Quanmax KUBE-8110 User Manual - Power Protection

xxii        KUBE-8110 User’s Guide

X

Power Protection

The greatest threats to a system’s supply of power are power loss, power spikes, and power surges caused 

by electrical storms, which interrupt system operation and/or damage system components. To protect your 

system, always properly ground power cables and one of the following devices.

X

Surge Protector

Surge protectors are available in a variety of types and usually provide a level of protection proportional 

with the cost of the device. Surge protectors prevent voltage spikes from entering a system through the AC 

power cord. Surge protectors, however, do not offer protection against brownouts, which occur when the 

voltage drops more than 20 percent below the normal AC line voltage level.

X

Line Conditioner

Line conditioners go beyond the overvoltage protection of surge protectors. Line conditioners keep a 

system’s AC power source voltage at a fairly constant level and, therefore, can handle brownouts. Because 

of this added protection, line conditioners cost more than surge protectors. However, line conditioners 

cannot protect against a complete loss of power.

X

Uninterruptible Power Supply

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems offer the most complete protection against variations on 

power because they use battery power to keep the server running when AC power is lost. The battery is 

charged by the AC power while it is available, so when AC power is lost, the battery can provide power to 

the system for a limited amount of time, depending on the UPS system.

UPS systems range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, with the more 

expensive unit s allowing you to run larger systems for a longer period of time when AC power is lost. UPS 

systems that provide only 5 minutes of battery power let you conduct an orderly shutdown of the system, 

but are not intended to provide continued operation. Surge protectors should be used with all UPS 

systems, and the UPS system should be Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety approved.