We’ve all witnessed the results of Nature’s wrath over the last few weeks; thunderstorms, hurricanes and even an earthquake. It’s easy to feel powerless, but there’s a lot you can do to protect yourself, your home or business and your critical communications equipment to minimize the damage caused by extreme weather.
Think lightning never strikes twice? Think again. Teltek has a customer who has been hit four, that’s right, four times in 2011 alone. Every time it strikes, severe interruption has been caused to the critical electronics and technology that is required to keep their organization functioning.
A lightning rod can safely absorb and disperse a lot of the energy a lightning bolt can deliver. A few more steps you can take; have your electronic equipment plugged into a battery back up unit (UPS) or a surge protector; also consider unplugging your devices before the storm arrives. Additionally if you are in a high risk area of lighting you should consider installing a Central Office (CO) surge protector – this protects the incoming phone lines from passing a surge through to your telephone system if struck.
The location of your electronic devices is also critical. Make sure they are installed in a data rack or at a minimum, not sitting directly on the floor. You should avoid placing any electronics in locations where water pipes, faucets and hot water heaters are within close proximity.
Periodic inspections of the roof, outside walls and plumbing could prevent future catastrophes. Last week, another Teltek customer called to report an outage of their Avaya Partner Phone System due to a water pipe that leaked onto the processor…yikes!
Also keep an eye on any tree branches that hang over power lines and roofs; getting these trimmed back can prevent them from falling and causing damage or tearing down lines. Check the gutters on your building and make sure that they are free from debris and that water can flow freely away from your building using piping or drain tile.
Temperature is another important component; the room where your equipment is stored should be cool, dry and well-ventilated. It is ideal for your network room to have its own independent air conditioning system. Most servers and battery back ups are sophisticated enough to have a module installed in them that will monitor temperature and automatically shut down critical components of your telephone system and network if the temperature becomes too hot.
Your phone system should be grounded, if you’re not sure if it is, give Teltek a call! We can send a technician out to make sure your phone system is appropriately installed and grounded.
Helpful Hint: Have pets? Much of the stress they experience during a storm is from the static electricity that occurs. A way to minimize this is to rub your pet’s coat with a dryer sheet. You can also keep them calm by giving them a toy or treat to distract them during the storm.