Technology Showcase: Power Conditioners

Oct 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Bennett Liles

The wide spectrum of devices goes beyond controlling voltage fluctuations and removing noise.

The Samson Technologies PowerBrite Pro is a 1RU distribution and lighting system intended to deliver three-point surge and spike protection and radio-frequency filtering. The unit includes front-panel LED lamps in retractable cylinders to illuminate rack equipment. The PB15 Pro model also provides a USB lamp socket on the back and front-panel volt meter and ammeter. There are eight switched outlets on the rear panel and one on the front. The rear outlets are mounted horizontally and vertically to accommodate standard 3-pin plugs as well as external transformer AC power adapters. The front panel also has a 15-amp circuit breaker and a slotted air vent.

The SEQ programmable sequencer surge eliminator and power conditioner from SurgeX is a 2RU unit with two rear-mounted, always-on outlets and three physical banks, each with four switched outlets. Included is a fourth “virtual bank” of outlets for controlling remote units so that several SEQs can be operated together. The front panel includes an LCD display with unit status and AC-line voltage indication in addition to programming information that is saved in non-volatile memory. The SEQ features both common-mode and normal-mode impedance-tolerant EMI/RFI filtering, SurgeX ICE (inrush current elimination), and COUVS (catastrophic over-/under-voltage shutdown) for a full range of power-line conditioning functions.

The Tripp Lite LCR2400 power conditioner is a rackmount unit capable of delivering up to 2400W of continuous power through 14 NEMA 5-15R outlets with a surge energy rating of 1200 joules; the high-frequency noise-suppression figure at 1MHz is 80dB. A circuit breaker is provided on the front panel along with a green norm light to indicate nominal AC input voltage; a yellow light to indicate a marginal over- or under-voltage condition; and a red light to warn of substantial over- or under-voltage conditions. There is also a warning light to indicate when incorrect wiring has been detected.