Preparing for an electricity shortage
It is at the end of winter, in February or March, that our country is likely to face power cuts, because Switzerland does not produce enough energy in winter.
Insurance companies have already warned individuals and businesses that damage related to power outages may not be covered.
Insurers argue this choice by the fact that the population has been warned, it must prepare and find solutions today.
Faced with potential power cuts this winter, are you well insured ?
To avoid lengthy and complicated procedures with your insurance company, make sure to secure your computer system instead.
Power failure and loss of computer data
Power outages, undervoltages and power surges are responsible for half of computer damage and data loss.
While rare, power outages can have a negative impact on your business and long-term consequences.
There are 3 major problems, related to the current, which can undermine your IT structure :
- Power failure : it poses a problem both in terms of data loss due to the unexpected and sudden outage, but it also has an impact on the hardware which can remain damaged. We think in particular of the hard disk, one of the most fragile components of your computer, very sensitive to electrical failures.
- Overvoltage : This is a sudden increase in the voltage delivered by your electrical installation. Uncontrollable and diverse, the causes can be due to a problem on the network or even a storm … The computer takes a much greater electrical load than expected and it can reach components such as the hard disk, the processor or the motherboard.
- Undervoltage : it usually comes from a problem on the electrical network… but that’s not all. A bad connection of your electrical systems can also be responsible for undervoltages, which will put a strain on your computer (many connections to the same multiple outlet for example). Stops for no reason, strange mistakes, dimming lighting… The risks are lower, but some computers suffer hardware damage as a result of this kind of problem. The hard drive, in particular, does not like its power supply to weaken as well.
It is therefore essential to know the impacts that power failures can have on computer equipment. In everyday life to protect our personal data such as our documents, photos etc … but especially from a professional point of view, to effectively protect the IT infrastructure of his company.
Power protection is particularly vital for networking equipment. Most companies rely on their IT infrastructure to perform day-to-day business activities like online order registration, customer service, and even monitoring and executing their production lines.
Emergency power supply, to take over
Power protection for computer equipment is most often provided by backup power systems.
To put it simply, a backup power supply is a device that provides emergency power in the event of a mains power failure. For this, it uses one or more batteries and control circuits.
Unlike backup generators, standby power systems provide near-instantaneous backup power, virtually eliminating any interruption in input power.
However, backup power batteries can provide backup power for a limited time called “backup operating time” of the backup power.
This operating time allows secondary power supplies to be turned on or protected devices to be shut down. Thus, a backup power supply is not a continuous power source while attempting to restore AC power .
The most common use of a backup power supply is to provide a short-term battery backup during a power outage.
However, most backup power systems can compensate for a variety of power-related problems.
- In the event of a total failure: the emergency power supply takes over from the power grid for a limited time allowing at least important data to be recorded and saved.
- In case of power surge: high current can damage equipment, most backup power devices are designed to eliminate power spikes.
- In case of undervoltage: the backup power supply maintains a constant output voltage throughout the voltage drop to allow the equipment to operate normally.
