The Cost of Hurricane Season

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those still working to recover from the devastation caused by the damaging hurricanes. – Energy Control Systems

After a rather turbulent peak of the 2017 hurricane season, a lot of companies’ interest in UPS systems have been piqued. Even those not in the direct line of the storms were left without power and had to shut down business because of the nature and strength of these hurricanes. Downtime from loss of power can be detrimental to a businesses’ operating systems. This is where a UPS system comes into play.

The uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system is very important to avoid downtime from power outages. It is your UPS that keeps your IT systems running until backup generators, if you have them, can begin to power the equipment. For businesses without generators, a UPS system can provide enough time to gracefully shut down critical processes so that damage does not occur. Some people rely only on UPS systems to get them through outages; it depends on the nature of your equipment on what will be the most cost-effective for you.

The size of your UPS depends on your load. If the UPS is too small for the load, it can mean shorter runtime or a complete shutdown and drop of the attached loads. If your company experiences growth and the load increases, it may mean that you need to update or upgrade your UPS system.

Having a UPS system is not all that is required, though. You will need to maintain your UPS to make sure it is up-to-date and has the sufficient battery power to rely on. UPS system batteries do not last forever and need to be checked and changed. A battery will generally last 3-4 years. Many UPS systems come with low-battery warning indicators, but it is a good idea to check the UPS system on a regular basis.

Many systems have the ability to monitor and manage the entire UPS online. This allows a company to remotely check devices from a central location and stay alerted to any issues that may arise, including energy use and environmental conditions.

All of this gives you greater security for avoiding downtime where your operating systems are concerned. No more dealing with long reboots or reinstalls to become functioning again. If your business relies on cloud-based operations, you can ensure continued access as long as you have a UPS that allows for enough runtime during extended power outages for your network equipment and your loads. This will provide the runtime you need to upload your data and safely shut down, so long as the cloud servers are working.

While the intricacies of the UPS system may be overwhelming, ECS is here to help you determine what is the best and most cost-efficient way to protect your investment.