What is an Uninterruptible Power Supply used for?
An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides a short-term power supply in the event of a disruption or disturbance to mains power, protecting critical electrical equipment and infrastructure, IT equipment and telecommunications networks.
Protection from power outages
Total power outages due to utility failures, accidents and unusual weather conditions, whilst relatively rare, are inevitable. They can also cost businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds if they don’t have the proper equipment in place to allow them to continue operating productively throughout the outage. Worse still, in a healthcare situation, it can even result in lost lives.
The only way to eliminate the risk of sudden power loss to your organisation and the risk of lost revenue, reduced productivity and data loss is to install an Uninterruptible Power Supply, preferably one that’s bespoke to the exact needs of your organisation. When it comes to power requirements, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Protecting hardware from electrical disturbances
The mains power supply is susceptible to regular disturbances, which can have a profound effect on sophisticated electrical and IT equipment such as data processing and communications hardware, industrial systems, medical equipment and even safety and security systems. Typical mains disturbances include:
- Spikes are short term rapid voltage transitions, typically caused by load switching on the mains.
- Surges occur when voltage significantly exceeds normal levels for a longer period of time. These can reduce the lifespan of electrical equipment by degrading switched-mode power supplies.
- Sags conversely occur when voltages are significantly lower than normal levels and can cause hardware to automatically reboot.
- Brownouts are the same as sags, but last much longer and generally occur when the mains supply cannot cope with demand.
Some equipment has built-in capability to cope with short term power interruptions, however, an Uninterruptible Power Supply is the only way to ensure you have a continuous, clean and controlled supply of power to your electrical equipment, which not only ensures your organisation can keep operating, but also protects your hardware from damage, increasing the lifespan of the product.
Paul Anton Ltd. is a leading supplier of UPS systems in the UK, with a team of expert Mechanical and Electrical Engineers offering a fully integrated installation and maintenance service. Please contact us today to discuss the emergency power needs of your business and to arrange a site survey.
