SURGEX: GET THE RIGHT POWER FOUNDATION IN PLAC

GET THE RIGHT POWER FOUNDATION IN PLACE

Now is the time for integrators to focus on the quality of a home’s electrical power foundation of a system and EI Live is the perfect place to start that journey, says Justin Peyton, Director of Sales EMEA at SurgeX.

Since the pandemic more and more of us are now working from home at least part of the time. Transforming the home into a place of work has been big business for integrators, providing homes with robust, resilient and secure wi-fi connected spaces, capable of running high quality collaboration and video conferencing systems. This layer of technology is not only a must-have in many homes today but, by its very nature, it is also mission-critical for clients.

Another influential pandemic trend is the move from urban living to the greener spaces of the countryside. By improving the technology that allows working from home, clients of many integrators with second and, often, third homes outside of the city have been able to make these properties their primary living – and working - spaces.

And, with clients and their families spending so much more time at home, integrators have also been busy upgrading the ‘bread and butter’ technology systems that allow their customers to enjoy rest and relaxation time in their homes. The volume of ‘connected’ electronics in the home has increased significantly, putting more pressure on the supply of reliable and resilient power to make sure everything runs smoothly, all of the time.

An integrator’s reputation is tied to the smooth performance and reliability of the systems that he or she delivers for their clients. Integrators may not be the energy suppliers but providing an effective power management solution will preserve that reputation as much as it will protect the sensitive, high value electronic system installed within the client’s home from downtime and damage. Outside of the city, where a clean, consistent electricity is less certain and power outages more common, this service becomes even more important.

No power environment is the same, but every power environment can wreak its own kind of havoc on a smart home system. Power into the home is subject to a range of potentially problematic issues - sags, spikes, surges, neutral-ground voltage, outages, electrical noise, and more. At SurgeX, we’ve seen that up to 85 percent of problems with home technology setups are power-related. That’s a staggering stat. And it’s easily avoidable.

To protect the smart home and keep it running as intended, power management and conditioning must be an early priority. Depending on the needs of the power environment, proper power management solutions will vary. Typically, a strong solution will include power conditioning and voltage regulation in some capacity, cleaning power before it reaches the electrical equipment. Integrators looking to reduce service calls will also typically want to recommend a device that measures and reports on electrical metrics — including voltage, current, power, frequency, power factor, and crest factor — in addition to remote reboot to quickly reset and address problems in the power.

It’s essential that integrators understand which solutions will be the best fit to tackle power problems from every angle. For example, while an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) unit might eliminate blackouts, it must be paired with power conditioning features to

The ABCs of Power Conditioning

Input AC

A B C

Surge Diverter

Low Impedance Isolation Transformer Noise Filter

D E F z

Voltage Regulator Battery Backup System Frequency Regulator Output AC

G

Ground Loop Control

Every solution includes our ABC power foundation: A) a Surge Diverter, B) a Low Impedance Isolation Transformer, and C) a Noise Filter. Battery systems, regulators, and ground loop control can be added, but the most effective power quality solution starts with the ABCs.

keep other anomalies away from equipment. And, while UPS solutions with line interactive technology react quickly to power outages, the shift to backup is not instant like an online double-conversion solution. Not all solutions have remote monitoring and reboot built in, so these features need to be considered for hardto-access project locations.

At EI Live! we’ll be able to talk you through the different Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) options, including increasingly popular online double conversion UPS technology. We can talk you through the practicalities of design, specification and installation and demonstrate why UPS is now a necessity on every home installation not a luxury.

An online double conversion UPS provides uninterrupted, consistent, clean power, irrespective of the condition of incoming power. It filters and converts incoming AC power to DC, and then back to perfect AC from the inverter. Unlike line interactive UPS modules, double conversion online UPS technology isolates output power from the input power 100% of the time, protecting loads from any voltage anomalies or drop-outs.

If the mains power is interrupted, the batteries are still holding up the incoming DC supply to the inverter, so the load continues to be supplied with absolutely no interruption whatsoever. The zero-transfer time guarantees mission critical home office, media streaming and other systems remain up and running throughout, with the inverter always online to supply the clean, reliable and resilient power supply that’s essential in optimising system performance and reliability.

All clients want a great experience from the technology installed into their homes. Power management is the foundation that makes that possible. Having the power management conversation with the client at the outset shows that you’re thinking through your system design from the building blocks right through to the end goal of their experience. Without it, installers jeopardise the performance of high value equipment and the costs associated with its failure. Why take such a risk? Invest in UPS.

For more information visit SurgeX on the Invision Stand 53 at EI Live! 2022. More details on SurgeX can be found at www.surgeX.com.

The SurgeX wireless net adapter card allows remote access to the UPS