Tester Identifies Voltage Conditions That Damage Sensitive Electronic Equipment

Poor voltage quality is a hidden expense that often goes undetected until costly failures occur. To combat this growing problem, IDEAL today introduced its new Voltage Performance Monitor (VPM), a simple-to-use, cost-effective tester that quickly and accurately identifies voltage events and harmonics that cause equipment damage and failures. By plugging into a circuit at the point of equipment connection, the new VPS will "see" exactly what the equipment sees. It tells the technician if problematic voltage events are occurring and logs the time, duration, and severity of the event without the need of a computer or any special training. The new VPM gives users the power to quickly determine if equipment problems are related to voltage and if a circuit is safe for new or existing equipment, such as computers, copy machines, or medical patient monitors. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD) The source of 85% of all voltage events originates within a facility. Voltage events can be caused by inadequate supply, undersized wiring, an overloaded circuit, and frequently by other equipment turning “on” or “off” on the same circuit. Voltage quality changes every time a new piece of equipment is installed in a facility or in a neighboring facility. Voltage events can also be caused by environmental changes, such as lightning storms, high winds, flooding, physical damage, or utility operations. Logging only those events that exceed designed tolerances, including voltage sags, swells, impulses and excessive Total Harmonic Distortion, the IDEAL VPM makes it easy to determine if equipment failure is related to a voltage event. Time and severity of events are displayed on the VPM’s bright OLCD screen, and up to 512 events can be stored in the unit’s internal memory for review by category or chronological order. In addition, the VPM lets a technician easily verify the need for a UPS installation or a surge protective device, as well as confirm the protection provided by such equipment. Easy, Cost-Effective First Step While all electronic equipment is designed to handle varying voltage within a specified range, voltage events become a concern when they exceed designed tolerances. The VPM comes pre-loaded with tolerance settings based on 15 internationally recognized standards including ITIC, CBEMA, SEMI and ANSI. Users simply select the appropriate standard for the application and the VPM logs those events while ignoring the rest. Technicians can also set their own custom thresholds to meet specific needs.