Uninterruptible power supplies

Types Of Uninterruptible Power Supplies

While we all know that our daily requirements depend largely on energy sources provided by a single utility power, we must also be aware of the fact that this lone supplier may get overloaded and cut off its source for sometime. It is in such a situation that we need an UPS to provide us with an uninterrupted power supply. But how can we tell which one is good for us?

As is known, uninterruptible power supplies or UPS are a back up source of energy that provide emergency power to devices that are connected to it until the main utility source is restored or the equipment safely switched off. An uninterrupted power supply system can be considered a life saving device as it helps avoid serious situations such as fatalities that could occur in a hospital due to a lapse in power supply or a loss of important data and many other grave power disruptions.

But how can we tell which uninterruptible power supply is appropriate for us. There are two primary kinds of uninterruptible power supplies, the on-line and the line interactive UPS systems. The on-line uninterruptible power supply utilises the ‘double conversion’ technology wherein it takes in the AC input that is available from the main utility source and converts it into DC power, which is required for it to pass through the battery and again changes it back to AC power to run the connected equipment.

The line interactive uninterruptible power supplies have an internal or in-line inverter that transmits the DC power of the battery from the standard charging form to supplying energy during an emergency power failure. It is analogous to the stand by or off-line UPS except for the fact that it has a flexible electrical transformer that has the ability to increase or decrease the magnetic field and the produced voltage of the transformer. It is able to withstand constant low voltage brownouts and high voltage surges without using up the stored energy.

An on-line UPS is perfect for situations where there are extreme voltage fluctuations and the equipment connected to it is highly sensitive. They are more expensive than the line-interactive and the stand by UPS and were earlier available only for larger consumption installations. However, they are now available in smaller consumer equipment that use about 500watts of power. They are convenient for locations where there are large numbers of noise-making equipments such as those seen in large industries. Apart from this they may require a back up generator to supply an uninterrupted power supply to these equipments.

They are more expensive than the other two types of UPS systems for the sole reason that they have a powerful AC to DC converter with advanced cooling systems that allow them to efficiently provide energy sources to your equipment. The on-line UPS require no power transmission switches as the converter moves out of the circuit when there is a power cut and moves back in to resume charging when the main power supply is restored.

Based on these two designs and their functions, you can decide which uninterruptible power supply system is right for you. Whether it is for your home or office or a large organisation or industry, uninterruptible power supplies will provide you an uninterrupted power supply always.