Ups – How To Select A Cost Effective Ups System

By Author: Harland Simon UPS lTD
Total Articles: 12
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Power failure is not only common but also is sudden. You never know when a natural calamity may hit any area and lead to serious power failure or even a small event like car crashing to an electric pole may disrupt the power supply. To ensure that you do not lose any data or important information from your electrical device, UPS is a must. Let us look into what actually UPS is and what major things should be kept in mind while purchasing one.

Introduction to UPS

An uninterrupted power supply, also known as flywheel backup or cyclic battery backup is an electrical device that provides emergency power to a load when the main power supply fails. The runtime of UPS is relatively lower than the actual input supply but is enough to start standby mode of a system or properly shut down the equipment safely without any loss of data. An uninterrupted power supply is used for protecting hardware like computers, data centres and other telecommunication equipment. UPS can be used where probability of sudden power failure causing data loss, injuries and business disruption exists.

Points to keep in mind while purchasing ...
... an uninterrupted power supply
While purchasing electrical things we usually think of purchasing devices that cost less because we don’t know much about how to choose them. Let us look at some points which are worth thinking while purchasing an uninterrupted power supply.

• Type to be chosen – If you have decided to purchase UPS, first observe the type of UPS available in market and analyze your requirements, as which type will suit you the most. For better protection choose line interactive type over stand by type and online type over line interactive type. One may choose according to the requirements.

• Comparing price – Before buying such things one must decide the budget and also compare the price at certain stores of the specific device. If added price is not significant then consider purchasing bigger unit. The benefit with buying a bigger unit is that it has bigger battery with increased back up time.

• Considering practical application – Using several standalone one phase UPS is better or three phase UPS. Multiple systems may increase the power reliability.

• Advantage of using redundant unit – In using parallel units, sometime two or three of them are in use and one is in spare. Hence, full power is supplied even when single UPS fails.

• Power requirement of your device – If you want to purchase the UPS then, analyze much power does your device consume. If the power requirements of your device are higher than UPS you have bought then it will be dead. The power consumption can be checked with the help of a wattmeter.

• Warranty offered – The UPS is meant to protect your valuable electric devices that cost you thousands of dollars. That makes UPS an important device to think about its warranty and guarantee provided by the seller or the manufacturing company. Terms of warranty may differ from brand to brand. Warranty is another key aspect in buying the uninterrupted power supply.

• Features Requirements – One may think that an UPS consist of just on and off switch and power notifying indicators but it is not as simple as that. Even basic consumer level device has disconnecting battery notification, USB connectivity and software suite which can be controlled by PC. Also, the settings can be changed according to the power consumption need.

• Number of outlets required – An uninterrupted power supply comes with a number of outlets. Before purchasing one must check as to how many devices will be requiring the power supply. Many UPS provides eight outlets but one must check how many of them are battery driven. Cheap options usually cut cost by only providing UPS battery backup to four or six of them. It is a good practice to purchase an UPS which has two more outlets then required. It provides you flexibility for future use.

Following the above cost effective measures will surely lead to purchasing up of the UPS according to the need and will ensure satisfaction at a lower price. Before making final decisions one must think wisely.