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Need help with: Power cut prevention - UPS for netowork, secure power strips, etc

Tags:
  • Power Source
  • Studio
  • Surge Protector
  • Power
  • Power Surge
Last response: in Other Consumer Electronics
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March 6, 2014 9:41:33 AM

Hi :)  Studio I work in is investing some money in extra equipment, which i s great news for me. However building we are placed in has some bad electric done, despite the fact that it is just a few years old and is partially funded by EU.

Bad weather make us feel like we would be in cliche horror movie with all the light going bright and dim.

What would be the best solution to secure our equipment (including storage facilities with all the precious data) from getting damaged by electric problems?

I was wondering about UPS like that, but I'm open to all suggestions.

We have 5 computers (750W), local server and 12 monitors in our place.

More about : power cut prevention ups netowork secure power strips

March 6, 2014 10:16:07 AM

I think you will need a more robust UPS.
Particularly for a business.

Go to the APC web site and do some research.
If there is a power outage, how long do you need to be able to run?
It should be at least long enough to save data and gracefully7 shut down.
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March 6, 2014 10:34:16 AM

Thanks for website geofelt. I will look into it.

5 minutes per PC is enough to save all the projects and shut down. We are not looking for any high standards UPS that would last longer than that. Local server i mentioned is just a small 8TB NAS, so it is nothing that take massive amount of power like some servers can

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March 6, 2014 10:50:57 AM

You should consider CyberPower UPS. They are cheaper than APC and just as good, if not better (I personally think they are better). Since your power is so bad, you might want to consider paying a bit more and getting pure sine wave UPS. Pure sine wave UPS' from APC are very expensive, however they are about half the price from CyberPower.

http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/ups-systems.h...
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March 7, 2014 6:01:14 AM

A double conversion UPS AC -> DC -> AC gives isolation from the unregulated powerlines. Something like an APC Smart-UPS Online. You get a constant frequency and voltage out independent of the input voltage. A double conversion unit is generally a pure sine wave output. With a higher end UPS you get the ability to ethernet connect rather than USB connect to allow multiple computers to be alerted to automatically shutdown. IF you have only USB connectivity, I would connect it to the NAS to ensure it gets cleanly shutdown.
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March 7, 2014 7:19:28 AM

Thank you all for input. It helped me a lot in understanding the whole concept :) 

Also to clarify. We have problems with power not more than once/twice a month. So it is not tragic, however if a crucial hdd like NAS would get damaged it would make our lives a living nightmare :/ 

So after a short phone call to one of companies I was recommended this product ,be the person on the phone. It suppose to handle 7 minutes with our equipment on full power (however the guy didnt ask about power consumption per PC and ours are more power hungry than typical administration/office computer).

Price tag was £1100 ex VAT (include extension card that sends message over ethernet so all PCs would switch off).

We might end-up with buying only one small UPS for NAS. As for other equipment we could get some 'fuse' to prevent PCs and monitors to get damaged from unstable power. So they would shut down because of cut from power (we don't have time to save, but we could leave with that). What type of device/fuse would do that well? To be higher quality than typical fuse in building/plugs/sockets.

Once again thank you for your help :) 
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March 7, 2014 8:52:26 AM

That UPS should work. If you can, get the SNMP / Ethernet card at the time of purchase. With the ethernet card, the UPS can email admins and other things that can be useful. That option can also allow multiple devices be notified of an impending power outage. This unit is comparable to the APC Smart-UPS Online units.
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March 9, 2014 9:07:20 AM

west88 said:
As for other equipment we could get some 'fuse' to prevent PCs and monitors to get damaged from unstable power. So they would shut down because of cut from power (we don't have time to save, but we could leave with that). What type of device/fuse would do that well? To be higher quality than typical fuse in building/plugs/sockets.

The word "unstable" must have a number. For example, ideal voltage for electronics is even when incandescent bulbs dim to 50% intensity. Are your lights dimming that much?

There is no fuse for voltage variation. Voltages vary routinely. Each electronic device has a power supply to convert major voltage variations to DC voltages (ie 5, 12, etc) that are so stable as to not even vary by 0.1 volts. Is your power 'system' inside each device properly designed? If yes, then ideal voltages exist even when lights dim to 50% intensity.

With those numbers, do you still have unstable power?
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March 10, 2014 3:17:15 AM

westom,lights sometimes dim over 50%, but not always. Last time (about 3-4 weeks ago) they dim over 50% for sure (it was almost 100%), yet all the PCs were running normally. Earlier than that there was a situation when all computers plugged in one side of a room had a power cut, but other side of the room was fine (lights switched off for a moment as well). And the most classic situation is when all equipment switch off.

All of these happened during really bad weather - thunderstorm.

Quote:
Is your power 'system' inside each device properly designed?


They work fine, we used them on location outside our studio without a problem. We use Mac pro and iMac devices.
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March 10, 2014 7:24:22 PM

west88 said:
lights sometimes dim over 50%, but not always. Last time (about 3-4 weeks ago) they dim over 50% for sure (it was almost 100%), yet all the PCs were running normally. Earlier than that there was a situation when all computers plugged in one side of a room had a power cut, but other side of the room was fine (lights switched off for a moment as well).

Computers are even more robust than other electronics. Computers work normally even when lights dim to 40% intensity.

AC electric must never dim that low. Since low voltage is potentially harmful to motorized appliances. AC utility must provide stable power. Or completely disconnect to protect motorized appliances.

Dimming means the problem must be corrected. Not to cure symptoms. Is that problem inside your house or does it happen to the entire neighborhood? AC utilities quickly eliminate dimming for reasons in that previous paragraph. If only inside, dimming might be a symptom of a significantly more serious human safety issue. Another reason to fix a problem rather than cure symptoms.
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