July 1, 2008
Power
management did not, initially, take the world of custom installation by
storm. While early pioneers in the technology of surge protection and
power regulation may have once had a tough time separating themselves
from accusations of smoke-and-mirrors marketing hype, the category has
grown significantly in recent years to become a near-necessity in
high-end home theaters and multi-room AV systems.
The change did not come easy, and remains a challenge. It requires
better education from product vendors, better buy-in from residential
electronic systems contractors (RESCs), and growing understanding by
consumers who want better performance and a desire to protect their
investment in expensive electronics.
Progress Made
Panamax, on the consumer electronics side and Furman, on the musical
instruments and pro audio side, were two of the first companies to
tackle the power management category. While the now-combined companies
(see sidebar) faced expected hurdles in their early years, Furman
senior vice president of sales and marketing, Dave Keller, said that he
has noticed that as more competitors joined the market, his company was
better able to educate installers on why power management is so
important to their customers.
With this raised awareness, more and more installers are now
identifying power management as an essential piece to every
installation, not only because of the performance and equipment
longevity the products provide, but also because of their benefits to
the installers bottom line, including increased profit margins from
attachment products and reduced service calls, he said.
Monster CEO, Noel Lee, agreed that when company expanded from its cable
products core into power management for the CI industry, not many
installers knew about the importance of the category. However, his
companys educational program, in addition to a growing concern by
consumers about lightning storms and hurricanes has made power
protection and power conditioning an accepted part of many custom
installers vocation. We see that the awareness of power products and
their importance has grown dramatically, although there is still plenty
of room for more education on the higher-end products and their value.
Consumer understanding of power management has come a long way in the
last 10 years, but it is still limited. It is, agreed Richard Grays
Power Company (RGPC) president, Rick Komendera, a conscientious
integrators responsibility to reduce or remove the threat of ground
loops, surges, RF noise, and other power-related anomalies.
Fortunately, he explained, more and more integrators are recognizing
potential benefits to power management for both their customers
systems as well as their companies bottom lines.
The rapid emergence of dedicated home theaters over the past 10 years
has led to an increased demand for power products, Komendera said. A
consumer willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a home
theater is willing to invest a few thousand more to ensure the system
is protected with the right amount of on-demand power available at all
times.
Many of RGPCs more successful integrators live by the philosophy of
top-lining power products on their recommended equipment lists,
effectively arguing that the performance of all other gear is dependent
on clean power. In most systems, Komendera explained, power management
gear accounts for less than five percent of the total installation
cost; many installers position the nominal power management cost to
their customers as an insurance premium of sorts, he said.
The challenge remaining for integrators is remembering to not only sell
all of the benefits that power management products can provide, but
also making sure those features are utilized in a system. There is no
doubt that in the past few years, most dealers and installers have
learned (perhaps some the hard way) that the quality of the power
supplied to the system dictates not only the quality of the sound and
picture, but the overall life and survivability of the connected
equipment, explained Tripp Lite executive VP, Jim Folk. I believe
that most dealers and installers know that they need power management
products in their systems, [but] that many of the finer features of the
products offerings still go unused because the installer does not have
the time, or perhaps the training, to take advantage of them.
Thats a point echoed by APC AV product line manager, Patrick Donovan,
who has found that too much power conditioning marketing has focused
on sound and video signal improvement, and not enough on protecting the
customers investment. Plug this in and your experience will magically
get better went the mantra. For many power vendors, he said, this
still seems to be the message.
This is a very subjective benefit that many customers just wont see,
frankly. Its a tough sell, Donovan noted. If your customer doesnt
have serious electrical noise problems, then conditioning the power
will have little to no effect on quality. APC believes that protecting
the customers investment and eliminating interruptions in their
experience of the system are much more concrete benefits that people
can relate to and understand. They also are benefits that appeal a
great deal to the installer themselves as this kind of protection can
save them time and money by reducing service calls.
In the end, Donovan added, this approach helps improve or maintain good
customer satisfaction, and that is critical in being successful against
the mass retailers and other installers. I do believe that more
systems are protected today than in the early days, but I also think
there is still a lot of room for growth, he added.
Current Trends
As U.S. power grids become even more taxed and the power quality from
the utility declines, the equipment in home theater systems is growing
more advanced than ever and its sensitive circuitry more highly
susceptible to AC irregularities. Furmans Keller noted that these
trends not only affect the longevity of high-end components, but also
can undermine their performance.
The developments in home theater video and audio have been truly
remarkable, but it takes advanced power management to receive the full
benefit of these technologies, he said
. We are seeing an increasing
need for our more advanced power management technologies, such as AC
noise filtering, voltage regulation, and battery backup.
