What is a UPS Power Supply for Computers & Servers?
What Does UPS for Computers Stand For?
In computer and server terms, UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. An Uninterruptible Power Supply is a piece of electrical apparatus that is designed to supply power in the event of a sudden disruption in the supply. A standby UPS tends to have a power supply with a relatively short battery runtime that gives you a few crucial minutes to safely shutdown or save work before the battery runs dry.
UPS Systems Explained
An easy example of this in practice is when you pull the power cord out of a laptop, the laptop stays on and switches seamlessly to the internal battery. This is what a UPS does for computers, servers and other sensitive equipment.
What is a Server UPS?
Imagine you're in the middle of an important project at work, your data is stored on the server and you've been working at it for weeks. Suddenly, the power is gone your company has a generator for such a disruption and you soon have your power back. But the server has been damaged, your work is gone and weeks worth of work has been wasted. This wouldn't be a problem if your company had a properly integrated UPS. If you need power to whether a long-term disruption, a generator is the safest bet for continuous power. However, with a generator, there can be a delay as the reserve power initiates and with certain technology (most particularly computer servers) a sudden disruption in power can lead to significant damage. This is where a UPS comes in, it activates as soon as the power is disrupted and ensures you have continuity in your energy supply. Additionally, a UPS will protect against a voltage spikes, reduction in input voltage, instability of mains frequency and harmonic distortion, all common utility power problems that can be addressed with a UPS.
What types of UPS are there?
Obviously, not every UPS is going to be perfect for every form of technology. With 25 years of experience, we at UPS Systems can help you find a UPS that's perfect for what you need. Our catalogue of UPS systems from all major brands and specialist consultants can ensure that the UPS you buy is the perfect one for the task at hand. You can sub-divide the different types of UPS into three rough groupings based on how they use their power.
- Offline UPS
- Online UPS
- Line Interactive UPS
What is an Offline UPS?
An offline UPS (sometimes called a Standby UPS) is a fairly basic example of a UPS, it provides surge protection and battery back-up. The batteries are stored independent of the mains power and when the system notices a dip in the flow of power, the system will turn on its internal inverter and begin supplying power through the batteries. This is the best choice for a UPS for computers, its simple to plug-in and provides power to less-critical devices.
What is an Online UPS?
In contrast to an offline UPS, an Online (or Double Conversion UPS) the inverter is always connected so there's no power transfer switch, the rectifier simply drops when the mains supply cuts out and the batteries continue to supply stored power. When the mains power is restored, the rectifier reactivates and the mains power is used to restore the battery power lost when they were discharging. An online UPS would be a good example of equipment fit for a heavier duty or more mission-critical environment as the constant power is necessary for certain equipment where even the time it takes to trigger an inverter can mean the difference between success or failure.
What is a Line Interactive UPS?
A line interactive UPS exists in-between an offline and online system, it still possesses a delay when the inverter is triggered but uses the mains power supplied to charge the battery. Because it's interacting with the mains power line, the activation time is faster than an offline UPS but it doesnt have the same plug-in and play simplicity or the instantaneous transfer time of an online UPS. But the reduced frequency of transfers to battery helps to boost efficiency and battery life. Click here to see our range of uninterruptible power supply units and get in touch with us here for a consultation.
UPS Systems have been supplying backup power solutions for over 25 years and can propose a solution regardless of the size of your requirement. If you have any questions or queries, please contact us. We can supply small UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) to support a home office, to a larger UPS to keep the central server running or a diesel generator to manufacturing equipment.
UPS Systems plc supply a wide range of uninterruptible power supplies including those from Riello UPS and Eaton UPS as well as the UPS battery packs designed to go with them. UPS Systems plc also offers various diesel generators and industrial generators including 60kva generator, 80kva generator and 100kva generator from a wide range of manufacturers including AKSA generator, SDMO generator and Pramac generator.