Summertime is near and power outages in the Philippines are going to be more likely to occur. According to a news article by the Manila Bulletin, DOE acts to avert summer blackouts. Reported on January 22, 2018, the Department of Energy has allowed power plants to operate without certificates of compliance and sell their capacity at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Still, the Energy Regulatory Commission’s technical validation process would take 2-3 months to complete, meaning the Philippines may still suffer from power outages while the matter is being sorted out. To prepare for this, it’s recommended to get an uninterruptible power supply for your PC and other sensitive home and office electronics to avoid damage and data loss.
What’s a UPS and What does it do?
An uninterruptible power supply is like a form of a battery backup unit that protects any plugged in equipment from power interruptions by instantly providing a buffer that could last for a few minutes or an hour depending on the unit.
To describe how it works, imagine using a laptop and you suddenly experience a blackout. The power from the AC charger gets cut-off but your laptop switches to battery power seamlessly so you don’t lose any data at all. In a like manner, when there’s power interruption, the UPS kicks into battery backup mode in just a few milliseconds.
Blackouts and Brownouts in the Philippines
Blackouts and brownouts happen when there’s a complete or partial drop in voltage. Either of the two are likely to happen during tropical storms and during the summer season in the Philippines. This is relevant for PC owners looking for extra insurance since desktop PC’s don’t have batteries like a laptop has and will abruptly turn off once a blackout or brownout occurs.
UPS in action
You’ll risk losing valuable data and there’s also the risk of damage from a power surge. An uninterruptible power supply solves those problems by giving you enough time to shut down your PC and prevent power surge damage with its built-in surge protection.
Choosing a UPS
There are plenty of uninterruptible power supply unit types out there like the online and line interactive UPS, but the most common and affordable one you’ll see in the Philippines is the offline UPS which provides enough battery juice and protection features to keep your PC running long enough for a safe shutdown. It never hurts to be prepared so try to get your own UPS and be ready for the hot summer.
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