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Power
If the power stops, what are the consequences
to your business? Given our
dependency upon a clean, reliable
supply of power to operate our
backup systems to insure the
continuity of our operations.
Yet for the critical importance
of a backup system, there are
still far too many sites implementing
strategies based upon partial
or inaccurate information from
their consultant or vendor.
The result, at the least is
ineffectiveness and possibly
even disaster.
The choice of the right IT device is a reconciliation
of requirement to satisfactory
technology. The right UPS for
the job is no less a match between
requirement, and capability.
The right UPS for the job is
a matching of technology to
requirement. While there can
be variation in the form and
functionality, there are essentially
3
main types of UPS products
that can be considered for any
power protection requirement:
-
Offline/standby UPS
- Low cost UPS units protecting
against 3 types of mains problems,
ideal for PCs, Work Stations,
fax machines etc
- Line
interactive - intermediate
level solution protecting
against 5 main types of power
problems. Change over to battery
supply is done in milli-seconds
ideal for budget conscious
users online UPS - The most
dependable solution to your
power protection needs.
- Online-UPS
provides protection against
all 9 known power problems
by completely regenerating
the mains waveform providing
a "clean" output to the critical
load
Choosing the right UPS is only the first step
to implementing the right solution.
There are a multitude of variables
that must be considered when
going to market for a product
to fulfill your power protection
needs. While this list is not
exhaustive, it does include
some of the questions that perhaps
you need to be asking as you
look at your own UPS requirements:
- Run
time requirement
- What type of runtime do
you require for your connected
systems? This is an important
decision that may also be
impacted upon by environmental
considerations such as operating
temperature within your room
or facility after running
on UPS with or without generator,
with or without cooling. a
Can your UPS runtime be increased
or decreased as future needs
may dictate?
- Centralized
UPS - Do you have
a network infrastructure that
means you need multiple UPSs
over a wide area? Can you
utilize a centralized UPS
for all your load requirements,
or would a zoned approach
to your UPS needs benefit
you?
- Dynamic
environment - A
dynamic environment can mean
that system deployment has
to happen with little, or
even no disruption to your
operational continuity. A
dynamic environment can necessitate
rapid future expansion or
contraction of UPS requirements
withing your facility without
involvement of an entire revision
of existing site electrical
infrastructure.
- Scalability
- Can your UPS system capacity
be increased or decreased
according to future requirements?
If the UPS system capacity
is flexibile how much can
it grow to, and is this enough
given future expansion needs?
Does the design of the UPS
allow you to grow the system
capacity as your needs grow,
or does the system architecture
require you to oversize the
present system capacity to
accomodate your future growth
needs?
- System
configuration -
Do you have a high availability
site, where the goal is zero
downtime? Is a parallel-redundant
UPS best suited for your availability
needs? Do you require an external
maintenance bypass that will
allow you to isolate your
UPS from the load, while maintainging
power for your connected load
during routine or emergency
UPS maintenance needs?
- Physical
site requirements
- What available site electrical
infrastructure is required
to support the UPS? What physical
space do you have available
for the placement of your
power protection solution?
Are there floor loading restrictions
you need to consider in the
placement of your UPS? Does
the placement of your UPS
acknowledge the system maintenance
requirements (i.e. front,
side, rear access).
- Power
distribution -
Do you have an existing electrical
distribution system you plan
on using to supply UPS power
to your connected load? Would
you benefit from a flexible,
user installable power distribution
system that allows the end
user to bring power from the
UPS to the connected load?
- Power
Management - Is
monitoring aggregate power
consumption of your UPS via
a front display panel, remote
monitoring panel, or network
monitoring device sufficient
for your needs? Does a branch
circuit level monitoring provide
you with a higher level of
control over power within
your environment? Do you need
to be able to shut down your
load at a certain time when
you lose your normal power
and are running on UPS power?
Does monitoring of your UPS
by a remote monitoring station,
where power professionals
can have a constant view over
the health of your UPS assist
you in insuring maximum availability
for your critical systems?
If you have multiple UPSs
on your site would you benefit
from having a single point
from which to monitor these
devices, i.e. a NOC or BMS
room.
- Service
capabilities -
Do you have a high availability
site? If so you will want
to make sure you have a local
team of factory trained and
authorized service technicians.
"How many local service techs
to you have?" is rarely asked
when considering what constitutes
the right solutions for your
site needs, yet this is as
important as the choice of
the system itself.
- Efficiency
- Increasingly environmental
considerations must be taken
into account when looking
at the "right UPS for the
job". The operational efficiency
of your UPS must be taken
into consideration for the
sake of implementing environmentally
conscious solutions. Higher
efficiency UPSs produce less
heat load, resulting in a
lower related cost of cooling
within your environment. Higher
efficiency UPS solutions are
also practical in that they
offer a reduced cost of operation
on the basis of power consumption.
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