With the
disruptions in the electric power supply, electrical equipment can easily get
damaged. To avoid such risk, it is
advised to install a UPS system to get high-quality, reliable power flow.
With so many
types of UPS in the market, people often get confused about which UPS will be
the best for their requirement. In this article, we have summed up the various
types UPS along with their characteristics.
Types of UPS
·
Standby
UPS
These
are also known as line-preferred or off-line Ups. It consists of DC/AC and
AC/DC converter, static switch, battery, surge processor and a low pass filter
for reducing switching frequency. The standby power supplies provide high efficiency at relatively low cost.
It this, AC
input is considered as the primary power supply. Alternatively, in case of power supply failure, battery and inverter is
used as a backup source. Normally,
inverter runs on standby mode. During the
power failure, transfer switch
automatically shift the load to the backup units.
·
Standby-Ferro
UPS
It uses a special saturating transformer having multiple
power connection. The primary power runs from the AC input, moves through the
transformer and then goes to the output. Inverter picks up the power load only
in case of power failure. Unlike normal standby UPS, specialized Ferro
transformer offers certain degree control
and voltage regulation over the output waveform.
These systems
are known for their line filtering and reliability. As a downside, there is a decrease in efficiency if it is coupled with the certain type of computers or generators. Also, Ferro transform itself has the risk of
overheating and voltage distortion.
·
Line
Interactive UPS
In this, AC
power inverter and battery are continuously connected with the UPS output. Battery starts charging when the inverter is operating in reverse while AC power
is at normal levels. When there is a power
failure, transfer switch shifts the power
flow and system gets power from the battery.
As inverter is perpetually connected to the output, UPS
lowers the switching transients risk and offers additional filtering. This UPS
provide high efficiency and reliability at
relatively low cost and small size design.
UPS is the
best technology to get critical power
supply backup. There is no single UPS suitable for all types of applications, different UPS types are ideal for
different application.