August 16, 2002—The power supply strain during summertime, especially in the Northeastern and Western United States, can result in unreliable power quality, causing blackouts, brownouts, surges, and spikes that could damage sensitive home and office electronic equipment. To help utility customers safeguard their equipment, American Power Conversion (APC), a leader in power availability solutions, offers tips on how to protect computers and other sensitive office electronics.
The most basic protection is a surge protector to combat power surges and spikes. APC advises purchasing a surge protector that has a warrantee that covers both the protection device and the equipment being protected.
The next level of protection is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). These keep computer systems running with no interruption in the event of a brownout, blackout, or over-voltage. Enhanced features for added protection include AVR (automatic voltage regulation) Boost and AVR Trim design that delivers computer grade power during the deepest brownouts or over-voltage conditions without using battery power. UPS users interested in this next level of protection should also look for systems that offer free power management software, preferably with USB connectivity for ease of installation. This type of software provides the benefit of automatic operating system shutdown and file-saving in the event of an extended outage, can log power events, and can alert the user of power problems via pager or e-mail.
Other features to consider when purchasing power protection:
- The vendor should offer professional data recovery services in the event data is lost due to the failure of their equipment to provide protection.
- Look for products that have been tested and rated by UL 1449 for surge protectors and UL 1778 for UPSs. Also, look for products that have been tested in accordance with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
For information about APC’s own line of power protection solutions, call 800/877-4080 or visit the company’s Web site.
