We’re pleased to announce the availability of the VIX series Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS System). Available in two models, 600VA (VIX2060) or 1200VA (VIX2120), these are high value entry level UPS Systems designed for PC applications.
Their line interactive design means that they will protect against voltage fluctuations without needlessly dropping to battery, conserving battery power and life. Each model provides surge suppression, with the 600VA model having a dedicated surge suppression only output port. The pseudo-sinewave inverter makes the systems appropriate for use on stand alone PC’s and software is provided to allow safe shutting down of the PC in the event of mains failure. Communication with the UPS is via a USB interface with supplied cable. A simple LED display shows UPS status at a glance.
The 600VA model will provide protection for all but the most powerful of systems, and the 1200VA for higher powered systems or for added runtime.
VIX Series Uninterruptible Power Supplies
Take a look at this article: Buying and Spending Smart: Ways to Save Money in Your Small Business. Some sound advice, particularly #17 – Save Money By Avoiding Losses.
It’s important in any business to keep costs under control, but this does not mean spending no money at all. In many cases an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) may seem like an unnecessary expense, you rack your brains trying to think of the last time you had a power cut and can’t remember. So why bother?
Well, a power cut is only part of the power quality spectrum for a start. What about a surge? Or transients? Dips, noise, harmonics? There are many phenomena that can cause problems with your electronic systems (computers et al) which you should need to protect against. The cost to your business can be huge.
Imagine working on your spreadsheet, or presentation, or important tender document and out go the lights. You’ve lost everything! Or maybe not, you sensibly had the auto-save function on, so in fact you’ve only lost 10 minutes. Phew -not so bad. But then when the power comes back on, your PC no longer starts up. The sudden power loss has caused your hard drive to fail. Not only now do you not have access to anything you have done since your last backup (you did backup didn’t you?), you now have the expense of having your PC repaired, the data extracted, and not to mention the hassle of it all. I bet it’s cost you a damn site more than the UPS would ever have done.
We have a great range of UPS systems at competitive prices for people just like you. Depending upon your level of risk we have a suitable solution. If you want to protect against simple surges, black outs or brown outs, try our VIX range. You can pick up a UPS for under £30 which will protect your PC and shut it down safely if required. At this price it seems crazy not to!
For your more high powered and critical servers, go online double conversion. This way you protect against almost everything poor power quality can throw at you.
I’ve been reading a lot about remote access and monitoring of UPS systems recently. It’s quite easy to do now. In the good old days you had dial up modems that you could call and interrogate the UPS, or the box of tricks could be configured to dial you when it received a problem signal from the UPS.
Now SNMP adapters have enabled the UPS to be connected to your network and can be monitored and even controlled by anybody who has access to that network. Here’s where a lot of the text has been about. Not about the ability to be able to monitor the UPS, but rather the security issue it poses.
A network managers worst nightmare
Many systems come with default security settings which apparently many people overlook when setting up the system. What happens is that any hacker with a bit of UPS knowledge gets into your network and not only does he try to plant a few viruses hear and there or extract some data, decides to switch everything off just for the hell of it. A nightmare scenario for any network manager.
I’ve even heard of some clients who are so scared of the possibility that they refuse any communications with the UPS at all, instead relying on the automatic starting of the gen sets in case of mains failure and visible and audible UPS alarms. This seems a bit unnecessary as monitoring the UPS by a web browser is a useful tool and can be secure provided the correct protocols are followed. Just remember that once SNMP is enabled the UPS is part of the network and your network security protocols should cover for this.
A fierce legal battle has ensued down under, with regard to whose fault it is, when equipment is damaged due to poor power quality. Is it the billing provider? Is it the grid company? Or should the customer just have known better?
Ok, maybe it’s not that fierce but an interesting article nevertheless, although it’s written by lawyers so you need to go over it several times to have a clue what’s it’s all about. You can read it here.
Well, it looks like the answer they’ve come to in NZ is that it depends, but it looks like the retailers will be educating their customers on the benefits of surge suppression and Uninterruptible Power Supplies. About time too.
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.
