Generally speaking, there are two types of power: clean and dirty.

Clean electricity is any electrical power that is free from any noise, voltage spikes, and/or drops.Therefore, voltage ripple or noise that is outside the ideal ‘sine waveform’ is sometimes referred to as dirty electricity. Dirty power is electricity that varies more than 10 percent from the usual 120 volts. In the event of power surges, spikes and failures, dirty electricity can wreak havoc on expensive digital signage equipment. In the article, ‘Electrical Engineering: What is Dirty Power?’ dirty power is described as “an abnormality in the power quality that is being delivered to a system. These abnormalities can include low power factor, voltage variations, frequency variations, and surges. All electrical systems are based on a supply of power at a certain voltage and frequency. When the power delivered to a system doesn’t match what is expected, equipment can malfunction, prematurely fail, or not work at all.” Therefore, the more complicated the electronics, the more at-risk and susceptible they are to the dreaded dirty power.

Restaurants are known to have a local dirty power source, especially older ones that utilize static menu boards. The blog, ‘Feeling Dirty? (Power, That Is)’ explains that dirty power can come from a multitude of sources, “There are a lot of sources that generate dirty power, ranging from air conditioners, air compressors, refrigerators, appliances, to laser printers, light dimmers and fluorescent lighting. Basically, everything you probably have in your office, store or restaurant. Once it’s created, dirty power travels throughout your building and network, exposing all of your and your neighbor’s electronics to electrical disruptions that can harm their equipment.”

Therefore, the need for clean power is vital!

An LCD enclosure with a single display generally requires one circuit, 120-volt at 20 amps of clean power. An LCD enclosure with three screens will require two circuits, 120-volt at 20 amps of clean power. Having one or two dedicated circuits of clean power will help a restaurant keep the menu boards up and running - no matter what is occurring inside the store. In addition, installing an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) can help protect electronics from outside weather conditions like lightning. Investing a few hundred dollars on a UPS will save thousands of dollars, if something happens to the outdoor digital menu boards.

When dealing with electronics, Murphy’s law holds particularly true. If something can go wrong, it probably will at some point in time. Take the necessary steps (at the beginning of a project) to install the outdoor digital menu board system correctly the first time. It is important to determine a backup plan in case of problems that cause the electricity to turn off the menu. 

Always, incorporate a solution that will provide performance checks on a consistent basis. Also, consider running CAT5 or CAT6A cabling to the enclosure site to eliminate dependency on wireless content delivery. CAT6A is the ‘latest and greatest’ cable solution and utilizes a thick plastic casing that helps further reduce crosstalk. CAT6A cables can maintain 10 Gigabit speeds for the full 328 feet of Ethernet cable. It is important to note that a short or temporary internet outage should not affect the menu operations.

When using outdoor digital menu boards, clean power can be the difference between money lost and money gained! If any system is down for an extended period, it could result in a restaurant losing sales. Since dirty power can arise from multiple sources, it is best to have plans in place, so that everything remains up and running for the long haul. If a drive-thru menu board is down, a restaurant could quickly see cars driving to the next available restaurant down the road.

For More Information:

  --  3 Important Questions to Ask Prior to Deploying Outdoor LCD Enclosures

  --  How to Plan for an LCD Enclosure Installation

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