Power Systems | Document Management

Power Systems

UPS Types? What's the difference?

Standby or Backup UPS

Lowest Cost UPS solution the unit is passive and simply waits for drop or complete a power outage to jump in and produce AC power stored in its internal battery and It will continue to do so until the batteries are exhausted or the power from the wall comes back on again. Typically these types of units do not clean the wall power in any way they merely pass power from the wall straight to to your connected equipment and only starts to work on battery power when wall power is lost.

Line Interactive UPS

The most common type of UPS; provides battery power in the event of power loss and Automatic Voltage Regulation. Which actively monitors both the level and quality of the power coming from the wall and provides power "cleaning". Or regulation in the event of power drops a little bit (brownout) or spikes (surges) however it accomplishes this feat with hardware (capacitors and transformers) and thus is not charging the batteries at this time.

Online Double Conversion UPS

These units are true online UPS's and are always on; they utilize double conversion to offer a rock-solid reliable power output. Which is ideal for equipment that is sensitive to power fluctuations "double conversion", which converts the incoming power to DC by using internal transformers and then back into AC this is accomplished via internal inverters to clean the power and regulate it regardless of the quality and level of the power available from the wall outlet. Additionally, there is no switchover time to battery power in the event of power loss.

What size UPS unit do I need?

There are two primary considerations you need to be aware of when choosing a UPS unit. The VA (volt amp) rating which is the maximum amount of load you can plug into the UPS. Which should not exceed 80% of either UPS rating. The second factor in deciding which unit to purchase is the amount of runtime the unit will be able to provide when the power fails. This number will vary with the amount that is plugged into the UPS. As a rule of thumb for most equipment, the maximum wattage will be about 60-65% of the VA rating. More load = less runtime while Larger UPS = More Runtime.

How do I calculate the VA size of UPS needed?

Multiplying power (volts) times the current (amps) to come up with the load rating VA (volts x amps). Or by obtaining the watts rating: To do this simply List all of the equipment to be protected by the UPS (Servers, computers, monitors, routers etc) and each piece of equipments volts and the amps requirement (off its manufactures sticker) (i.e. Cisco Router =120V and 2.0A) Then Multiply the volts times the amps for each piece of equipment and enter the total in a column labeled as "VA". (If the equipment is only rated as watts, you can easily convert it to VA by multiplying Watts by 1.43.) Once you have the total VA load to add an additional 20-25% to that figure to accommodate any future growth and a safety precaution to avoid the potential of overloading your UPS.

Is UPS software required for the unit?

No, UPS software is optional however utilizing UPS software provides the ability to monitor the UPS, line conditions, etc. and automatically and safely shut down an unattended device (server) remotely or in the event of an extended power failure.

Why do I have to replace UPS Batteries? Don’t they recharge automatically?

A UPS will automatically recharge its batteries when AC power is available however, due to their chemistry, batteries wear out over time and eventually will no longer hold a charge. Batteries in a UPS unit typically will last between 3-4 years before they go completely dead. However, Replacing them every 2-3 years ensures reliability.

Does Tier Five sell brand new or refurbished batteries?

We ONLY sell brand new batteries straight from the original manufacture . UPS’s utilize lead acid batteries have an idle shelf life of about 6 months without being recharged. Thus we FIFO stock within 2 weeks to ensure the batteries are in the best condition possible when they arrive.

When I installed a brand new UPS battery the red replace battery light is still on?

After installing a replacement UPS battery most likely the UPS will needs to be recalibrated. Units can be “re-calibrated” by putting the unit through a simple process. First, allow the unit to fully charge. for at least 12 hours then power cycle the unit.