Apr 8 2008 9:22AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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I’ve been following home power supply products like generators and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) for a few months now and I’ve noticed a fair amount of interest online and at the trade shows. And while a lot of them deal with whole-house or emergency power, I ran across one that’s just for the A/V geeks: The Richard Gray Power Company (RGPC) PowerVault 11kW for entertainment and automation needs.

RGPC’s unit meets CEDIA installation needs as a power conditioner, a UPS as well as a surge protector.

Unique to the 11kW version, the power output can be configured for either 120V or 240V output. In large installations, the PowerVault may reside more than a half mile (2,500 ft) from the equipment. Accoriding to RGPC, the 240V option is also ideal for home theaters with extremely large plasma displays and power amplifiers which require a greater power load than the traditional 120V.

“People can still watch Braveheart in Dolby Digital during a power outage…so what?” was a point brought up by my co-worker (who shall remain nameless). But what the PowerVault can offer is protection from memory and preset loss on equipment such as DVRs while delivering a clean and stable 120V or 240V output, irrespective of input. There’s nothing like having four hours of A/V programming and presetting wiped away…Lord knows it took me a good hour just to get my flat screen back to the right color settings (and I’m good with technology).

The PowerVault is billed as a complete turn-key system that requires no configuration or programming. According to RGPC, it can seamlessly integrate with leading industry home control systems and can handle immediate demands of over 25kW to start home automation systems, premium A/V gear and lighting control systems.