The Importance of Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems in a Hospital Setting

If you’re at home and the power goes out, it’s not a big deal if you have a backup generator. Even if you don’t have a generator, the outage is usually nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. But if a hospital loses power, people’s lives could be at risk.

In the event of a power outage at a hospital, it may take as long as a minute for the backup generator to kick in. Sometimes patients don’t have a minute, which underscores the importance of an uninterruptible power supply system in a hospital.

What is an uninterruptible power supply?

An uninterruptible power supply is a type of continuous power system. If the power goes out, the uninterruptible power system comes on long enough for an alternate power system to kick on. It serves as a type of bridge in a way, eliminating the possible gap in power when the system changes over from its primary to its backup source. They’re especially useful in settings where the power simply can’t be lost for a minute, like hospitals, data centers and solar-powered panels.

Why can’t power be lost in a hospital?

We touched on this above, but the flow of electricity in a hospital is very much a matter of life and death. If someone is on a ventilator and they can’t breathe on their own without one, then the power can’t go down even for a minute, as they could suffer serious, irreversible damage if oxygen can’t reach their brain.

If a trauma surgeon is performing emergency surgery to save a patient’s life where time’s a factor, the lights can’t go out for even 30 seconds. Someone’s heart rate might be being monitored, and it may flatline while the power is out. Should that happen, the hospital staff would have no way of knowing and couldn’t provide life-saving measures. In short, the continuous flow of power is integral to the hospital and its patients’ wellbeing.

What are some benefits of an uninterruptible power supply in a hospital?

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of an uninterruptible power supply in a hospital. Here are some of the biggest benefits of using an uninterruptible power supply in a hospital setting:

  • Reliability: Having an uninterruptible power supply means the hospital and its staff can count on having power, even if there’s an event that would normally cause an outage, like a strong thunderstorm.
  • Saves data: The hospital’s patient data is just as important as the functioning of its machines. Having a dependable backup power source not only ensures the data is safe, but allows staff to access it even during a power outage.
  • Facilitates communication: The hospital staff need to be able to communicate with each other within the hospital, and having a stable uninterruptible power supply allows them to do so. They can speak with each other instantaneously thanks to an uninterruptible power supply, as it prevents any lapses in their ability to communicate electronically.

Call for your uninterruptible power supply today

Now that you have a better idea of the benefits and importance of an uninterruptible power supply, give Ham’s Electric, Inc. a call. We specialize in hospital electrical systems, and we understand the importance of having a continuous flow of electricity in a hospital setting.