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CABLE WORLD STAFF
In his presentation at this year's SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies - now available as an online audiovisual lecture on the SCTE Web site - Ralph J. Brodd, Ph.D., president of the consulting firm Broddarp of Nevada, emphasized the growing importance of battery backup powering. Citing a decrease in the development of new equipment and generating plants, Brodd says we will experience more power outages in the future.
"Twenty years ago," said Brodd, "we had 30% excess capacity and generation capability; today it's around 10% excess. That means there's a good possibility outages will happen more frequently."
Natural disasters, weather and downed telephone poles can also cause outages. Other situations affecting power quality are transients or spikes, surges or over-voltages, noise and sags or brownouts.
"These things really do happen and are significant," said Brodd.
UPS prevents damage According to Brodd, an uninterruptible power system (UPS) is critical in protecting against the damage caused by outages and other situations affecting power supply. He explained: "The UPS acts as a buffer between electronic equipment and the utility power - that's what it's designed to do. If it detects a change in the quality of the power, it instantly acts to remedy that damage or to maintain the server."
No break in the power Brodd talked about three backup systems now in use. The cheapest is the Off-Line UPS, a common choice for home computers. The Off-Line UPS monitors incoming power and, when it detects a problem, switches very quickly to maintain power. The second is the Line Interactive which, priced mid-range, is a step up from the Off-Line system. The third system in use today - and the one Brodd recommends - is the On-Line system.
"There is no break in the power," said Brodd. "There's an input filter, and this is where the detection goes on. The power then transmits through to an AC/DC Rectifier, and all the power goes through the battery supply."
According to Brodd, that's the key element that sets the On-line system apart. "The other two systems don't have that firm connection through the battery supply."
Buzzwords of the industry In his lecture, Brodd also talked about backup powering options we can expect to see in the near future. "Lithium polymer and lithium ion polymer are the buzzwords of the industry," he said. "And that's where most of the action is occurring today that is new and interesting."
According to Brodd, lithium polymer has the capability of being the lightest and most powerful, with more energy content per unit volume and per unit weight, than any other energy system under development. "You may not have to put the battery in the basement anymore," he said.
To learn more about battery backup power options, tune into Brodd's lecture by visiting the "Online Lecture Series" at www.scte.org. The site contains other lectures, also focused on advancing technologies, from leading industry experts.
New lectures coming to the site in December include: "Home Networking Fundamentals," Parts 1, 2 and 3, by Richard F. Annibaldi, Dec. 4-18; and "Digital Measurements for Quality Services," Part 1, by Steve Holmes, Dec. 25.
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