Johannesburg, 20 Aug 2009
Peermont Global Group's Johannesburg-based hotel, casino and convention resort, Emperors Palace, has managed to stay online for the past 10 years without a glitch, using APC by Schneider
Electric's Galaxy uninterruptible power supplies (UPSes)
Since Emperors Palace was opened in 1998, the organisation has used these UPSes - from 100 and 120 to 60 kVA machines - to keep its entire casino, convention centre, the Peermont D'Oreale Grande Hotel, the Retail Centre, the Peermont Metcourt Hotel and the Peermont Mondior Hotel up and running.
Jim Flaherty, group maintenance manager at Peermont Global Group, explains that Emperors Palace's need for serious reliable UPSes stems from its requirement for constant surveillance and lighting as well as to maintain the availability of its network of PCs and entire server room. "From a casino point of view, it is also crucial that our slot machines remain constantly up and running.
"We have replaced the older reel-type slot machines with new machines that use video screens. Unfortunately, if they go offline, the newer devices can take between five and 15 minutes to come back up, meaning that players can lose patience while waiting and the casino loses revenue. Not only this, but some of the machines have up to three highly sensitive screens that can easily be blown and are expensive to replace.
"These points all contribute to the absolute necessity for Emperors Palace to maintain the use of dependable UPSes," explains Flaherty. "The Galaxy UPSes have proven themselves to be most reliable devices over the years, and APC's backup service has been superb, with technicians here within the hour if needed."
Says Rodney Callaghan, MD: Southern Africa at APC by Schneider Electric: "The Galaxy UPS is a truly scalable architecture that allows a business to grow the solution as its power requirements change. This model's popularity is based on its outstanding reliability and track record as well as its modular design, permitting the paralleling of modules for capacity or redundancy without extra paralleling gear.
"This unit's generator-friendly topology assists in avoiding excessive generator over-sizing requirements, while other notable features include a user friendly operator interface, high energy efficiency and an advanced battery management system with automated self-testing."
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