Locally developed power supplies

Power Electronics / Power Management

31 March 2021 Power Electronics / Power Management

Critical equipment can now be operated with locally developed power supplies that have been specially designed to function on the local power grid and have built-in features to make it more robust than standard equipment.

GSS Group director, Greg Pritchard, says more than thirty years spent in the security and electronics industries has given the team the best possible understanding of local operating challenges. This has allowed it to develop power supplies that are designed to handle all of South Africa’s extremes, including load shedding, brown-outs, and they even have circuitry that is better able to deal with the Highveld’s well-known lightning storms.

Designed and developed by GSS Group, the power supplies are manufactured in a quality-controlled manufacturing plant in China, which allows the costs of the high-quality componentry to be incorporated at more affordable prices for the local market. As a result, several of the country’s large security and electronic distributors have already switched to the local brand of power supplies with success.

Manufacturing expertise

“During my time in the industry I have worked for some of the largest electronic security equipment suppliers and gained decades of experience and long relationships with manufacturers in the East. By setting up our manufacturing operation alongside a large-scale electronics equipment manufacturer we get to enjoy better pricing as a result of the large volumes of components purchased by the manufacturer monthly.

Various power supplies and uninterruptible power supplies from GSS Group.

“The enclosures are also specially designed for tough African conditions and, where possible, incorporate innovations that can protect and even avoid damage where batteries may be used or in the event of short circuits, etc. By maintaining strict control of the process, we have the agility to change and customise the power supplies to customers’ requirements and even bring the customer’s own branding onto the supply where sufficient volumes are ordered.

“This type of arrangement is only possible as a result of our longstanding relationships with suppliers in the East following dozens of visits and a good understanding of the business culture. As a result, our manufacturing partners work with us to manufacture products that are as good as or better than locally available equivalents,” says Pritchard.

Local certification

He adds that GSS Group power supplies carry SANS IEC 60950, LOA and NRCS certification – for AC and DC power supplies and DC UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) – as well as meeting SANS/IEC 61558 certification for its range of linear transformers.

The products also incorporate EMI filtering and meet EMC standards. These standards are required for effective use in IoT devices, electronics and security applications which include intrusion, CCTV, access control and automation. The power supplies have subsequently also found favour in the electrical and alternative energy industries or wherever power supplies are required.

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Power Electronics / Power Management

Locally developed power supplies

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