Uninterruptible Power Supply: Providing Power and Protection to Sophisticated Electrical Device

Power is such an essential aspect of life that without it our life will be completely paralyzed. In order to have a smooth and trouble free life it is important that the supply of power is continuously maintained. This problem can be resolved by having power back-up in the form of Uninterruptible Power Supply, which will provide emergency power to different electronic equipment when utility power is not available. In sophisticated electrical equipment like computer, telecommunication equipment, data centers and other critical electrical equipment in which sudden power disruption could cause serious fatalities or data loss, uninterruptible power supply proves to be highly effective that provides power from 5 to 15 minutes till an auxiliary power supply can be turned on or till the equipment is safely shut down.

UPS need to be carefully selected as there are several features that have to be kept in mind while buying UPS. The larger UPS system has enough battery for several hours. In data centers UPS systems are used for just a few minutes until electrical generators take over. Some of the vital criterions for selecting an appropriate UPS include:

• Battery Life- The shelf life of the battery is the vital aspect that is considered while selecting UPS. Battery manufacturers state a five to seven years life of the battery but the more the battery is used for providing power its life goes on reducing. The more the UPS has to face outage, surge, sag or swell the life of the battery diminishes.

• Output Power- The amount of load that the UPS has to carry of at the time of providing back-up is another important aspect that has to be considered. UPS are available in various strength ranges from 200 VA to few watts hence the load it has to carry will determine the exact strength of UPS required.

• UPS cost- The price of the UPS is another vital aspect that is closely looked upon while going for a UPS. However if one is planning to buy expensive UPS then he should opt for software controlled UPS, as this UPS will automatically saves data, closes application, and turns off the computer in advance before the UPS power goes out.

• Additional Features- One should always choose UPS that comes with several additional features such as modern surge protection, radio frequency interference noise filters and electromagnetic interference. These features are highly beneficial for the sensitive electronic equipment.

Important aspects to be considered before buying UPS are as follows:

• Output voltage provided by the UPS should be clear
• Mean time between failures should be very high
• UPS system should be built with advance safety features
• For efficient management, an advance management system should be within the UPS system
• International safety and electrical standards should be met by the UPS