Which UPS System Technology Do I Require?

There a number of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) technologies obtainable, all of which have various pros and cons. This article intends to assist you in the right choice for your application. All UPS Systems consist of a rectifier which turns your usual mains AC power into DC power, an inverter that converts DC power into AC power, and an energy storage medium which is typically lead acid batteries. There are 3 main UPS technologies – Offline, Line Interactive and Online Double Conversion – and two different types of inverter – square wave (also called pseudo-sine wave or customized sine wave) and sine-wave.

An Offline UPS provides basic levels of power fortification. There is typically a degree of surge suppression integrated and when the input mains voltage goes out of lenience (that is too high/low or fails) the UPS inverter starts up and provides control to your gear. There is a shatter in the mains supply when this occurs in the region of 10-20 thousands of a second which will usually go ignored by the bulk of equipment. The inverter in offline UPS is nearly almost always a square wave.

A line interactive UPS is alike to an offline UPS but has the added profit of voltage regulation. This means that it will decrease the mains voltage if it goes too high (called “buck”) or elevate the mains power when it goes too less (called “boost”). It will do this without reverting to battery and hence preserve battery life. Since a line interactive UPS has an inline transformer, it also provides in-built filtering and hence a higher degree of power guard. Like the offline types, there is also a break throughout the changeover from mains power to battery power. In higher quality line interactive units, this shatter might be as low as only 2 to 4 thousands of a second. Line Interactive UPS Systems come with square wave as well as sine wave inverters.

The online UPS System is measured by many to provide the highest levels of power fortification. The inverter is always on, and provides power to the load. This means that there is no divergence in output voltage and no shatter if the UPS reverts to battery power. The output waveform in an online UPS System will always be a sine-wave, usually of very high quality and can improve the procedure of certain gear. An online double conversion UPS also has a bypass circuit, which permits power to be incessantly fed to your load even if the UPS develops a fault or is overloaded. 

In summary, for simple low cost battery backup then the offline or line interactive square wave systems are appropriate. For high grade defense in a quiet atmosphere, or where your load type demands it, pick for a sine-wave line interactive unit. However, if you desire the best power resolution, then we suggest online double conversion technology as it is well-matched with all load types and provides the uppermost degrees of power fortification.