Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) Systems

The primary function of a UPS system is to maintain power to your IT equipment in the event of a mains failure. This may be for only a matter of seconds while the standby generator(s) come on line or, if your site does not have standby generators, the UPS should have a longer run time to maintain power through short-duration outages. Then, if mains power is still not restored within a reasonable time, the UPS will allow a controlled shut-down of the IT systems.

Other important functions of the UPS are to stabilise voltage, correct power factors and to clean and condition the incoming mains power to protect your systems.

Most small to medium sized data centres will use multiple UPS’s of around 30kVA to 300kVA. Having a larger number of smaller units increases resilience and enables capacity to be closely matched to load, improving energy efficiency.

UPS efficiency has a major impact on data centre energy use and it is important to select a UPS that will be efficient at the actual operating load not just its rated full load. Selecting the best UPS system for your application and deploying the correct topology provides an opportunity to significantly reduce running costs and to shrink your carbon footprint.

We have experience of installing, commissioning and maintaining everything from small rack-mounted single phase units to multiple sets of 1MVA diesel rotary UPS’s (DRUPS) including:

• Single and three phase
• “Double conversion” and “on-line”
• Static and rotary machines
• Systems with up to 99% efficiency

All major manufacturers are supplied and supported including:

• Eaton Powerware
• APC
• Riello
• Eurodiesel