An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is completely free from any kind of load breaks. It is a piece of electrical equipment that provides emergency power to an electrical load when main power is disrupted.
A UPS varies from a power generator or an emergency power system in the sense that it provides almost instant protection from power failures by supplying energy from the batteries. However, there is now a more advanced version of an uninterruptible power supply system that offers a wide range of benefits. Let us discuss the structure of a UPS system below.
- Rectifier/Charger block
Even though they have been placed in the same header, the rectifier and charger are either combined as a single uninterruptible power supply structure or be two different modules. However, their function is the same, that is, to convert AC power from the mains convert it into DC power that is required to charge the UPS battery.
Although we have listed them collectively, it is important to note that the rectifier, as well as the charger, may either be separate components or used in combination as a block in the single uninterruptible power supply. However, both carry out the same purpose. To simplify the understanding, they usually get displayed in most block diagram as a single component.
From this point, the charger will direct the power supply levels through into the battery to preserve the charge, while correcting the rectifier’s job will be to provide steady DC power to the UPS through the block of uninterruptible power supply, UPS battery, and inverter.
At the time of power disruption, such as an outage or grid failure, the charger will shut down, and it falls onto the UPS battery to deliver DC to the inverter.
2. UPS Battery
Modern, advanced UPS systems use the lead-acid battery. They are responsible for providing emergency power when the power is interrupted from the main supply. It is the rectifier or the charger’s job to ensure that the batteries always maintain a full charge.
It is important to note that the UPS systems may have a string of batteries. The number of batteries required with a UPS will depend on its DC voltage. Batteries that fall within a string are susceptible to failure if one battery fails.
3. Inverter
An inverter converts the direct current’s power from the battery/rectifier and sends it back into the alternate current power. The conversion process and filtering removes spikes, surges, sags, electrical noise, etc., ensuring that the output is clean and stable pure sine waveform.
The biggest advantage of using an advanced UPS system is the filtering process that eliminates all spikes, surges, lags, etc., from your critical load and provides pure sine waveform. This happens because the main power supply to your critical load is routed through an uninterruptible power supply that has undergone a double conversion from AC-DC-AC.
4. Static Switch
UPS protects you against any form of power supply failure, and it does so with the help of a static switch.
Generally, a static switch has two known modes, such as:
- As per default settings, the switch allows AC power from the uninterruptible power supply.
- However, it also allows the system to accept AC power directly from the main circuit, which is also known as bypass.
It is not advisable to switch to the main power. But if your critical load is shifted to the raw main grid, it will notify or warn to ensure that the UPS is fixed quickly.
The main job of uninterruptible power supplies is to protect against electrical disturbances. However, at the time of power failure, the system is unable to perform this essential undertaking. A reliable UPS system will have an uptime feature which means that there is very less possibility of complete system failure, especially if your uninterruptible power supply is coming from a reliable provider.
That is the reason it is necessary to refer to experts when looking for a reliable advanced UPS service provider who can guide you in choosing the best in the business.
