It is ironic that in times when reducing energy dependency is in every headline, we are becoming more dependent on it than ever before. Digital money is replacing cash, online stores are replacing shops, central heating has replaced fireplaces, electric heating systems are set to replace gas boilers and electric cars are replacing internal combustion. There is pretty much nothing that would not collapse in an instant if the power went off.
Collectively we tolerate this because we assume it won’t. Most people living today don’t remember hurricane lamps and candles, they don’t remember cooking food in a roaring fireplace nor the power cuts of the 1960s and 1970s.
Realists know that power failures are not if, they are when. A whole host of factors can cause them, most commonly storms and component failures but also hacking and malware, political disputes and economic crises. Power failures may affect a single building, a single neighbourhood or an entire region and they may last seconds, hours or weeks.
What is most worrying is that it now takes a far smaller interruption to wreak far greater damage than was the case in the 1960s. Power loss for a split second can corrupt the integrity of databases and operating systems. When we lose access to digital tools we can’t refer back to our ledgers because, in the majority of businesses, we simply don’t have paper copies. Factories may lose control of critical processes and farms may not be able to milk or feed their animals. A couple of years ago if the power went out you would pick up the phone and call for help, but now most offices have IP phones.
Power protection is an obligation, not a luxury
As a society, we are far from coming to terms with this fragility and doing something about it. Government planning clearly doesn’t address it, so it is up to each of us as individuals, or as independent businesses to make our own contingency plans. Parents owe it to their children, factories owe it to their employees, businesses to their customers, and institutions to their dependents.
Our long-term alternatives are limited but at least UPS supplies in the UK are good. We have many well-trained and competent engineering firms in this sector. The same firms are often skilled in providing generators, storage arrays, solar panels and other alternative energy solutions. In fact, there have never been more alternative energy resources available than there are today. They are also quieter, cleaner and more energy-efficient. Equally important, modern designs produce smooth reliable current that can switch on seamlessly when it detects a brownout, blackout or other emergency situation.
Why UPS supplies in the UK are vital for business growth?
Power isn’t only off or on. The power provided by the grid varies in voltage, amperage, frequency and consistency. Power quality issues have serious implications for many businesses, affecting the quality control of other industrial processes, shortening the lifespan of most electrical components and equipment, and occasionally corrupting data. Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are the most obvious way to minimise long-term overheads as well as risk to the organisation.
All modern businesses and organisations should have a power outage contingency plan and the majority of those will need some element of hardware to support it – usually some degree of UPS investment. Modern UPS, and backup generator solutions can be modular and scalable. There is a whole range of systems and many are easily extended after installation to support business growth with minimal disruption to operations or additional investment.
Assessing your UPS requirements
Modular UPS systems are a game-changer that now allow many organisations to mitigate their risks where previously they could not afford the one-off investment for a company-wide solution or were simply daunted by the challenge of predicting their future requirements. However, the fact that we live in uncertain times underlines the urgency of securing power continuity for our mission-critical systems.
Although there are many off-the-shelf options, we strongly advise you to consult a specialist in UPS supplies in the UK to discuss your future requirements and the most up-to-date solutions.
