What is UPS? What is the use of uninterruptible power supply?

Definition: UPS uninterruptible power supply is an electronic device used to supply power to other devices (such as computers, communication equipment, etc.) during power outages.

The rectifier in UPS converts AC power to DC power, which is then stored in the battery. When the AC power is turned on, this process continues. When there is a power outage, the inverter converts DC power into AC power required for equipment operation.

We often rely on AC power to operate our household electronic devices, such as fans, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. For such devices, the impact of power outages at any time may be negligible, but for computer systems, communication equipment, and medical devices, the impact of instantaneous power outages is quite critical.

Let's take a computer system as an example. If we work for a long time and have a lot of unsaved work, all data will be lost in the event of an instant power outage. If we don't consider these issues, it could cause us a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, we now have UPS (uninterruptible power supply). When the external power source is unavailable, it will supply power to the device. We can easily save our work and properly shut down the system.

A、 The significance of UPS (uninterruptible power supply):

All of our devices rely on AC power to process inputs. But sometimes the AC power supply may malfunction due to circuit errors or short circuits in any network components. After a period of time, when the power supply is available, there may be slight changes in the output voltage.

This can cause voltage and current surges, and the distortion of these input voltages may lead to equipment degradation. Electronic devices require continuous power supply until the power is turned off.

UPS (uninterruptible power supply) plays a crucial role in providing a constant power supply. The running time of UPS depends on the battery capacity it uses.

B、 There are three types of UPS (uninterruptible power supply):

1、 Backup UPS:

A backup UPS consists of a battery, rectifier, inverter, EMI filter, surge suppressor, and transfer switch. When the communication input is fed to an offline UPS, surge suppressors or EMI filters remove peaks and distortions caused by power surges. The conversion switch connects the filter and switch path to the electronic device.

When the communication input is unavailable, the device switches the battery, rectifier, and inverter paths. In this case, the AC input is first converted to DC voltage, and then the battery is used to store the DC voltage. When AC power is needed, the inverter converts the DC voltage to AC voltage.

2、 Online interactive UPS:

Online interactive Ups are structurally similar to fallback Ups. The only difference between them is that the line interaction includes an automatic voltage regulator along with EMI and RFI filters. Automatic voltage regulator eliminates voltage fluctuations while suppressing voltage fluctuations.

3、 Online UPS:

An online UPS (uninterruptible power supply) consists of a battery, battery charger, and inverter. Online UPS is also known as a dual conversion system.

In the above type of primary power supply, it is AC mains power, while in the case of online UPS, the primary power supply is UPS with an inverter present.

On the online UPS above, it can be clearly seen that there is no conversion switch. Therefore, in the case of UPS online, the transmission time is zero. This means that in the event of a power outage, there will be continuous power supply.

Due to the direct connection of rectifiers, batteries, and inverters to the devices that require power supply, this type of online UPS is called a dual conversion system.

When AC power is available, the rectifier converts AC power into DC power, and then the battery stores the DC power and transmits it to the inverter. The inverter then converts the DC power into AC power and supplies it to the equipment.

In this way, regardless of whether AC power is available or unavailable, devices connected to the online UPS can obtain power from the inverter. UPS is a critical equipment that provides constant power in the event of a power failure. But it can provide short-term electricity.