Outdoor Active Cabinets

Surge protective devices are critical to the protection of computerized equipment against long term damage from small daily surges and fluctuations, as well as large-scale damage from surges caused by things like lightning strikes.  Equipment in the field has to contend with power surges and fluctuations just like typical equipment does, as well as a host of additional potential damaging issues that present themselves 24 hours a day.  Quite simply, some equipment utilized in industries such as telecommunications must be positioned within the public space, making it vulnerable to damage from weather, vandalism, rodent infestation and a variety of other causes.  Technical protection of equipment using surge protection devices is critical, and less technical protection of that equipment using things like outdoor active cabinets is equally crucial.

Outdoor active cabinets are specifically designed enclosures that allow for equipment placed int eh field to be protected against the elements.  The enclosures are generally designed and configured with specific industries and needs in mind, so as to allow for protection and functionality to both be considered.  The telecommunications industry is one of the primary users of outdoor active cabinets, as connections to towers and transmitters by users is the entirety of the service.  These cabinets must hold thousands of dollars worth of technically advanced equipment which must be able to function without overheating the enclosure itself and creating issues, while also being protected from the elements.  Lightning strikes and vandalism are thwarted by using high density aluminum, which prevents electricity from being conducted through the structure while still remaining strong.  Weak points where wires and cables must pass through to the outside are reinforced with grommets and other materials so as to prevent moisture penetration.  These points are also targeted by rodents looking for nesting opportunities, so additional attention must be placed on the areas to avoid damage by holes being chewed followed by moisture penetration.  In addition to these protective aspects, adequate air transfer must also happen to allow for cooling to be effective and prevent overheating.

The design of outdoor active cabinets to fit the needs of specific industries is best accomplished by the same companies providing protection on a variety of fronts, especially surge oriented protection.  Weather damage and lightning damage are the primary causes of replacement costs, as well as the costs associated with loss of customers due to connectivity issues when damage occurs.  Specifically designed and built outdoor active cabinets (street cabinets) are the best defense against the world.

Surge Protective Device

Electrical surge protection is a crucial part of any system that has the potential for damage as a result of electrical variances in current.  Many people are unaware that the flow of current that is provided to a home or industrial area is actually not fixed, and although the amount of flow that occurs on a regular basis is limited, the lines themselves have the ability to transfer more than that amount.  The most basic of surge protective devices is the breaker box, which essentially acts as a line of defense against variations in current moving past the street and into a home or complex.  The breakers are switches that cut off the flow if it exceeds a specific amount, and can then be reset manually to restore flow once it has been stabilized.  While it is actually rare that flow exceeds the levels that pop breakers, these are wide ranging and would allow more variance in the flow than would be essentially safe for computerized equipment.  Breakers are designed to prevent variations in current so great that they could potentially cause an explosion or fire, and while this prevention is certainly a good thing, they will still allow enough increase of current to harm the circuitry involved in computers and data processors.  These types of devices need additional surge protective devices installed just before flow would enter them, as a final and redundant form of protection against the minor surges that will cause damage or even degradation over time.  The same is true for industrial applications, who follow essentially the same types of setups just on a far larger scale.

Small fluctuations in electrical current happen every day, generally due to switching errors of instability within an electrical grid that feeds the home or complex.  Each and every time that current spikes and reaches an unprotected device, small amounts of damage are done to the internal components, shortening the life span of the device if not destroying it completely.  This ongoing and continual fluctuation creates a situation where the usable life of a piece of equipment is shortened, eventually needing replacement or repair.  Surge protective devices guard against this, and prevent it by never allowing the spike in current to make it to the device.  This prevents large transients from completely destroying equipment in an instant, as well as small transients from destroying equipment over time.  The costs associated with surge protective devices are small compared to repair or replacement costs of equipment, and the additional damage that occurs within certain industries to the customer base if service is interrupted.  Hard costs are easy to calculate, losses in business are harder to put a value on.  Surge protection devices prevent both of these types of losses by making the systems easier to reset after a surge instance and to get them back online quickly, minimizing downtime and at the same time protecting the equipment itself.

If you utilize computerized equipment either at home or in an industrial setting, verify that your surge protection systems are working and are adequate to protect your investment against the rare but destructive large surge, as well as the ongoing small surges that happen all the time.  Only through prevention can you protect your investments.