect them with an online double conversion Uninterruptible Power Supply and you’re done.
Simples.
