Batteries Not Included
Posted by Dana Camp on May 25, 2008 in Computer Care
I have seen some red glows coming from underneath the desks of many of my clients. Everyone assume it’s the same thing. “It’s just that annoying light up switch they put in the surge suppression slip.” However most people don’t know what it means when that light goes out.
Sure suppression strips have a lifespan, it it typically measured in Joules, how much energy they can absorb. For a better idea, let’s go back to Physics class.
1 Joule is equivalent to:
1 Newton-Meter
1 Watt-Second*
0.2389 Calories
0.737 foot-pounds
0.0009481 BTU’s* Wattage = Voltage x Current
When a surge suppressor has to handle a surge for any reason, the excess energy gets drawn to special components in the surge suppressor to absorb the energy, it can wear out over time. When it does, the LED light under the switch generally goes out, the LED can fail on it’s own, but chances are slim. Consequently, when the light goes out, it’s best to replace the surge strip.
While your looking for dead power strips, it’s also a good idea to look for battery backup problems. Smaller battery backups are roughly the size of a large surge suppressor and contains a battery. They often have indicator lights to let you when the battery needs to be replaced. In your home, battery backups may also be more common than you think. if you have digital phone service (such as, through the cable company), the equipment often comes with a battery backup of it’s own. Alarm systems also rely on battery backups to keep everything monitored while the power is down. Manufactures recommend replacing these batteries every two years.
One of the most critical places for a battery backup, or an Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is your Server. When power is unexpectedly lost to a computer, the information on it’s way to the hard drive will be lost, and this can include more than just unsaved documents. A computer is capable of handling data much faster than the disk drive, so the information is stored in memory buffers so speed up the process. When power is lost, this buffer is lost too. If important files are damaged, this can prevent your computer from booting up.
These UPS’s do more than just keep a machine powered up. The models that we recommend for servers or for network equipment use Automatic Voltage Regulation. This means that the unit looks for irregularities with the power signal coming in and normalizes it. The clean power is less likely to cause wear-and-tear on the power supply than unregulated power. The advanced communication in these units can also be used to notify system administrators of the outage, keep a record of power events, and even shut down the system properly if the battery runs low.
With clean reliable power in, your equipment is sure to give you worry-free use.
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