Computer Lightning Protection & Smart Power Systems
The Quest for Clean Power

To maintain uptime and reduce servicing, the latest generation of electronic power conditioners guard’s data in case of power failure or lockups in ATM systems.

In the race to deliver 100% reliability for ATM applications, every integrator, value-added reseller and in-house system operator knows that power is everything, and even a momentary interruption of line voltage can lead to irreparable damage that only a site visit and rebooting can restore.

To prevent such catastrophes, resellers and network administrators are turning to a new option: digital UPS (uninterruptible power supply) units that not only provide “computer grade” power, but possess the intelligence, in the absence of an operator, to safely close down a running application in case of an unexpected power failure, thereby preserving valuable data. Recent innovations have brought the price of power-conditioning UPS units into a more affordable range, meaning dealers and integrators can cost effectively reduce unnecessary service calls while increasing ATM performance. One Canadian systems reseller reports installing more than 3,000 transformer based filtering (TBF) units throughout the bank’s network; the units did the job at an acceptable price to the bank.

The quest for “clean power” is brought out by the experience of service techs who have rushed out to handle a system crash, only to discover that the troubleshooting results in a “no problem found”. While damage caused by a large power spike, such as a lightning strike, is easy to identify, the insidious effects of power surges (less than 200 volts) prove far more difficult to pinpoint. Yet, according to studies by well-known manufacturers and independent labs, 87% of power-related failures result from low voltage surges that cause “logic confusion”, thereby yielding system errors and frozen screens.

Unstable line power often stems from poor wiring in old facilities. Yet, even new facilities can suffer from the immediate effects of power surges and sags from line voltage variations within the building, such as when an HVAC system cycles on and off, or laser printers printing pages, or a floor heater or fan.

In the past, standard surge protectors and higher-priced power filters have been used to protect against high voltage spikes. However, these devices are not intelligent enough to handle the relatively small spikes and over voltage that momentarily disrupt sensitive electronic equipment.

While isolation transformers – the traditional choice by some technicians – have been available to help avoid power surges, they are prohibitively expensive and unwieldy in size and weight for the tight spatial constraints of most ATM applications. In addition, UPS have traditionally lacked the ability to safely close down an open application before they run out of power. No one device could cover all the bases, until now.

Recent technological advancements by companies like Smart Power Systems (www.smartpowersystems.com) in the field of power conditioning have yielded devices that provide computer grade power – a clean, filtered power supply to the protected equipment – at the same price as limited-function surge protectors or filters and traditional UPS’s and Smart Power Systems have the ability to power down your computer if the utility power is not available using UPSwing software.

Manage and Monitor Power Quality with Our Power Management Software

Smart Power Systems provides comprehensive power management software solutions for standalone or networked computers including SNMP support. Our power management software enables users to manage and monitor power quality and usage network wide through a single dashboard interface.

Features

• Automatic Save and Shutdown for unattended PCs
• Reboot/Shutdown scheduling
• Self test scheduling
• Power condition analysis
• Online display of input / output voltage and frequency, battery capacity and load level
• Dashboard interface
• Send on-line commands to UPS such as Test, Shutdown, Sleep and restart
• Extensive logging of all UPS operation and power quality data
• Event & date analysis
• Events and data bar charts presentation
• Graphical display of power quality
• Run in background even before user login

For more information on power conditioning, filtering, ups or surge suppressors, call

Computer Lightning Protection at 1-800-792-6312
or visit www.computerlightningprotection.com

Approved Retailer for

Smart Power Systems at 713-464-8000

or visit www.smartpowersystems.com

Smart Power Systems, Inc.

1760 Stebbins Drive

Houston, TX 77043

Reference: http://www.smartpowersystems.com/content/articles/archives/magazinearticles/CSD.pdf