Power products, though rarely the focus of an install, have made a good deal of progress recently, with some new products tackling issues that have frustrated custom integrators for years (take that, wall warts!). In this issue’s product focus we look at some new and innovative additions to the power product pantheon.
RoseWater Energy HUB-SB20
The RoseWater Energy HUB-SB20 is an all-in-one residential and light commercial power quality solution that integrates three industrial-grade capabilities into one platform — power conditioner, uninterruptable power supply, and surge protector.
With the power conditioner, the HUB-SB20 promises “power quality higher than utilities,” so sensitive audio and video systems, as well as home networking components, home automation, and lighting control systems, will perform at their best. The uninterruptable power supply features a zero transfer time and a large amount of battery backup, while the industrial-grade surge protection does what it can to mitigate the damage caused by naturally occurring weather anomalies.
With everything integrated, prewired, and tested, the HUB-SB20 allows for a simpler installation and reduced setup issues.
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Middle Atlantic Products High Power DC Distribution
The earlier-referenced enemy to wall warts is the Residential Systems Best of Show at CEDIA 2018 award-winning High Power DC Distribution from Middle Atlantic Products, which solves the installation challenges posed by powering a high density of DC-powered components with similar voltages. The new 200W and 300W models provide high current capacity to an industry-leading quantity of outputs — up to 24 devices — maximizing the same voltage in a single unit, 5V, 12V, or 24V, or splitting between 12/24V.
The solution works with a satisfactory clipping of the wall wart and wiring directly into the High Power DC distributor. They not only remove space-consuming, unreliable wall warts from the design and provide maximum power to support, but they also increase system efficiency, saving energy and reducing heat generation. The solution offers multilevel protection on both AC input and DC outputs and built-in individual redundancy. The multimount design can be installed in an available 1-RU space or at the back or side of the rack for zero-U mounting.
Furman Power Distribution Line
Furman had a flurry of activity late in the year, releasing a number of power management products that included power distribution units (PDUs), a power conditioner, and two black steel chassis floor strips.
The PDUs include a 26-inch-long model (VT-EXT12) and a 36-inch-long model (VT-EXT16) both with 12 outlets each. Both are vertically mounted and each feature three outlets that are spaced far enough apart to accommodate large plugs and transformers.
The AC-220A is a 20-amp, small form factor series multi-stage protection (SMP) non-sacrificial surge suppression power conditioner. It features Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT) and a 6-foot line cord. Any Vertex PDU can be plugged into the AC-220A for applications that do not want to use rack mount space for the power management needs.
Finally, the two black steel chassis floor strips — the SS-6B and the SS-6B-PRO — offer surge protection and feature RFI/EMI filtering with a 15-foot power cord. The PRO model adds Extreme Voltage Shutoff (EVS).
Drivers for Luxul PDUs
Luxul’s latest contribution to power management is making drivers for all major control and automation systems available for the company’s PDU-2, PDU-8, and PDU-16 intelligent network power distribution units. The drivers enable integration of the PDUs into Control4, Crestron, RTI, Savant, and URC systems.
Developed by RTI, Savant, and Luxul in partnership with Middle Atlantic Products, the drivers allow devices plugged into the PDU-2, PDU-8, and PDU-16 to be powered up or down as part of scheduled and triggered events. In addition, they provide users with outlet control to power-cycle locked-up components locally using hand-held remotes, touchpanels, and other controllers or remotely via control-system apps on mobile devices.
SurgeX Axess Elite
The Axess Elite is a complete power management solution that provides remote insight and control of the electrical power consumed by connected devices. It provides IP addressable two-way communication, manages system energy usage, can sequence individual outlets, monitors power usage at the system level, controls expansion units from the master unit, and monitors a system’s energy consumption by each connected device. It integrates with most major control systems, including AMX and Crestron.
The GUI lets technicians hard reboot locked up equipment, recycle power, schedule automatic triggers to AutoPing devices, and monitor individual outlets and power settings. The Axess Elite also features Advanced Series Mode technology that eliminates surge energy to protect equipment from surges, spikes, electrical transients, and noise without producing harmful ground contamination or common-mode disturbances.
Torus Power POWERBLOCK Isolation Transformers
Torus specializes in isolation transformers, which handle power differently than power conditioners and surge protectors. As the name implies, isolation transformers de-couple and isolate electronic components from the power source to eliminate transients and to protect connected components from surges, spikes, and brownouts.
The latest addition to their isolation transformer line is the midrange POWERBLOCK (PB) Series that is designed to deliver clean, uninterrupted power to smaller AV systems or single components.
Two models are available: The new POWERBLOCK PB 10 isolates outlet pairs to separate source components from power components for a cleaner signal. The POWERBLOCK PB 5 offers four total outlets for applications where it’s only necessary to protect a few components, such as a source, speakers, monitor, or projector.
