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Power Conditioning Equipment

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

In countries like India power conditioning equipment plays an important part

in reducing downtime. It provides protection against common power disturbances

and power outages. The most commonly used PCE is UPS. Let's start with the

commonly available types of UPS and other PCE devices and what you should look

for when buying them.

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Line Interactive UPS



Such UPS are meant for small data centers and businesses. In these, the

UPS inverter is continuously connected to the output, which allows the UPS to

provide additional filtering. When buying such UPS always look for one with a

tap-changing transformer. Such transformers provide voltage regulation by

modifying transformer taps in case there is a variation in input voltage. Also

look for Line interactive UPS which allow direct flow of AC input to output, in

case of inverter failure.

On-Line UPS



Also known as Double Conversion Online UPS, these systems are largely meant

for mission critical equipment, data centers, etc. Such UPS use double

conversion technology to convert AC power to DC power. Here, the primary power

source are batteries of the UPS and the utility power is considered as secondary

power source. Simply put, the load connected to the on-line UPS always runs on

batteries regardless of whether there's a power failure or not. Due to this,

there is zero switchover time when a power failure occurs. Power is directly

passed through its inverter and the UPS uses a small part of this power to

recharge its batteries and conditions the rest of the power to deliver a nearly

ideal output. Another type of online UPS is Delta Conversion On-Line UPS. These

are similar to double conversion on-line UPS as they also have inverter as their

main power path. Also an added delta converter also supplies power to inverter

output. Usually, the size of such UPS ranges from 5KVA to 1.6MW. They have a

delta converter which controls i/p power and ensures that power is drawn

sinusoidally. With i/p power control, such UPS are also compatible with

generators.

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Fly Wheel UPS



With Green IT being the latest buzzword, Flywheel UPS are in demand. Such

UPS are not new but have significantly improved in the past few years and are

mostly used by companies as a first line of defense. This is largely because

they provide backup for a relatively short term and are mainly used in

conjunction with generators. Instead of batteries these systems store kinetic

energy which is converted to electricity. Here again different vendors use

different technologies but largely power from the grid is used to rotate the

flywheel (which is basically a rotor in a low-friction environment). This

rotor's inertia allows it to rotate in case of a power fluctuation and kinetic

energy generated through spinning of the rotor is converted to electricity by a

small generator inside the UPS. Now the catch is this back up is going to be

around 15 seconds or so. Within 15 seconds the main generator should get on to

ensure that equipment continues to receive power. Another advantage of a

Flywheel UPS is that it uses less space as compared to a static UPS (which needs

more space to keep batteries). Sometimes, flywheel UPS are also used in parallel

with batteries to improve lifetime and reliability, by reducing recharge cycles

of batteries caused by a short power outage.

Conditioning and distribution systems



Other than UPS, power conditioning and distribution systems are also used to

protect equipment from power disturbances. These devices are mostly meant for

large data centers and designed to optimize power. They also support features

like power monitoring, computer-grade power protection and power isolation. Most

of these systems are deployed to manage power coming from UPS and ensure that

conditioned power is delivered to every equipment. Some vendors claim that these

devices can maintain consistent output from +40% over voltage to -40% under

voltage.

Final words



When buying PCE always look for one which comes with a dual mains input.

This provides enhanced availability by allowing the device to receive power from

two different sources, ie if one power source fails, the device can still

continue to function by receiving power from the second source. Another good

feature is battery modules connected in parallel. This gives the comfort of HA

as redundant batteries are available. Similarly, make sure that batteries are

hot-swappable so the equipment receives continuous power supply. Also check for

generator compatibility; this would ensure that if your batteries run out of

steam and you need to run your equipment through generator power, the UPS can be

connected to a generator to ensure uninterrupted power. A good PCE should

protect against common power problems such as surges, sags, outages, flickers

and spikes. When buying PCE, also consider how much input voltage is required by

the transformer and output voltage of the transformer. You will also need to

consider its KVA capacity, operating frequency, overload capability, time

response, etc. Other things to look for are remote management of UPS, battery

failure notification through alarms and email etc. Besides deploying power

conditioning equipment, it is important to maintain them continuously, so that

it continues to keep all other systems running. You need to determine how

frequently maintenance should be performed and what kind of running costs to

expect. Also, you need to monitor your power conditioning equipment to ensure

that it's always up and running. In case something goes wrong, it tells you, in

advance, of the same. Also, it's always better to ask vendors and other

customers about what kind of failures to expect and how to tackle them before

buying a power conditioning equipment.

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