In today’s blog post, the team at Connectivity is going to examine the acronym UPS, which stands for Uninterruptable Power Supplies—recognized as common occurrences in the majority of network equipment infrastructure. Usually, UPS are used in lieu of emergency back-up generators or secondary utility power feeds and these systems are ultimately critical in maintaining equipment and stored information during power outages.
However, it’s important to understand what they do and do not do. UPS systems are not employed to keep everyone working until the power is restored. Instead, UPS systems allow for the sequenced shutdown of equipment and are utilized to prevent vital network equipment from operational power loss that could stand to damage or corrupt the equipment or the stored information.
What Efficient Design Looks Like
When designing a UPS system, the full power load from all vital equipment should be accounted for; this includes modems, firewalls, routers, switches, servers, etc. Additionally, the heat coefficient that is produced by all of the equipment and UPS system should be taken into account. Understand that the heat coefficient is used to figure out the rate of heat dissipation in the network equipment room. This is important because network equipment failures from heat can occur in areas that do not have the room sufficiently conditioned to house the equipment. Therefore, design would incorporate considerations for HVAC conditioning of the area and usually leads to a mini-split HVAC system being installed. The tonnage for the system will have the network equipment heat coefficient factored into the plan in order to maintain the equipment’s optimal operating temperatures.
Monitoring and Maintenance
UPS systems should be monitored and maintained on a monthly basis. A systems diagnostics test should be completed to verify the following:
The incoming power VAC
The full load from all equipment connected to the UPS system
The battery life levels and capacity of the UPS system
The automatic transfer from normal power to battery backup.
Ultimately, it is imperative that the battery life and capacity be higher than what is required as the initial switch from normal power to battery power can place up to a 125% load of initial full load capacity. Furthermore, batteries should be replaced as soon as it is verified that they do not have the capacity to maintain the equipment’s functionality in case of an emergency situation.
These are just a few items to be cognizant of as it relates to a UPS system. Know that Connectivity offers UPS maintenance and servicing, which is a part of our Proactive Service package. We invite you to learn more by checking out this good example of Eaton’s 9PX UPS system that we have installed in a variety of settings. If you have more questions, contact us today.