Management matters: Power through it

Jeffrey S. Krause is senior consultant at Affinity Consulting Group LLC.

Or worse, your desktop computer shuts down, losing that project you’ve spent hours on. 

With winter weather on the horizon, now is the time to ensure you and your staff have everything needed to continue serving clients during power outages. 

Where to start 

In 2022, the average electric customer in the United States endured two power outages lasting a combined five-and-a-half hours.¹ In Missouri specifically, power providers averaged a little more than one interruption per customer and a total loss per interrupted customer of slightly more than two hours.² Those numbers include major events such as winter storms and tornados. 

When it comes to protecting yourself and your firm from power outages, you should apply a cost-benefit analysis. For example, if your only consideration is ensuring your laptop remains operational during an outage, adding a generator at your firm or house is probably overkill since laptop and cell phone batteries can outlast most power outages. Plus, many cell phones have the option of turning into a hotspot that can provide temporary internet access. 

On the other hand, there are plenty of critical devices that will not have power during an outage. Network connections, workstations, servers, and peripherals such as monitors and printers need continuous power to operate. 

Making the best decisions for you and your firm about backup power requires three questions: 

– What do you need to keep devices running during a power outage? 
– How long do you need them to run? 
– How much are you willing to spend? 

There is also one additional consideration you must remember: Power surges are bad for all electronics. When the lights flicker or the power comes back on after an outage, there are typically surges in power. When making decisions about backup power, you’ll want to ensure it protects against power surges. 

Power on the go 

When you are on the road, your backup power needs are limited. As mentioned earlier, your laptop and phone will outlast most power outages, and the combination of the two provides internet access if you have a cell signal and hotspot. However, both will need to charge eventually. If you will be away from any source of power for an extended period, you will need a portable battery. 

A battery that can charge a cell phone may not be the best when charging a laptop. Most portable backup batteries are like a one-gallon gas can; it won’t fill the tank but will get you out of a jam. Read the specifications of each backup battery you research but understand that every laptop is different, and it is difficult to predict how long any given battery will take to charge your laptop. 

Surge protection on the go is also easy. Consider a small power strip that includes surge protection, two to four outlets, and several USB connections. 

Options when working from home 

When working from home, there is much more to consider. Once again, your laptop and cell phone may be enough to keep you working through most outages. However, if you are using a workstation or if you have a setup that includes things like a USB dock, multiple monitors, soft phone (aka voice over internet protocol, or VoIP), or any other peripherals, you need to keep those running during an outage. In addition, you need to keep any internet-related devices operating. This includes your modem, router, Wi-Fi extenders, and a network hub if your home is cabled. 

This is where a cost-benefit analysis really comes into play. You can keep these devices running for at least a short time with an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). A UPS acts as power strip and surge protector but also has a battery backup. There are many options if you search online for “uninterruptable battery backup.” 

The hard part is figuring out what you need. Most units are designated as something like 1500VA, which indicates the voltage and amps. What you need to know is the amp hours of the battery and the wattage use of the items you plan to connect to it. 

Do the math and determine how many watts of devices you will be plugging into the UPS. For example, a desktop computer might use 75-250 watts, while a 22-inch monitor typically consumes anywhere from 20-45 watts. 

Next, determine the watt hours of the battery. A 12-volt, 9-amp battery stores 108-watt hours. That means you can power 108 watts of devices for one hour, 216 watts of devices for 30 minutes, etc. In other words, no UPS is going to run forever on battery power, but 30 minutes may be more than enough to outlast most outages and certainly enough time to save your work before powering everything down. 

Follow the same process to keep your internet-related devices running on a separate UPS. 

Lastly, consider surge protection. You can buy individual surge protectors or have a whole-house surge protector installed. 

Protecting your office 

If you lease space, you have limited options when it comes to backup generators. Your landlord may already have it covered. If not, they are unlikely to invest in a generator for just your space. On the other hand, if you are the only tenant, they may be open to the idea if you are willing to contribute to the cost or endure an increase in rent. 

Regardless, there are things that can and should be protected. This starts with your internet connection and should include any other networking devices and your server, if you still have one. All these devices should be on a UPS capable of powering them at least as long as it takes to properly turn them off. 

Consider smaller UPS devices for your desktops to ensure you can properly save things and power down. The interruption of a power outage is bad enough without losing a critical document you have been working on for the past hour. 

Conclusion 

Power outages may be infrequent and short-lived. However, they tend to come at the worst possible time and may prevent you from getting that important document completed and filed. With a few simple precautions, you can protect yourself against most outages. Or, if your situation warrants, you can spend some money to keep the lights on and continue working through much longer interruptions.

Endnotes 
¹ U.S. electricity customers averaged five and one-half hours of power interruptions in 2022, U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (Jan. 25, 2024), www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61303. 
² Annual Electric Power Industry Report, Form EIA-861 detailed data files, U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (Oct. 10, 2024), www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861.