Tripp Lites Folk agreed that the continued convergence to a digital
suite of products is requiring better power quality to the point where
pure sine wave power is a requirement. Inherent in the digital
solution is the ability to communicate, control, and monitor the power
system in ways that have historically not been done, he said. Of
course, this would not be possible without the IP addressability of
power management products.
The trend toward multi-room or whole-house power solutions for AV
management is another challenge facing manufacturers. Its one that
RGPCs Komendera is attacking head on with new product development.
Gone are the days when a system fit on one circuit. We developed a
whole-house power management solution last year that serves all power
conditioning, protection, and back-up needs directly from the AC panel,
so there is no need for separate power management components in an
over-crowded rack, he said.
Going Green
It would be impossible to address power management trends without
noting the implications of the green movement, in general, and the
U.S. energy crisis, in particular. Not all power management product
manufacturers are talking about it, but they all likely will be in
coming months or years, as federal and state laws change and consumers
become more sensitive to energy costs and their personal carbon
footprint.
APCs Donovan said that, without hesitation, the green movement is the
biggest opportunity facing the power management category. One of the
principal benefits of a power management product could certainly be to
reduce your customers energy consumption, he said. I think customers
will respond quite positively to this benefit out of a sense of civic
duty or from a desire to save money...or both. In my view, custom
installers need to embrace this trend to help them offer a clear
value-add over the big-box stores.
As a product manager at APC, Donovan said, it will fall on his
shoulders to develop products that offer a power-saving value. In
addition to reducing customers overall energy consumption by smartly
managing connected components, APC also plans to make its own products
more efficient so that they consume less power.
Furmans Keller acknowledged that the home theater industry has
historically been somewhat indulgent in environmental concerns, as a
high-end home theater system is a luxury than can consume quite a bit
of power. Power management products, he said, by virtue can help
control power consumption, reduce vampire power, reduce electronics
in the waste stream by extending the life of connected equipment, and
can reduce service calls, and subsequent fuel use, by offering remote
diagnostics through IP control. That said, it is every manufacturers
responsibility to practice environmental consciousness, not only in the
products they develop but in the way they run their businesses, Keller
explained.
According to RGPCs Komendera, the green movement should not be viewed
as a trend, but a change in consciousness that not only affects
purchasing decisions but also is inspiring a whole cottage industry of
products. It is clear that alternative sources of energy such as
solar, wind, and water are the future, he explained. However, each of
these sources represents an intermittent power supply that, in essence,
can cloud over, stop blowing, or dry up at any time. Its necessary,
then, to design power management systems that can back up and stabilize
these alternative energy sources.
Komendera agreed that the power management industrys biggest
contribution to the green movement is assisting in the monitor of
electricity consumption. This is valuable for determining peak usage
times and provides a tool that can help consumers adjust habits to
reduce the amount of energy they use.
Several of our customers use the RGPC PowerVault for just such a
purpose, Komendera pointed out. And with its help they are applying
for myriad energy-related tax breaks that are available from local,
state, and federal sources.
Remaining Challenges
Most power management product manufacturers cite education of
integrators and consumers as their other big challenges. While
education has helped power management gain favor with installers, it is
a continual process with them and their clients.
All power management vendors must continue to educate the various
channels and end users as to why they need power management products,
said Furmans Keller. There are still dealers who dont sell power
management or only sell inexpensive products that do not provide
customers with maximum conditioning and protection. The reason for this
is that if a dealer cant explain the technology of power management,
or answer questions as to why it is important, they are going to shy
away from the category altogether.
And while growing competition in the power category can be good thing
for the industry, it has its negative side effects, said RGPCs
Komendera. Its good because it reflects the realization among more
companies that power management is an integral part of the AV
installation equation. Its bad because some of the more esoteric new
products make unsubstantiated claims about what they can do for a
system.
This situation, Komendera noted, feeds the notion that power products
are snake oil, which can have negative consequences with consumers
and can negatively impact everyones business. Beyond that, he said,
the biggest challenge is consistently standing out among the hundreds
of power management products currently available.
Today, its more difficult than ever to gain market share when there
are so many options for installers to choose, Komendera said. Thats
why, in addition to our product benefits, we strive to focus on client
satisfaction in every aspect of what we do. This philosophy manifests
itself in sometimes-extraordinary ways. For example, weve actually
over-nighted a 350-pound PowerHouse to make sure a dealers install was
completed on time.
Jeremy J. Glowacki (jglowacki@nbmedia.com) serves as editorial director of New York City-based Residential Systems, out of his satellite office in Carmel, Indiana.
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