The Electrical Blog

Power Quality For Your Colorado Springs Business

Posted by James Rockhill on Thu, Jul 16, 2015

Power-quality-for-your-Colorado-Springs-business

If you own a business in Colorado Springs (or own commercial property), worrying about power quality may not keep you up at night. After all, power is either on or off . . . right? 

If the business in your building involves medical equipment, POS equipment such as cash registers, banking equipment—or any other system (like a computer network!) that relies on stable, consistent power, the quality of your power is really important.

Disruption to the quality of the power can disrupt the performance of your systems. Computer systems can lock up, crash, or simply not function properly. If the problem isn’t addressed, your systems can start to degrade to the point that it can actually harm sensitive equipment. And ultimately, it can cause system failure by breaking down components such as microchips. 

Poor power quality can affect things other than your computers and other systems. You could also experience:

Circuit breakers tripping when there’s no overload on your system

Lights flickering (which is irritating and negatively impacts productivity)

Motors on equipment burning out prematurely

High-temperature alarms in your server room 

While these power quality issues can be frustrating, you can deal with them with a professional survey and analysis of your existing electrical installation that includes system and equipment grounding, load capacity evaluation, and a check for the presence of harmonics; sometimes called electrical “noise”. 

By doing that, you can achieve more consistent and reliable performance (fewer crashes and errors) while extending the life of your equipment—and your whole electrical system. 

Of course this kind of evaluation requires the right technical training, expertise, skill, and equipment. And that’s exactly what Berwick Electric can offer.

Power Quality may not be high on your list of concerns for your Colorado Springs business or commercial property—but it probably should be. Ensuring good, consistent quality power makes your business (or your building) more effective and efficient—and more profitable. 

If you experience any of the symptoms described above, call us at (719) 632-7683, or send us a note at mail@berwickelectric.com to talk about how we can help make sure the power quality in your building is the best it can possibly be! 

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Topics: electrical power quality affects business, Colorado Springs Commercial Electricians, Power issues for commercial buildings

3 Critical Reasons Your Colorado Springs Commercial Building Needs Lightning Protection

Posted by James Rockhill on Thu, Jul 09, 2015

3-critical-reasons-your-Colorado-Springs-commercial-building-needs-lightening-protectionThunderstorms with lots of lightening are a pretty common occurance here in Colorado. It’s a pretty spectacular lightshow! But it’s a lot more than that. According to weatherimagery.com, there are approximately 494,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes every year in the state. 

If you own commercial property here in Colorado, there are three big reasons you need to protect your property from these far-too-frequent occurrences. 

The Cost of Property Damage

Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. estimates that lightening strikes account for more than one billion dollars in structural damage each year. And Factory Mutual Insurance Company reports that between three and five percent of all commercial insurance claims come from lightening damage. Having the right protection can lower the cost of your insurance. 

Employee Safety

It’s bad enough if your property sustains damage from lightening. But it’s terrible if a lightening strike impacts your employees. On average, lightening kills an average of 73 people across the US every year—and those are just the documented cases. On top of that, there are some 300 documented lightening-related injuries every year, and according to skyviewweather.com, undocumented injuries caused by lightning are likely much higher. 

Loss of Business

Even if your business survives a lightening strike, the occurrence can wreak all kinds of havoc. A direct hit to a building, a nearby strike to a power line, or even a voltage surge originating from your utility company can cause a fire in the electrical service panel boxes or seriously damage equipment by frying insulation and sensitive microprocessor components. If you have to spend time (and money) replacing equipment, that’s lost revenue you may never recover. And what about all of your data such as customer files, accounting, and intellectual property? Some of that can never be recouped. 

The good news is that you can protect yourself. The American Geophysical Union reports that conventional lightning protection systems are highly effective in reducing lightning-caused fires and damage to buildings and structures. 

We’re experienced in helping businesses protect themselves from the dangers lightening strikes present. You can even click here to see us in action! Shoot us a note at mail@berwickelectric.com  or call us at 719-632-7683 for more information about how you can protect your property, your employees, and your business from the damage that lightening can do. 

We understand the importance of keeping up with the latest education, certification, and qualifications in the industry. Since 1921 we’ve employed the most qualified people in the business to manage important projects in and around Colorado Springs—from turn of the century carriage houses, to high tech clean rooms and fiber optic cabling. You’ve heard that “knowledge is power.” At Berwick Electric, we take that to heart!

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Topics: Colorado Springs Commercial Electricians, lightning protection, protection against lightening damage