Computers, we got to have them, don’t we? Not too many years ago, we could live without them. But the power we hold in our hands these days with our phones has more computing power than a PC from the not too distant past.

It’s true the world is becoming “Mobile”, but with that said, there are still more computers and laptops in the world that are plugged in than mobile devices.  All those computers need power, reliable, old-fashioned, electricity. Those PC’s and laptops are filled with sensitive electrical boards and components that need clean power.

 

Clean power or dirty power, what kind of power do you have?  Did you realize that most power coming into your building used by a computer could be classified as “dirty power”?  Whether it's called a surge, a sag, a spike, a transient, a fluctuation, an interruption, or noise, "dirty power" is some type of abnormality in the electricity that your computer is using.

Dirty power can originate outside of and within your building. Sources like lightning, utility switching, capacitor switching, and faults on the utility's distribution system can all affect the quality of your power. That and including daily fluctuations from internal electrical equipment that run in cycles or get turned on and off frequently can cause cumulative and equally damaging power hazards. Even a small appliance can cause problems in sensitive computer equipment that share the same line. And the more electrical equipment your company utilizes, the more “dirty” your power can get!

Computers, yes they are pretty robust these days, and they can withstand many power ups and downs. Many users will get frustrated and yes, hold that power switch down and cold boot the machine. What happens when that happens? From an IT perspective, that is a technician’s worst nightmare. All the components and boards in the computer literally crash, the hard drive with files or databases in an open state crash, and databases/files can and do become corrupt and unusable.

 

So, the importance of clean power is essential and the only way to get it is to have a fully functional UPS (uninterruptible power supply) with line conditioning built in to clean your “dirty” power. With clean, efficient power, your PC will run like a champ and those dreaded crashes from power surges or outages will be a thing of the past.

Like the old commercial stated… “Pay me now or pay me later”. Catastrophic power failures will eventually present themselves on your computer systems. Money spent up front can prevent those catastrophic failures! Money spent on a reliable UPS with “line conditioning” is money well spent.