BUYING GUIDE

U
tility power is plagued by disrup- match both watts and VAs of the UPS sis of peak load, peak failure timings, and
tions, fluctuations, and ration- and the loads. It is a conservative idea to the minimum voltage available. Different
ing, which makes it crucial to utilise the UPS to only 80 per cent of its loads have different effects (high inrush
use uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capacity. current, PF, and harmonics generation)
systems for computer data and industrial For loads like colour monitors, print- on the power system. AC motors and
process applications. The market is ers, induction motors, air-conditioners, printers draw heavy initial currents, with
flooded with numerous UPS systems, etc, ask your dealer about short- exponential reduction in amplitudes. This
both indigenous and imported. For affects the working of
a common user selecting the right
UPS is a daunting task.
Before you go for buying a UPS
we will suggest you to first study
power characteristics in your area,
such as duration, frequency, and na-
ture of breakdowns and fluctua-
tions. An area prone to frequent
power failures requires superior
power protection. If the fluctuations
are drastic, you should go in for a
system that can operate over a
wide range of input voltages.
Power cuts for longer duration dic-
tate the need for an engine gen-
erator. The UPS in this case
should also be generator-compat-

match
ible.

UPSto
Buying criteria
Given below are some important param-
eters you need to consider while purchas-
ing a UPS:
Load requirements. Define power re-
quirements of your load (computers, print-
ers, monitors, communication equipment,

your load requirements

process control systems, and so on) and
multiply the total power rating by a fac-
tor of safety of 1.5 to obtain UPS rating.
Another method to calculate the total
power consumed by your system is to con-
R. NARAYANAN
sider every device that will be plugged
into the UPS and sum the wattage used. The UPS system should match the load to ensure fast
A norm used by the industry is to calcu-
late the wattage at 60 per cent of the
response and recovery within half a cycle. Its power rating
volt-ampere (VA) rating. Users must should ensure a voltage dip of 10 per cent or less

term overload rating of UPS. Typical rat-
ings are 125 per cent overload for 10 min-
utes and 150 per cent for 60 seconds.
Industrial applications require differ-
ent design parameters compared to data-
processing counterparts. UPS in commer-
cial applications have become commodity
items, while industrial UPS systems re-
main an engineered product. The selected
UPS system should have better non-lin-
ear load-handling capacity with pure
sinewave output.
TVS LanUPS Load should be calculated on the ba-
other equipment connected in tandem.
Duration of current inrush depends on
the inertia of mechanical loads driven. In-
ductive loads present a lagging PF, gen-
erating spikes when these are switched
off. This necessitates a built-in protection
to prevent damage.
Decide how long the UPS must power
your system. This will depend upon what
exactly you would want to do once there
is a power cut. If all you need to do is just
save the file on the computer and shut
down, you will not require more than a

ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001 31

 BUYING GUIDE

few minutes of backup time. with colour monitors and a printer re- tery charging must be ensured at the low-
Also consider the total number of de- quires 650 VA. A network consisting of a est limit.
vices that must be kept ‘on’. During this server with up to five disk-less nodes with RFI/EMI filter protection at the input
period, ideally a printer should not be con- monitors consumes 1,600 VA, while a net- saves the UPS from malfunction due to
nected to the UPS, as it consumes too work consisting of a server and up to disturbances. UPS are designed to accept
much power. seven disk-less nodes with mono moni- a lagging PF of up to 0.8 to cater to in-
Sizing. When calculating the UPS tors requires 2200 VA. dustrial loads. For many loads the start-
rating, factors to be considered include Specifications. You should under- ing kVA rating should be high. Inrush
maximum kVA rating (at 0.8 PF or the stand vendor specifications correctly in currents of AC motors, incandescent
supplier’s stated value), maximum kW order to meet your load requirements. lamps, power supplies, etc need to be
rating, and crest factor (peak feeding ca- Specifications are categorised as environ- matched with permissible short-duration
pability). A typical example of a mixed mental, mechanical, and electrical. overload rating of UPS.
load situation is depicted below: The performance of semiconductors An additional load should not create
used in a UPS system depends on envi- a voltage dip to disturb the exisiting loads
A Mixed Load Situation ronmental conditions (like minimum/ running on the same UPS. The UPS sys-
Load kVA PF kW kVAR maximum operating conditions, relative tem should match the load to ensure fast
Computer 50 0.6 30 40 humidity, dust, altitude, etc) for control response and recovery within half a cycle.
Resistive 150 1.0 150 0
room applications and computer installa- Its power rating should ensure a voltage
Motor 20 0.8 16 12
Total 196 52 tions. dip of 10 per cent or less.
Standard UPS specifications include The use of PWM techniques and mag-
The total kVA in this case cannot be an operating temperature of 0 to 48oC. In netic components in UPS generates au-
obtained by the arithmetic sum due to an emergency, if the AC mains fails, the dible noise. Since UPS systems are often
the difference in power factors. UPS may have to withstand higher tem- located next to equipment and operators,
Hence, kVA = (kW)2 + (kVAR)2 perature and moisture conditions. So a acoustic noise should be less than 55-60
=1962+522 = 203.1 system specified at 40oC needs de-rating. dB.
Resultant PF = 196/203 = 0.97 The de-rating values are sometimes men- Often specifications like EMI/RFI lev-
The selected UPS must satisfy 196kW tioned in specifications. els, I/O galvanic isolation, MTBF, and
and 203kVA, or higher, output capacity Sealed lead-acid batteries need oper- availability factor are not mentioned ex-
simultaneously. Normally, PF rating for ating temperature of 25oC, so it is always plicitly. These are usually provided by re-
a UPS is 0.8, so the required UPS rating preferable to keep UPS and SMF batter- puted vendors on request.
is 196/0.8=245 kVA. This will automati- ies in AC rooms. Low temperature en- There is no benefit in buying a UPS
cally meet the 203kVA requirement, with hances equipment’s life and therefore you of a higher kVA rating than that required,
load demand of 196 kW. should be careful against tall claims made unless more equipment are to be added
The following table indicates power by UPS manufacturers about high-tem- in near future. Load and battery capacity
consumption by some standard loads: perature operations. dictate backup and VA rating. Depending
UPS creates prob- on the backup required, batteries of req-
AC motors VA as specified Inrush current is lems when exposed to uisite capacities are installed.
with PF 5-6 times the high temperature, dust,
rated current
and moisture. In rainy
Pentium PC 250-300 VA Inrush current due to SMPS
season a high humidity
Fluorescent 70 VA — results in condensation
tube (40W)
inside the equipment,
Laser printers, 400-500 VA High inrush currents
plotters and heavy surge currents which weakens the
system’s insulation.
Electric heaters In kW as PF=1, no inrush current
specified At altitudes higher
than that specified by the
For non-linear loads it is not possible manufacturer, cooling required may not
to calculate the UPS rating as the data be sufficient because of low air-pressure.
pertaining to their characteristics (such Datasheets might depict the UPS system
as kVA, kW, PF, load crest factor, etc) is to be designed for up to 1000m height,
unavailable. It is advisable to arrive at beyond which the UPS needs de-rating.
the UPS capacity by using industry Electrical characteristics include in-
norms. Add kVA capacity of all loads. If put supply, frequency, etc. If the input
ratings are described in kW, these can be voltage is lower than the specified limit,
converted into kVA by using the relation- the charger will not be able to produce
ship kVA=kW/0.6, where the assumed PF sufficient DC voltage to charge the bat-
is 0.6. The UPS capacity should be 30 per teries up to the rated voltage. Even if the
cent higher than the total kVA calculated. UPS works at low mains voltage, the bat-
A Pentium PC with colour monitor teries will remain uncharged and will not
requires 500 VA, while two Pentium PCs give any backup when power fails. So bat- Instrumentation UPS

