Whether protecting a network closet or entire data center, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) offers peace of mind that your equipment will remain protected from the financial costs, customer frustration and business disruptions caused by outages. The type of UPS you need depends on how critical the environment is, as well as the quality and quantity of power required for your equipment to operate.
UPS systems are available in a variety of form factors and topologies to meet any need. The most common UPS topologies are offline/standby, line-interactive and online double-conversion. Each of these provides varying degrees of power conditioning and protection.
An offline/standby UPS will typically feature an autotransformer, which boosts or buck-voltages the power on the AC input line to provide a consistent power source without any voltage drops and fluctuations. An offline UPS is ideal for home and small office computers, printers and scanners.
A line-interactive UPS will typically use a series of inverters to convert AC power to DC for passing through the battery, and then back to 120 V/230 V AC to power equipment. The inverters are designed with a buck-boost converter for undervoltages or a buck-boost-square wave generator for overvoltages. The buck-boost inverter can also reduce the load on the battery to prolong runtime and maximize its lifespan.
An online double-conversion UPS system will accept the widest range of incoming power issues, while simultaneously providing precise regulation of output voltage and the strongest protection against abnormal input power. This type of UPS is ideal for mission-critical devices and locations with poor or highly unreliable utility power. UPS