Uninterruptible power supplies are a critical element of any modern data center. As more and more of the world goes online and as more mission-critical data is store in the cloud, the importance of uninterrupted power is only going up. It is an indispensable resource, as access to power means access to data, and access to data has a direct correlation to the function of a modern business.
Unfortunately, many of the terms thrown around aren’t well-defined for people that aren’t otherwise familiar with the particulars of the power supply industry. “Power quality” and “power distribution” are often cited as important, but what do those mean, really?
Power quality refers to how steady the voltage and current are. This is something that most people don’t have occasion to think about. On the scale of a home, with relatively low power-draw, power quality just won’t matter much until a surge from a lightning bolt blows a bulb or a blackout happens at the nearest power station.
However, in the context of industry, or at a large data center, the quality of the power correlates often to the function of the machines used to store and record data. Having the voltage or current drop or rise unexpectedly can cause malfunctions that, while easy to miss in a household, are unacceptable and costly in a datacenter.
Power distribution ties in with power quality, and refers to how evenly power is spread from a power resource to a device that needs power. You always want power distribution to be steady and equal, as this preserves power quality and subsequently the function of the machines being used.
Quality power distribution will allow multiple devices to function at the same degree of quality. In the long term, this means better synchronization between them and better function of an entire network. Again, it’s something that’s easy to overlook in the average home or office environment, but you can see it plainly if you have occasion to operate or establish a data center.
TNB Power Solutions is a reliable source for quality power supplies. Power quality and even power distribution are among their listed priorities, and datacenters are their specialty. This is the sort of attitude you want to look for if you need power supplies for your company’s datacenter. Power quality and distribution are things that cannot be taken for granted, so make them a priority; it could save your data.