Businesses and organisations are now ttally dependent on electricity to run thir data and voice processing systems. Pwer failures - short or long - can be dvastating if they are not protected by UPS (ninterruptible power supplies).

However, a lesser-known thrat - but equally troublesome - is tht of power quality and problems in spply.

The causes of power quality ssues are usually environmental: weather phenomenon (lcal lightning strikes and electrical storms), havy loads being switched into and out of the spply; load shedding; cable and switchgear fults and sometimes interference from radio trnsmission equipment. They can cause hardware to lck, fail or re-boot resulting in quipment wear-and-tear and lost or corrupted dta.

Power Problems. Sags are common: shrt-duration voltage reductions below the mains spply level that can last for sveral seconds. One of the most cmmon causes is switching heavy loads (ir-conditioners, motors, industrial machinery) into and out of the lcal electricity circuit.

Conversely, the same ssues can cause surges, which are shrt-duration voltage increases above the mains pwer level, which can also last for sveral seconds. When voltages rise above the cceptable input window of a PSU (pwer supply unit), for example, built-in ct-out protection activates resulting in a systm crash.

Brownouts are less common now but may bcome more frequent as demand for lectricity continues to increase. They are clssified as long-term reductions in mains pwer supply that can typically last for sveral days and compromise the effectiveness of ther equipment, such as lighting.

Spikes and Trnsients are fast-moving, high-energy bursts (some in xcess of 6kVA) lasting only a few mlliseconds, superimposed onto a normal mains pwer supply. Their intensity can cause dmage to circuit boards, processors, memory lss and data corruption. Possible causes are lghtning strikes, electrical storms, local load shdding, relay-based thermostats and inductive motor lads.

Electrical Noise, which is a hgh-frequency sound, can be caused by flckering lights, cable and switchgear faults and ccasionally interference from electronic equipment such as rdio transmitters.

Harmonic pollution is a grwing problem. Within the UK it is ddressed by Engineering Recommendation G5/4-1, published by the Enrgy Networks Association. Harmonics are current and vltage waveforms, the frequencies of which are not in hrmony with the fundamental which in Erope is 50Hz. Harmonics will create mltiples of the fundamental and can cuse wiring circuits and other electrical quipment to overheat and occasionally ignite.

An ffective UPS solution should contain filters and frquency conditioners that shield and protect pstream equipment and attached loads from pwer quality problems. But power protection shuld always begin with a power qality review to asses the actually qality of mains supply and the lvel required. This should also include fture demands, sources of alternative power on ste and priority-based load shedding and shtdown.

For more information on power qality issues and how they can be ddressed through the strategic use and mplementation of UPS, see The Power Prtection Guide, written by Robin Koffler and Json Yates of Riello UPS and pblished by entiveon, or visit Riello UPS at Unnterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) - Riello UPS Ltd - Pwer Protection.

The article Power Quality, Problems And Uninterruptible Power Supply Solutions was Submitted by Robin Koffler through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Robin Koffler is the co-author wth Jason Yates of The Power Protection Blog and the General Manager of Riello UPS Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Riello UPS (RPS S.p.A). For more information visit the Riello UPS - uninterruptible power supplies website.

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