Audio and Video Solution Insights

Why Power Quality Should Be a Priority for Your Office

Written by Craig Heiman | Jul 29, 2021 4:31:15 PM

Every day, our power grid has to accommodate more and more devices, yet grid power is rarely updated. Unfortunately, due to increased demand for power, an aging infrastructure and renewable integration, power quality is getting noticeably worse. Especially in dense areas, such as California, Texas and Florida, networks are becoming increasingly less reliable. It’s not uncommon to see power flicker on and off, and if not protected against, this can damage or destroy electronic devices. It’s not just inclimate weather that is causing surges and sags in power. Today, overloading a circuit is a common reason for surges and sags as the grid continues to be overloaded with more devices. Power conditioning is one method you can use to combat these aggressive surges and protect your data and devices. 

Power conditioning cleans the power that is received from a utility or portable power. It is much more than surge protection, though. True power conditioning will eliminate surges and sags to provide protection from natural occurrences (such as lightning strikes) and low distortion. Power conditioning helps scan the power grid and make sure a safe level of power is delivered to your devices. 

Power sources go through numerous power spikes and surges throughout the day. Power conditioners ensure your space has a constant equal flow of uninterrupted power throughout these fluctuations. When there is a sag or surge in the power supply, power conditioners switch over to battery power to avoid interruption or abrupt shutdown. Power conditioners clean and level out energy before it reaches hardware. Small scale strip surge protectors won't help against large, unpredictable surges and should especially not be relied on for large electronics. 

In addition to suppressing power surges and preventing interruption, power conditioners also remove noise from electromagnetic interference. Electrical currents can be affected by other appliances or currents from nearby wires, damaging or warping the original signal.

AV Planners’ manufacturer partner, SurgeX, is a surge protection market leader and has offered some of the most well known and trusted power protectors for over 25 years. Their products provide surge protection, noise filtration from radio frequency and electromagnetic interference and provide power management solutions. SurgeX products eliminate surge energy without harmful side effects such as ground contamination. SurgeX SX1115-RT is one of their most popular power conditioners, protecting against surges up to 6,000 volts. Additionally, the SurgeX Squid provides boxed network control, AC and DC analytics, and front-end protection, along with the remote analytics and monitoring features of the SurgeX enVision. With its included diagnostic support, our clients will spend less time troubleshooting after an outage and more time solving the problem at hand. 

Building a future proof system remote monitoring devices will not only improve the quality and reliability of electrical power today but will ultimately facilitate the most efficient use of all power sources in the future. As power quality declines, power conditioners work to provide you with the cleanest and most even power possible. It’s unlikely power will become more reliable in the near future, so power conditioners are your best bet for maintaining a strong power supply. Investing in a power conditioner for your business will save you time, money and resources in the long run. 

AV Planners standardizes power conditioning solutions to ensure clients have clean, uninterrupted power. Contact AV Planners to learn more about our services. Keep up with the latest news from AV Planners on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.