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We often hear a lot nowadays the device
so called UPS or uninterruptible
power supply. Just for a breather, UPS is an electrical apparatus that
provides emergency power to a load when the input power source typically main
power, fails. For a newbie, I know that there are a lot of question marks that
are now floating above your head. Below are the beginner’s questions regarding
UPS and we provide answers for your sake.
Q. What is a UPS?
A. UPS is an abbreviation for
uninterruptible power supply; it is a back-up battery for a computer or other
electronics system in the event of a power failure (blackout) or other
electrical line problems. In the occurrence of a blackout, for example, your
computer would continue to draw power from the UPS thus allowing you to save
your work and shutdown your system properly without data loss or interruption
of service.
Q. What provides the power when the main
supply fails?
A. There is a battery inside the UPS and
it is the one who takes over and produces fresh alternating current via an
inverter. Though these are usually lead-acid batteries, the acid is in the form
of a gel and the batteries are sealed and require no maintenance.
Q. How long the batteries will last?
A. It depends upon the specification of
the batteries. On larger equipment (around 5kVA) you can often specify 10-year
design life batteries.
More over battery life depends upon a number of issues,
particularly temperature and the number of what so called “deep charges”
experienced. Battery life is halved every 10 degrees C temperature increase
above its specified operating temperature (usually at 25 degrees C).
Q. What is a power surge?
A. Power surge is a rise in voltage that
goes beyond normal levels, potentially overloading any active equipment.
Q. Are there any types of
uninterruptible power supply?
A. Yes there are two types of UPS. The
most common type is the AC/AC, where the energy source is the AC line (wall
outlet) and the output is the same voltage through an inverter. The second type
is the most efficient one –AC/DC, where the UPS delivers the DC voltages needed
by the system.
After
reading this, I hope that the questions marks in your head are now gone. UPS
really is a great help for our electronic apparatus. I have one at home bought
at Panther and it is great! Grab yours
too!
More
on UPS:
Why Mom
was right about UPS?
