Why Electrical Contractors Should Include a UPS in Every Job

This audio was created using Microsoft Azure Speech Services

We are living in an increasingly digital world, with lots of electronic devices doing all kinds of important jobs for us. This fact presents a big opportunity and, indeed, a responsibility for electrical contractors: supplying a uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with practically every job you do in order to protect those devices.

Consider the simple example of a bakery housed in a small commercial building. Inside will be ovens, of course, which are today outfitted with sensitive electronic sensors and, likely, monitoring capabilities that allow for remote control over time and temperature. It will also have refrigerators that have similar electronic monitoring and control capabilities. Cash registers are also essentially small computers. For the bakery to be successful, all of these components need to be “always on.”

Get the message out: Digital devices need UPSs

That means all of these electrical loads require the kind of protection against power failure or disruptions that a UPS provides. So, when you are specifying the electrical infrastructure for the customer, you need to explain why a UPS is a crucial component to the success of the business.

It’s a message that should resonate, because everyone has come to rely on these digital technologies – and understand that it’s a problem when they’re not available. In our bakery example, if a circuit breaker trips and cuts power to the refrigerator after hours, it could cost the bakery thousands in lost inventory. On the other hand, UPS protection would enable the refrigerator to remaining running long enough for the integrated monitoring system to alert the owner to the issue, who can then take steps to remedy it.

Similarly, consider what happens if a power disruption occurs during the bakery’s busiest time, cutting power to its cash registers. Suddenly the bakery can’t take credit card payments. If the outage lasts, say, an hour, that could easily be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Here again, UPS protection would keep the registers functioning, enabling the bakery to process transactions as usual – and probably garnering appreciation and goodwill from customers who will be impressed that the store didn’t miss a beat during the outage.

UPS applications abound in any business

This is just one small example; others are all around us, in just about any commercial or industrial building. Each business is likely to have equipment specific to whatever it does that requires protection. It could be anything from an office with lots of computers and networking gear to a parking garage with cash registers as well as gates that require power to go up and down.

Then there are elements that are common to almost any business, including:

• Emergency lighting
• Fire alarms and smoke detectors
• Security cameras
• Access control systems
• Telephones
• Digital signage or warning devices
• Elevators
• Pumps
• Building management systems

Ultimately, as an electrical contractor, part of your job is to give customers peace of mind that their electrical system will be “always on,” supplying the power that is crucial to their success. That means educating customers as to what a UPS does, and why it should be included with any new electrical system or distribution panel.

Access UPS eGuide for Electrical Contractors and Specifiers

To learn more, download our free guide, “UPS Basics for Electrical Contractors & Specifiers: How to Choose, Configure and Cost-Justify.” It will get you up to speed on UPSs, and help you conduct meaningful conversations with customers about why in this digital age a UPS is a crucial component of their electrical infrastructure.