What issues were you trying to solve for your client with the RoseWater HUB?
RG: My client lives in a wooded area where falling tree limbs wreak havoc with local power lines. He runs a business out of his home and cannot tolerate the power outages, which can last for days after a big storm. He also has quite a bit of sensitive electronics on the property. It was common for those systems to fail after the power outages. Yes, he has a generator for emergency loads, but those 3-5 minutes between power loss and generator start can be very damaging to electronic systems.
What types of products were being affected in your client’s home?
RG: Network switches, routers, automation processors, lighting control processors and servers were all affected.
What drew you to the RoseWater HUB as a solution?
RG: The elegance of one system to rule them all. With proper design and engineering of emergency load panels and sufficient back up power, which RoseWater is uniquely qualified to deliver, any kind of power anomaly from the grid or local generation is held at bay. The homeowner has no sense of power interruption when it occurs ahead of the RoseWater system. The other benefit, which is huge, is that RoseWater delivers laboratory-grade pure sine wave power with negligible distortion on the line. This benefits all manner of sensitive electronics downstream on the RoseWater circuits.
What prompted you to take a risk on a new product with a valued client?
RG: Trust. Joe Piccirilli has built a world-class team of industry experts in the field of power back up and management systems. His personal involvement along with the rock-solid support of Gunther Greiner, who represents the product in this area, gave me all the confidence I needed to move forward with the proposal.
Can you or your client comment on the power quality produced by the HUB?
RG: The systems have been up for about two months without a single incident. They work perfectly.
How has your client reacted to the HUB?
RG: Frankly, he is delighted that he doesn’t have to worry about power outages anymore. Disturbances on the local grid are completely invisible to him and his staff.
What challenges were there in convincing your client to purchase the HUB?
RG: The biggest challenge was finding a suitable place to house five industrial-size racks (two full systems, one with extra UPS capacity) near the generator and transfer switch but out of sight when walking the property. After several design iterations with our team of electrical engineers, general contractors and system integrators, an architectural modification to the generator garage allowed us to place the racks perfectly while protecting them from the elements. We actually poured a new steel-reinforced concrete platform to support what amounts to over six tons of UPS batteries.
Did the RoseWater team help you in overcoming those challenges?
RG: The RoseWater team is world-class in every way. Support was impeccable, from initial load calculations to on-site surveys to final hands-on installation. Five gold stars!
Did the RoseWater team provide you with the tools you needed to make the sale?
RG: Yes. The most useful support is sales engineering up front. The RoseWater team dives in head first with technical sales support.
What other tools could RoseWater provide that would make your job easier?
RG: This project offered several learning opportunities. Placing the racks is a challenge because they are large and heavy. This is not a problem in commercial installation but residential presents other challenges, mostly with space and proximity to local generation equipment. Personally, since I am not professionally trained in high voltage systems, I would appreciate a basic primer on how to integrate high voltage power backup systems, with a glossary of terms and a statement of best practices. Some kind of online high voltage mini boot camp would be really helpful.
How did you find working with the RoseWater team?
RG: Five Gold Stars. Flawless support.
What should RoseWater have done differently, in order to improve the experience?
RG: Delivery logistics can be very challenging. We actually had to transfer from one truck to another just to clear tree limbs down the long driveway. The RoseWater team figured it out and made it happen. Perhaps a bit more needs assessment up front on the logistics side would help. We would also have appreciated more precise instructions on preparing the concrete platform and mounting patterns for the anchor bolts. The templates we were sent were slightly off and we needed to improvise on site. For systems of this magnitude, site preparation before the equipment arrives is crucial. The same can be said for preparing front, top and rear access to the racks post-installation. Doors and hatches need to be built to allow future access.
Do you see the RoseWater HUB growing in importance to your business?
RG: Yes. I can confidently recommend RoseWater HUB to any home owner who has issues with power consistency and quality.
Will you recommend the RoseWater product to other customers and to other CEDIA members?
RG: Yes, absolutely. It is an expensive, design intensive undertaking but well worth the effort long-term.