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What is an uninterrupted power supply and how could it benefit your business?
An uninterrupted power supply (UPS) is designed to provide short-term emergency power backup if the mains electricity supply is disrupted or disturbed. Installing a UPSÂ power system will protect electronic equipment such as personal computers, electronic equipment, IT equipment, along with machinery, telecommunications networks and infrastructure in the event of a power outage or other unexpected problem.
Ensuring an uninterrupted power supply is vital because a huge range of diverse sectors depend upon clean, continuous power. From manufacturing and banking, through to retail, healthcare, utilities and transportation, 21st century businesses rely upon power source protection to operate successfully.
A lack of power protection and unexpected power disruption to mission-critical networks has the potential to result in data loss, damaging downtime to computer systems and a shutdown of software. Not only can this lead to a huge loss in revenues and many hours of lost productivity, in some cases it can also lead to serious injury or even death.
The backup power provided by an uninterruptible power supply not only provides peace of mind, it will also significantly reduce such risks and should therefore form a crucial part of any organisation’s continuity strategy.
How do uninterruptible power supplies work?
Unlike other standby power systems such as generators, UPSs use battery backups, supercapacitors or flywheels to store energy. This means that power is maintained to the load when the mains supply is disrupted or disturbed.
Most UPS systems have a relatively short battery runtime, however the battery backup provided still gives sufficient time to either allow connected equipment to shutdown safely with minimal risk of data loss or damage, or for an alternative power source (a generator, for example) to kick-in. In summary, this means that the primary role of a UPS is to provide short-term power in the event of an emergency.
Furthermore, the majority of modern uninterruptible power supply systems will correct a range of commonplace power issues, including:
- Surge protection: an unexpected increase in voltage caused by an event such as a lighting strike.
- Power spikes: bursts of energy on the power line which only last for a millisecond.
- Power sags: when the power voltage dips below the usual mains supply level.
- Brownouts: similar to a sag, a brownout is an under-voltage which lasts for a longer period of time.
Protect your business with an uninterruptible power supply
The importance of the power supply to your business should not be underestimated. Failure to ensure your business is protected by an uninterruptible power supply will not only safeguard your staff, productivity, revenues and data will be safeguarded too.
