Back-up power is one of the most overlooked features when a new office or building is being designed.
If having a back-up power source sounds like a luxury, consider this: Can you afford to have your production line shutdown for hours while you wait for the electric company to get the power back on?
While you may have data back-up for your computers and servers, chances are good data will be lost during a power outage or surge. And consider the time spent trying to retrieve that data once the power comes back on.
That’s when most companies call Robert Morog, president of LTI Power Inc. in Elyria. It’s usually after a business has lost thousands of dollars in data or lost productivity during a power outage or surge that it calls him for one of his Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems.
Many of his clients are involved in emergency services businesses — police and fire departments, hospitals and military bases — and clients include the New York Transit System, Bank of America, NASA and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
“They would lose a quarter of a million dollars every three minutes their reservation system is down,” Morog says. “People call a UPS system an insurance policy.”
Constant power
A UPS system, if linked with a gas-operated generator, can run your office or factory’s critical systems, including computers, phones and alarm systems, for days during a power outage.
Moreover, when the power goes out, machines hooked up to the UPS system don’t notice a difference, Morog says. The system’s battery power takes over instantly.
“A generator alone usually takes at least a half-hour to get going,” Morog says. “A lot of businesses can’t wait that long.”
Clean power
UPS systems work as a power filter even when the electricity is on, so machines receive a steady current without spikes or dips, Morog says. That’s why during an outage, the UPS system can take the variable power from a gas generator and even it out.
“Spikes and surges damage your equipment,” Morog says. “It might not fail today, but if it’s been hit pretty hard and it’s weakened, maybe the next surge will take it out.” How to reach: LTI Power Systems Inc. (440) 327-5050.