32 ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001

CMYK

Aplab Powerbook 700
Other aspects include the type of UPS
(single or parallel), redundancy, automatic
bypass (if required to normal supply or
standby supply), input power-supply volt-
age, frequency, phase, voltage/frequency
tolerance, and earthing of neutrals of the
UPS and bypass supplies.
Quality of output. Low output dis-
tortions, capacity to cater to non-linear
loads, and output control dictate the out-
put quality. For 0 to 100 per cent load
change in steps, the output shall remain
within ±5 to ±8 per cent and recover to
normal value in 5 to 10 minutes. UPS
with PWM techniques and sine wave as
reference can meet this stipulation, so
check for the technique used.
Switching technique produces im-
mense audible noise. Typical noise figure
for a high-rated UPS at 1.5 m from it is
Cansoft UPS
BUYING GUIDE
60-65 dB. The noise depends on the
switching frequency of devices used in the
inverter section. The higher the frequency,
the lesser the noise. Using BJT and IGBTs
helps in reducing the noise. For a UPS
with lower rating of up to 2 kVA, using
MOSFET-based technology, the audible
noise is as low as 45 dB, which allows the
user to keep UPS system next to the com-
puter.
Do not forget to consider wider input
window and efficiency aspects. The input
supply window should cater to local power
situations and fluctuations. It should be
of 190V to 270V (–20 per cent to +15 per
cent) for single-phase input systems and
a minimum of 360 to 400V for three-phase
supply systems.
The overall efficiency of UPS should
be more than 85 per cent, which reduces
operating/recurring expenditure by 15 to
20 per cent a month. A UPS system with
better rectification technique and higher
overall efficiency can obviate oversizing
of alternate backup source (such as diesel
generator).
A PC will reboot if the drop in voltage
during switchover is below the threshold
level (135V), so transfer time (the time
lag when the UPS is switched from the
mains to battery) should not be more than
20 ms. Ensure that the UPS features
built-in AVR, fast recharging of batteries,
protections, and long battery life. Online
UPS is the best choice when there are
some lingering doubts about transfer time.
UPS efficiency is usually specified at
full load (100 per cent load), but in real-
ity most UPS are loaded at 25 per cent or
50 per cent only. So check out this fea-
ture with UPS manufacturer.
High inverter efficiency increases bat-
tery backup time with the same battery
ampere-hour (AH), reducing additional
cost. Good AC-AC efficiency and inverter
efficiency reduce heat loss and main-
tain the ambient temperature of
UPS system. Poor efficiency results
in higher power bills and higher bat-
tery AH capacity.
The maximum/minimum output
voltage of the UPS should be within
10 per cent of 230V, which increases
regulation. The higher the range of
supply voltage for which the UPS
continues on mains without switch-
ing to it, the better the regulation.
Also check whether the kW rating
of generating set is dedicated to the
UPS or shared with other building
ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001 33
 BUYING GUIDE

UPS FEATURES
MAKE and model Rating (VA) Backup (hrs.) Efficiency Output Output volts Input DC Input AC Battery Protection Output Tech. Price (Rs)
(%) waveform volts volts capacity (AH) freq (Hz)
Copper Connections
UPS OL 1000E 24 1000 2 >90 Sine 220 ± 5% 24 160-290 100 OL,SC, BOC, BDD, 50 ± 1% OL
SP, SU
UPS OL 1000B 120 1000 0.5 do do do 120 do 7 do do RS232I,
UPS OL 2000E 48 2000 2 do do do 48 do 100 do do
UPS OL 2000E 120 2000 5 do do do 120 do 100 do do CCCV CHG,
UPS OL 2000B 120 2000 0.33 do do do 120 do 7 do do MCB
UPS OL 3000E 120 3000 3 do do do 120 do 100 do do (Common to all)
UPS OL 5000E 120 5000 2 do do do 120 do 100 do do

