A UPS unit can be monitored remotely in one of two ways. By means of a remote alarm panel which can be, in some cases, an identical display to the UPS front panel. This will allow remote control of the UPS via this panel or via an ethernet communications highway, usually using SNMP version 3.
Or in the case of an industrial application or building management system via Modbus/Jbus communication.
A remote alarm panel will typically have a UPS mimic and lights indicating the UPS unit operational status with a buzzer in the case of an alarm, and it is recommended that it has a mute button as well.
A remote-control panel is identical to the front panel of a UPS, but also allows for remote UPS detailed interrogation and operational status changes. This includes operational loading values and battery data, as well as the estimated backup time available at the current inverter load during a power failure.
Both these types of panels require a cable to be installed between the UPS and the room where the panel is installed. The distance over which they operate will determine if low-voltage screened multi-core cable can be used or steel wire armoured cable is needed to run at 220 VAC over very long distances making such a system clumsy.
The other option is to use a network interface card that allocates an IP address to the UPS unit and makes it part of your IT network.
In conjunction with freely downloadable monitoring and control software, it allows for remote control, status monitoring, email reporting, fault reporting, and even connected IT load management in the event of a power failure with a sequenced and controlled shutdown.
