Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

IT infrastructure is at the heart of any business and so it is necessary to safeguard your infrastructure against emergencies such as major business disruption and data loss. 

The UPS system provides vital battery back-up to IT equipment, making power automatically available from a separate source in the event of power loss. It acts as the life support to any business and keeps all IT systems up-and-running in emergency situations. However, it is limited as to how long it can take the load by the number of batteries required to complete the operation.

UPS systems can range from a small 3kVA, perfect for small to medium businesses, all the way up to the largest Data Centre which would need a more sizeable unit. This could be up to a possible 6mVA in order to supply a continuous source of clean utility power in the event of a power outage.

There are three main types of UPS system available:

Offline (or stand-by) UPS systems are typically recommended for a single PC or work station application, with typical power ratings of 250VA to 2kVA. They provide basic surge protection and battery back-up in the event of system failure, whereby a break in power can be as short as 25 milliseconds.

Line Interactive systems are the midpoint between offline and online technology; they provide more superior protection than offline modules, however do not protect against all problems that online specifications resolve.

On-line (or double conversion technology) UPS systems are the most reliable systems. These are typically ideal for critical loads in large computer rooms or Data Centres. This is because they are proven to offer the highest protection against mains supply problems, having a tolerance for power ratings between 700VA to 600kVA.