Aar-em Electronics
UPS - 5001 500 0.33 SASWO do 170-275 OV,UV, OL, SC, do EMI/RF Filter
LB, ADD LI
UPS 500T do do do do do do do
UPS 650 650 do do do do do do
NET UPS 600 do do do 150-280 do do
UPS-1000 1000 do do do do do do
UPS-1600 1600 do do do do do do

Sar Slicon
ECO/SOHO 500 500 (20-25) (7-10) 220(110V optional) 150-275 SP, IF, M/N 5 0 ±6% COT 4ms, (3700),4700
Luminous 700 700 (40-50),(20-22) do do do do COT 3ms 8600/-

Cansoft
Offline UPS 2000 95 SSW 2 3 0 ±3% 145 −270 S,SU P, SC, 50 ± 0.5% OFL TT 4ms, 17,500/-
BL,OL AVR RS232

Online UPS 1000 90 IM TSW 230 ±.5% 48 160-275 50 ± 05% pf0.7,OLC 300% 21,000/-
or 415 5 secs,
HRCFP,OL, HV,
BL, MCB,
Domestic UPS 600 90 FL do 12 116-275 50 7,300/-
Aplab Powerbook 500 MSW 2 3 0 ±3% 220 ±2 5 % SC, BRP, OL, 5 0 ±1% LI, CS, B1B, 4950/-
700 CS AVR BI,
OL, SC, UV, OY, TT<3ms, RS232
SS, AC/DC Fuse,
Kirloskar
Nano-AT/NT-2/3/5 2000/3000/ upto 8 hrs 144 160-270 230 ± 1.5% 50 ± 0.1% 87-92(I) 80-85(o) P S W OY UY,BUV,SC, AN<55dB, 48000/53600
KVA 5000 autonomy OL, OT,DOC TTU,TON, 65000/70600
UFC,FAC, 94000/99600
CS CI,
RM,CBD

Penguin 7.5/10/15 7500/10000/ upto 2hrs 240 330-470(3PH) 230± 1.5% 50 ± 0.1% 90-93(I) 86-90(0) do do do 128000/-
KVA 15000 autonomy 161000/-
255000/-
DOLPHIN 20/30/40/50 20,000/ upto 1 hrs 336 do (3PH) do do 90-94(I) 87-90(o) do do do 310000/-
KVA 30,000/ autonomy 400000/-
40,000/ 490000/-
50,000/- 585000/-
670000/-
Wipro Eperipherals 525 160-290 SPO, CS, MBII, 5800/-
eMerge 525 SS,UV,OY,ISC, SPMDP,GC, SMB
EMI/RFI,

Aldin
AEI/500/12V 500 0.25 to 0.33 12 0.80 HV/LV, HB/LB,OL MC, OFL, 2ms, 5200/-
Mpc
AEI/750/12V 750 do 12 do do do 6500/-

L E G E N D
ADD - automatic deep-discharge protection GC - generator compatible OFL - offline S - surge
AN - audible noise HB/LB - high/low battery OLC - overload capacity SASWO - stepped approximation to sinewave
BDD - bty deep-discharge HV/LV - high/low voltage OL - online output
BL - battery low ICB - circuit breakers for input OL - overload SC - short circuit
BOC - bty over-charge IF - input fuse OOL - output overload SMB - sleep mode for battery longevity
BPF - bypass fuses I - inverter O - overall SPMDP - software for power management and
BRP - bty reverse polarity LB - low battery OT - over temperature data protection
BUV - battery under-voltage LI - line interactive OUV - output undervlotage SPO - surge-protected outlet
CBD - custom-built design MBII - microprocessor-based design with OVCO - over voltage cut-off SS - surge suppresion
CCCV - constant-current constant-voltage intelligent interface OV - over voltage SSVVO - stablised sinewave output
charging MC - microporcessor control PMS - power management software SSW - step sinewave
CI - computer interface MCB - microcontroller-based PSW - pure sine wave TON - true on line
COT - changeover time MF - mains fuse QSW - quasi sine wave TT - transfer time
CS - cold start MP - microprocessor RDA - redundant parallel architecture UFSC - unattended file saving capacity
DOC - DC over current MP - modern protection RM - remote monitoring UVCO - under-voltage cut-off
FAL - fully automatic control MSW - modified sinewave RS - 232I-RS-232 interface UV - under voltage

