Line conditioners

[terryfic]

I'm having a lot of power related problems on my computers and lights and projectors. I think my power is really funky. Does anyone know of a good system or gear to condition the power coming in?

[kbob]

that's one to find a friendly electrician to help you run it down. You need "stiff" power, or power that doesn't fall off under heavy loads.

You might be under spec'd for your current requirements, or overloading a single phase, for example.

Or the power coming in from the outside transformers might just be low-I've got a friend with that problem at an Italian Deli nearby.

For the lower power draws, of course, big UPS's will help a lot, as will separating the phases your lighting and the rest of your gear (sound and projection, usually).

[Steve Vanciel]

Like kbob said, be sure to track down where your power is coming from. Could be that other equipment in your building is drawing down the supply or creating fluxuations. Air conditioners, coffee pots, copy machines, flourescent lighting, computers and many other devices can create issues. An ideal solution is to have a power transformer to provide electrical isolation for your gear. Other conditioning will depend on what your power survey reveals about voltage variances, harmonics, proper bonding of the grounding conductors and the grounded conductors, etc. Be sure to do the survey under full operating conditions to get a true picture.

[Gracetech]

It's always a good idea to put most of the stuff you would find in a booth(your front end gear) on a UPS. Other than that you will definitely need to follow the advice and get a electrician to calculate your load vs. your service. In small churches i can push a 250amp service to 400amp without even blinking. At two of my campuses i have separate 400amp and 600amp services for AV gear alone.

The reason i say use a UPS versus a simple line conditioner is that you have a line conditioner plus backup power and you'll find that they run practically the same price.

crt