Today we’re going to be talking about UPS’s or uninterruptible power supplies.
a UPS is an electrical device that provides backup power via a battery to a load when regular utility power has been lost depending on the UPS some can protect against voltage spikes or power surges that help protect any equipment connected to the UPS ( Uninterruptible Power Supply ).
UPS is are not intended to be used for long periods of time typically they are only used for short periods of time to provide critical backup power until an alternative power source can be provided
Now let us discuss why UPS protection is essential. First and foremost they allow any electrical equipment connected to the UPS to continue to run in the event of a power outage this can be very important when we’re relying on electrical equipment to operate without interruptions, in the event of a power outage.
An example is where we have industrial equipment controlled by a UPS cabinet. The UPS cabinet will continuously monitor the power supply automatically switch to standby when needed & also protect equipment against power surges as we know power surges can damage equipment which can be expensive and time-consuming to replace.
a UPS ( Uninterruptible Power Supply ) can also act as a bridge while the backup generator is coming online and synchronised with our electrical system.
So where should we use a UPS?
Anywhere we want to protect any equipment that we want to make sure it continues to run in the event of a power outage or protection against an electric surge.
So how does your UPS work?
Depending on the type of UPS that we use they can function a bit differently the first kind of UPS we’re going to talk about, and typically the most common is what’s referred to as an offline UPS or a standby ups.
With an offline UPS or a standby ups, the connected equipment is typically powered by standard utility power when the voltage received by the UPS falls below a certain level the UPS switches the relevant equipment to the inverter connected on the UPS. At this point, the UPS will begin providing backup power from the battery.
Instead of the load connecting directly to the mains, connected equipment continuously drawing power from the battery through the inverter.
The power received here is conditional power rather than the raw mains.
Online UPS’s are called “double conversion” because the mains power is stored as Direct Current in the battery, then converted back to Alternative Current before reaching the load. Inherently the equipment is always connected to the inverter. In essence, the mains are well insulated.
Bear in mind that these are just two of the most common types of UPS’s. However, various other types of UPS’s can provide many other functions.
Let’s talk about some things we want to consider when we’re selecting a UPS ( Uninterruptible Power Supply ) when making a selection it’s important that we try to size the UPS for our specific application when choosing a UPS. It is essential that correct units are used for the proper protection of all connected equipment.
Selecting the correct UPS can be done by looking at the total wattage of all connected equipment and ensuring that the UPS we choose can cover at least that much wattage +20%.