Loadshedding And Your Network Hardware
Due to loadshedding, many businesses face additional expenses that otherwise would not have been incurred on electrical products that, seemingly for no reason, stop working. This in turn also affects suppliers as they will likely be accused of selling inferior products however, while poor quality products and bad installations can cause problems, the biggest threat to a products lifespan is its expsire to loadshedding power surges which will damage even the best electronic procucts on the market.
When an electrical surge takes place, majority of electronics continues working however, being hit time after time by these voltage spikes will eventually cause the equipment to be unable to continue handling them eventually leading the equipment to fail. Many circuits today have metal oxide variators to protect against occassional surges but even these are not strong enough to protect the circuits after repeated spikes due to loadshedding.
How Can You Protect Your Network Equipment?
South African businesses, apart from finding an alternative power source such as solar power, are at the mercy of Eskom and the only solution is to ensure the protection of their electronics. These precautions are inevitably going to cost the business short-term but will definitely save money in the long term because most suppliers do not have warranty’s against surges.
Surge protection in a business running multiple electronics (which is all businesses) is an absolute necessity in the current Eskom crisis which has lasted for many years and is not expected to be resolved any time soon. A Level 3 surge protector offers protection by plugging into the wall and then plugging your electronics into the protector. Level 2 surge protection is the ideal as it is added to the circuit board by a professional in order to protect the entire premises.
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to loadshedding and its effects on businesses. The best way to protect your network is through implementing the relevant surge protection or unplugging devices where possible during scheduled loadshedding times.