Power Protection in today’s world.
The technological world around us has become highly dependent upon the continuous availability of electrical power.
Sophisticated technology is now an integral part of our lives both at home and at work, and with the advent of e-commerce, the way in which we interact with the rest of the world is continually changing.
Intelligent technology demands power that is free of interruption or disturbance.
Many of the issues associated with equipment failure, software and data corruption, and downtime are the result of a problematic supply of power.
Downtime is not an option.
Power protection has never been more critical than it is today, homes and businesses rely on their electronics and critical applications to ensure that they are always fully functional.
This includes a growing culture of employees that need “always-on” technology, whether they are in the office or working from home. Reducing equipment downtime, and thus increasing profitability, is now a new priority for any size of business.
In today’s ‘always on’ world, downtime is not an option. Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) plays a critical role in ensuring resilient power infrastructure.
What is a UPS?
An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) offers guaranteed power protection for connected electronics.
When power is interrupted, or fluctuates outside safe levels, a UPS will instantly provide clean battery backup power and surge protection for plugged-in, sensitive equipment.
What size UPS do you need?
Electronics have both maximum watt ratings and maximum VA (volt-ampere) ratings. Neither rating may be exceeded by attached equipment. Watts measure real power drawn by the equipment, while volt-amps are the product of the voltage applied to the equipment times the current drawn by the equipment.
The Power Factor
For computers and UPS units, watt and VA ratings can differ significantly, although VA rating is always equal to are larger than watt rating. The ratio of watts to VA is called the ‘power factor’ and is expressed either as a number (i.e. – 0.8) or a percentage (i.e. – 80%). When sizing a UPS for your specific requirements, the power factor matters most. Generally, your UPS should have an Output Watt Capacity 20-25% higher than the total power drawn by any attached equipment.
How much runtime do you need to support your attached equipment?
That depends on what you intend to back up with your UPS. Runtime refers to the amount of time a UPS will be able to power its attached equipment in the event of a power disruption. The more equipment you have plugged-in to your UPS, the less runtime you will have, so it’s important to make sure your UPS is only providing backup power to your most critical equipment.
The 3 Most Popular Types of Uninterruptible Power Supplies
Some key features to understand when choosing a UPS system…
• User-Replaceable Batteries – Increases availability by allowing trained users to perform
battery upgrades and replacements
• Automatic Self-Test – Periodic battery check that ensures early detection of batteries needing replacement
• Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) – gives high application availability by correcting low and high voltage conditions without using the battery
• Pure Sine-Wave Output on Battery – Simulates utility power to provide the highest degree of compatibility for active PFC (power factor corrected) servers and sensitive electronics.
• SmartSlot – Customises UPS capabilities with network management cards
• Scalable Runtime – Allows additional runtime as needed via external battery packs
• Power Conditioning – Protects connected loads from surges, spikes, lightning and other power disturbances
• Adjustable Voltage transfer points – Maximise useful battery life by widening the input voltage window or tightening the output voltage regulation
• Temperature – Compensated Battery Charging – Prolongs battery life by regulating the charge voltage according to battery temperature
• Predictive Failiure Notifications – Provide early-warning fault analysis, ensuring proactive component replacement
Need help choosing a UPS?
Please use the APC UPS Selector to receive a customised UPS Battery Backup recommendation for your home or business.
LINK TO PRODUCT SELECTOR – CURRENT LINK ON BLOG REDIRECTS TO US WEBSITE
How the UPS Selector works
Step one – select your environment.
Choose between home, home office/ entertainment, server room, and network closet.
- Entry – Ideal for single devices such as laptops and routers up to 450W
- Advanced – Suitable for living room entertainment spaces and home office workspaces with multiple peripherals including TVs, Monitors, Speakers, Ink-jet Printers and Network Routers with a load up to 750W
- Performance – Perfect power-hungry performance computers, external home servers, networking and storage devices and large entertainment areas with external sound system with a maximum load of 1200W
- Server Room and Network Closet – Single phase UPS that will protect your servers, switches, routers and networking devices in distributed IT and edge environment up to 20 kVA.
Step two – Configure by Load
Whether this be for at home, or in a server room, the selector will ask you about preferences for total load, voltages, runtime, and room for growth. It will then show you the APC products that best match your specific requirements.
If you need any assistance or wish to discuss further, then please contact us today, where a member of our staff will be able to help you.
Other Schneider Electric products Available from Comms Express:
Server Racks & Accessories | NetBotz Security and Environmental Monitoring | Extended Warranty | Accessory Extended Warranty | Power Distribution Units | Uninterruptible Power Supply
If you require any further information on these or any other products that we stock here at Comms Express, please do not hesitate to contact our team who will be only too happy to help.
Until next time…
