Which UPS System Technologies Do I Need?

There a number of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS System) technologies available, all of which have various benefits and drawbacks. This short article intends to assist guide you within the appropriate option for your application. Get a lot more facts about next page



All UPS Systems consist of a rectifier which converts your typical mains AC power into DC power, an inverter that converts DC power into AC power, and an energy storage medium which can be typically lead acid batteries.



You will discover 3 most important UPS technologies - Offline, Line Interactive and Online Double Conversion - and two unique sorts of inverter - square wave (also known as pseudo-sine wave or modified sine wave) and sine-wave.



An Offline UPS gives basic levels of power protection. There is certainly generally a degree of surge suppression incorporated and when the input mains voltage goes out of tolerance (that is certainly as well high/low or fails) the UPS inverter begins up and provides power for your equipment. There's a break in the mains provide when this happens in the area of 10-20 a huge number of a second which will commonly go unnoticed by the majority of equipment. The inverter in offline UPS is almost nearly usually a square wave.



A line interactive UPS is equivalent to an offline UPS but has the added benefit of voltage regulation. This implies that it'll lower the mains voltage if it goes also higher (known as "buck") or raise the mains voltage when it goes also low (named "boost"). It can do this without the need of reverting to battery and therefore conserve battery life. Given that a line interactive UPS has an inline transformer, in addition, it provides in-built filtering and therefore a greater degree of power protection. Like the offline varieties, there is also a break throughout the transition from mains power to battery power. In greater high-quality line interactive units, this break could be as low as only 2 to 4 thousandths of a second. Line Interactive UPS Systems come with square wave and sine wave inverters.



The online double conversion UPS System is regarded by quite a few to provide the highest levels of power protection. The inverter is normally on, and supplies power towards the load. This implies that there is absolutely no deviation in output voltage and no break in the event the UPS reverts to battery power. The output waveform in an online UPS System will virtually generally be a sine-wave, normally of extremely premium quality and can boost the operation of specific equipment. An online double conversion UPS also includes a bypass circuit, which enables power to be continually fed for your load even when the UPS develops a fault or is overloaded.



In selecting your technology you should think about:



The power consumption of the load

The kind of load you might have

How vital your load is

The environment in which the UPS will sit

The required runtime

Your spending budget

Your normal UK socket outlet is rated at 13Amps which signifies the most power you can draw from a UK outlet is 3KVA, or 3KW. (Power Measurement will probably be covered inside a separate paper). Above this level (for specialist equipment, or hardwired installations) most UPS might be online double conversion technology as the economies of scale start out making other technologies non cost helpful. Below this level, nonetheless all technologies are obtainable, though above about 2KVA, line interactive systems start off to grow to be heavy and unwieldy because of the size of transformer which is essential.



If your load is produced up of computer system kind power supplies, then both square wave and sine wave products will power this equipment adequately. If your load includes motors, transformers, pumps or other inductive components (on the input power supply) then square wave systems are certainly not appropriate and also you need to opt for a sine-wave system.



Any load that is susceptible to mains disturbances like in analytical equipment or audio applications ought to also select a sine-wave system. Where mains distortions influence equipment performance then you really need to go for online double conversion where a pure sine-wave is often present.



In case your load is critical for operation then the enhanced advantage of online double conversion technologies really should be used. This supplies additional security against all power disturbances along with the comfort of a fall-back bypass in case a fault develops with all the UPS. You could want to parallel with each other UPS and once again, this could only be achieved with online double conversion UPS. (We'll cover parallel systems and redundancy in a separate paper). If you have a Computer exactly where that you are looking for simple battery backup to stop annoyance rebooting or tripping then an offline or line interactive unit would suffice.



Offline and line interactive UPS Systems are normally quiet in operation and usually do not utilise cooling fans in typical operation (usually). This means they may be appropriate to become placed in an office or home environment. Online Double Conversion UPS systems need forced cooling and can be pretty noisy and hence tend to not be suitable for use in an office atmosphere.



In case you are running your UPS in conjunction with an emergency backup generator then the benefits of online double conversion technology come for the fore, as the UPS will cover for any transition to generator operation and also supply a continual unchanging power supply throughout generator start out up and any shifts that may well happen in frequency and or voltage for the duration of load switching.



Offline UPS tend to become the smallest of all technologies so is often useful to provide emergency ride via for locations exactly where space is at a premium.



Long runtimes on UPS are improved handled with online UPS Systems. This can be due to the fact they are designed to operate continually in the inverter. In which case it does not matter if the input power is from the rectifier or the battery - the operation is definitely the identical. Offline and Line Interactive units have a tendency not to be created for this continuous operation. (Battery choice and runtime might be covered within a separate paper.) It's also unwise to power any equipment using a square wave inverter for any prolonged time period as you could trigger degradation to electronic components. Square wave systems are designed to let basic computer system systems to ride through short power outages or time to shut down a system inside the occasion of a prolonged power reduce.



You may have already created up your mind which technology you'll need, but let's take a look at relative expenses. Offline UPS systems used to be by far the cheapest. Nonetheless today an offline UPS in addition to a line interactive square wave unit are ordinarily related prices. Online Double Conversion used to become much more pricey than other technologies, but now is comparable to a premium quality sine-wave line interactive UPS.



With regard to operating fees, the offline UPS will be the most efficient as in typical operation the input power goes straight via for the load, so the only power loss will be to retain the battery float charged and power the UPS logic. Line Interactive units are related in efficiency but experience extra losses as a result of the transformer expected for the buck and enhance facility. Online Double Conversion nonetheless, has the drawback of becoming the least efficient in the technologies.



In summary, for basic low expense battery backup then the offline or line interactive square wave systems are suitable. For higher grade protection within a quiet atmosphere, or where your load sort demands it, go for a sine-wave line interactive unit. Having said that, if you need the top power solution, then we advise online double conversion technologies as it is compatible with all load kinds and offers the highest degrees of power protection.