34 ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001

CMYK
 BUYING GUIDE

UPS FEATURES
Make and model Rating (VA) Backup Battery Input DC Input Output AC Output freq Efficency (%) Wave Protection Tech. Price
(hrs) capacity (V) AC (V) (V) (Hz) shape
TVS Electronics (AH)
Start UPS Lite 500 500 0.166 7 12 140-300 230 ± 5% 50 ± 0-2% MSVV SU, MP, NP LI, IPMS< CS, BIB, 5280/-
HSB, AVR, NL, NP,
IP, TT<4ms,
N<45dB,
do
Start UPS Lite 700 700 0.25 7 12 166-275 do do do do 8,245/-
do
Startup UPS Lite 1000 1000 0.166 7 12 165-300 do 50 ± 0.5% do do 12,645/-
do
Startup UPS Lite 2000 2200 0.166 7 12 do do do do do 28,595/-
LI, NLS,NI,CS, BIB,
LAN UPS 1000M 0.25 24 140-300 2 3 0 ± 2% SVV OP, MS,
AVR,BM,PMS,IINM,
TT 4ms,
do
Lan UPS 1500M 1500 0.166 36 do do do do 23645/-
do
Lan UPS 2200M 2200 0.166 36 do do do do do 34,095/-
Lan UPS 3000M 3000 2.0 do do do do do 71,495/-

Instrumentation Ltd
IL UPS PRO 300VA/ 300/500/ 0.166/0.06/ 7 12 184-300 230 ± 5% 50 ± 0.1 SSW SS,LF,SP,NF,F/M/ LI, SD, BHM,
500VA/700VA/1050 700/1050 0.10/.13 NP, HSB,RS232I,
OSNF,TT2/
3.5ms,MC,RS232I,
40dBA L, MC,
HSB, SASD

IL MacroUPS 1/2 KVA 1000/2000 48/84 170-270 2 3 0 ± 2% 75 A-A 80A-A SW SC,OL,OH,HVCO, CC,CS,IOD,II
BLCo DB9,TIOL,TT
2ms,GC,TIOL,

IL-MS UPS 3.6-10 3600 230 ± 15% 2 3 0 ± 1% 95(I)85/86/87/87A-A S MCB,OL,SC,CB, AN 50/51/54/

KVA(3.6/6/8/10) 10,000 RFI F 54dB,RS232,TT<0.5
ms, MC, DC,CS,TM

The above features are indicative only, and may differ or change with time. Please check before buying.

ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001 35


services.
Battery. Sealed maintenance-free
(SMF) batteries are preferred because
these do not require any maintenance. If
you need to work for a long period during
power outage, a high-capacity battery has
to be installed.
If float voltage of the battery is too
low, the battery will not charge efficiently,
and if float voltage is too high, the bat-
tery will overheat, resulting in reduced
life. Check whether the dealer offers bat-
tery servicing and maintenance.
You should know how much battery
backup you would require in the case of
mains failure. This aspect is important
since UPS battery replacement is very ex-
pensive (as much as 30-50 per cent of the
total cost of UPS). Temperature, battery
charger design, float voltage settings, and
ripple current affect reliability of the bat-
tery.
The battery should have more charge-
discharge life-cycles. A good battery man-
agement system carries out periodic tests
of batteries to ensure that the backup is
available when it is needed the most. Stor-
age capacity of the battery determines the
backup time that will be available in the
case of power failure. If a long backup
time is required, it is advisable to go in
for additional batteries.
SMF battery should be used to backup
for up to one hour. However, using this
battery costs high when backup is re-
quired for more than one hour, so tubu-
lar battery with ceramic plug should be
used as the second option. The battery
should be kept on charge permanently.
In most cases batteries are not kept un-
der charge when the office is closed, which
results in reduced battery life.
SMF batteries are suitable for any en-
vironment, while automotive/tubular bat-
teries are generally used when proper ven-
tilation is available.
Software support. The UPS should
support the concerned software environ-
Champion i-UPS
36
CMYK
BUYING GUIDE
Types of UPS
You should understand the differences between online, offline, and line-
interactive UPS vis-à-vis your exact requirement of power.
Online UPS uses double-conversion technique, wherein input AC is
converted to DC and then AC output is regenerated. During mains fail-
ure DC power is taken from the battery in zero transfer time. Bypass
feature is incorporated to transfer the load directly to the mains even if
the inverter fails for a moment.
Standby or offline UPS switches in a brief transfer time from the
mains to inverter, which uses internal battery when the supply fails.
Line-interactive UPS is a combination of online and offline UPS sys-
tems, wherein the inverter plays the dual role of charging the battery
when the mains supply is present as well as regulating the output
voltage. In the absence of mains supply it functions as a normal inverter.
Line voltage is monitored at all times, activating the power transformer
when utility supply deviates from specified parameters.
Hybrids touted as line-interactive model in the market are in fact
glorified offline designs with tap changer on the output transformer. An-
other version combines some features of online and offline versions. Power
is supplied to the load normally from the mains. The inverter is kept
running and synchronised to the utility line.
ment. The most essential software nowa- view of reliability and simplicity in re-
days is ‘auto shutdown’. Smart interface pairs. The higher the MTBF, the better is
feature is a must for servers in networks. the reliability. MTBF is generally 20,000
For individual PCs this feature is not es- to 30,000 hours. MTTR should be as low
sential. Serial communication and soft- as possible. It is usually 2 to 4 hours.
ware features should be checked on if you Site-wiring-fault indicator alerts you
intend to purchase the UPS for a PC/com- of potential wiring problems on the site,
puter network. Better display and diag- such as poor ground or reversed polarity.
nosis system, frequency synchronisation Front-panel indicators (low-battery
window, better voltage regulation, and indicator, replace-battery indicator, and
charger capacity with various types of bat- load meter) indicate how much of the
teries are to be considered. Power capac- UPS capacity is being used vis-à-vis the
ity (VA rating) of the UPS should be load.
checked with a suitable load. UPS can catch fire due to over-heat-
Miscellaneous. Cold-start feature en- ing of components inside it or high volt-
ables you to switch on the computer when ages reaching the input during ‘off’ hours.
there is no mains supply and work as So it is important for ABS plastic used in
long as the backup time allows. Thus you some UPS cabinets to be fire-retardant.
are able to complete emergency work dur- Servicing & brand. Reputation of
ing power failures. No-load cut-off feature the manufacturer, quality of after-sales
enables the UPS to go into sleep mode service, commitment to the product, in-
when no load is connected, preventing un- frastructure, and staying power are some
necessary battery discharge. other vital factors to be considered.
Safe shutdown of critical network Price. The cost of a UPS involves not
servers, monitoring of UPS status, only the price of the product but also the
diagnostics, failure analysis, control maintenance cost, operating costs (elec-
of UPS, and self tests are some of the tricity bills), and the cost of replacing the
key aspects. Protection against short- battery every 1-2 years. It should be lesser
circuit, surges, spikes, overload, than 20 per cent of the investment you
underload, battery overdischarge, etc make on the computer. A high-technol-
should be ensured. ogy UPS definitely demands higher pre-
Mean time between failures mium than the low-technology UPS. But
(MTBF) and mean time to repair it pays off over a period of time.
(MTTR) are vital from the point of ❏
ELECTRONICS FOR YOU ❚ MAY 2001