Electronics Protection - January/February 2012 - (Page 8)

Feature Extending the Life of Electronics Jeff Spence, President and COO Innovolt It’s time for a wake-up call regarding power and its role in electronics protection. Why am I calling for this? Let’s start with a little bit of history. The original two-prong electrical plug and socket were invented by Harvey Hubbell and patented in 1904. Driven by a convenience factor, Hubbell invented the plug to eliminate the possibility of making an error when wiring a connection so that electrical power could be utilized by people with no electrical skill. The next advancement came in 1928 when Phillip F. Labre added a third ground prong in order to reduce electrical shock. Based on this end-user design, power grids expanded nationwide to provide rudimentary power for things like lights, heat and other simple analog equipment. Nearly a century later, after decades of electronics innovation, we still use the same century-old grid to power the electronics in our businesses, data centers and homes. There’s something wrong with this picture. The fact is, electronics have grown increasingly sophisticated and the grid powering them is seriously antiquated. With that said, since the inception of the plug and socket, power protection devices have been invented to protect our electronics, beginning with the surge protector and then uninterruptable power supply (UPS) technology. Similar to the plug and socket, these devices have advanced minimally from a power protection standpoint and are limited in their ability to meet the protection requirements demanded by the digital world. More than ever, electronics are increasingly complex and sensitive. New enhanced features and gadgets require more processors. Everything is a mini-computer, from DVR systems in the home to complex server equipment in data centers. Although surge protectors and UPS protection do aid in shielding electronics to some degree, the technology supporting these devices is no longer practical in today’s landscape of ever-increasing electronic density and complexity. These technologies are either too expensive or ineffective for long-term protection. But before we dive into the technology, the first question should be: why should we even care? Electronics in industrial, commercial and residential environments have two things in common, they all require power to operate and all are significantly impacted by complex power disturbances. An inconsistent power grid places the reliability and efficiency of electronics equipment at constant jeopardy. Factors such as productivity, profitability and even customer satisfaction, are at risk when electronics aren’t protected. Many consumers and businesses are unaware of these effects until it is too late, therefore having an effective system in place to protect assets and avoid damages and costly service calls is imperative. I like to think this would be simple, but the awareness of the damaging effects and how costly these are is lacking. half of one percent are caused by voltage surges and spikes, and a small percentage of failures actually results from power outages themselves. These daily disturbances include a complex array of voltage sags, brown outs, over voltages, power outages and voltage surges and spikes. No two disturbances are the same, and the increased complexity of these disturbances in combination with one another have been proven to be catastrophic to the lifespan and reliability of electronics. Percentage of commonly occuring power disturbances. According to the Electronic Power Research Institute, these daily loss-generating disturbances have been referred to as “the most important concern affecting most industrial and commercial customers,” annually costing hundreds of billions of dollars to businesses in the US alone. It’s time to recognize and fix these issues. Whether you’re a consumer, small business or global corporation, protecting your equipment from these types of disturbances can extend the life of your electronics; ultimately saving data, time and money. The Electronics Protection Landscape to Date Vulnerabilities The initial need for electronics protection can be attributed to inconsistencies of the power grid, which is rife with variations in the flow of power. It is mind boggling to think about the vulnerabilities that exist. While the industry has historically viewed power grid variations and its vulnerabilities as easily solvable by protecting against lightning strikes and power outages, the truth is quite different, more severe in nature and far more technical. Of power related events that damage electronics, less than one8 Let’s take a look at the technology that is out there. Today’s electronics protection choices have been limited to either underfunctioning surge protectors for aftermarket consumer use or unwieldy, and expensive technologies such as UPS, for use by many large enterprise systems. Traditionally, UPS technology is quite effective from a technical standpoint. The technology protects against disturbances on the higher end by isolating electronics from the grid and powering them by battery. However, UPSs are prohibitively expensive for most applications and much too large to integrate into electronics, so users either use nothing, or turn to inexpensive surge protection that shields electronics from less than one percent of damaging power disturbances, according to reports from i-Grid. Taking these limitations and underserved markets into consideration, most electronics exist in one of the following states: 1) Protected at too great of cost 2) Under protected 3) Not protected at all The Impact on Data Centers More than ever, companies are transitioning IT infrastructure to data centers. According to International Data Corp. (IDC), there are approximately 13,000 large data centers around the world, 7,000 data centers in the US alone. Although segment growth stalled during the recession, IDC estimates about $22 billion will be spent on new data centers worldwide this year. January/February 2012 www.ElectronicsProtectionMagazine.com http://www.ElectronicsProtectionMagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronics Protection - January/February 2012

Pentair Technical Products Expands Hoffman Line of Floor-Mount Type 4 Enclosures
A Look Ahead to 2012: The New UL 50 12th Edition Standard for Electrical Enclosures
Extending the Life of Electronics
Energy Management Using Molded Polyurethane Foam Inserts
Tools for Custom Connector and Cable Solutions
PowerSkin Unveils Battery-Boosting Skin for HTC Amaze 4G
Emerson Network Power Introduces the DCF Optimized Rack System
Littelfuse Introduces the SP3012 Series TVS Diode Arrays for Protection of USB 3.0 Ports
Schneider Electric’s Cooling Solution Portfolio Brings Efficiency, Flexibility and Reliability to Data Center Cooling
Eaton’s 9E UPS Delivers Simple Power Management for Complex IT Environments
PEM C.A.P.S. Captive Panel Screws Offered in Three Mounting Styles26
Industry News
Calendar of Events

Electronics Protection - January/February 2012