All About UPS ( Uninterruptible Power Supplies )
So, what is it exactly, that a UPS can do for you? Well, as I stated before, UPS stands for (Uninterruptible Power Supplies). The name itself is a pretty good definition as you can probably see. However, if you’re looking for a “proper” definition, webopedia.com offers a good one: “UPS: a power supply that includes a battery to maintain power in the event of a power outage. Typically, a UPS keeps a computer running for several minutes after a power outage, enabling you to save data that is in RAM and shut down the computer gracefully.”As you can see, this can be a great asset to you (particularly in a business setting) because it enables you to keep important data in the event that something goes wrong and there is a power outage. This can, of course, mean the difference between a smooth work day and a scramble to get all of your work done again. I can’t imagine that anyone wants that to happen!
Many UPS’s now offer a software component that will allow you to automate backup and shut down what you’re working on in case there’s a power failure while you’re away from your computer. This in itself can be a vital way to not only keep all of your information safe but also keep your computer in good running condition. When it comes to things like this, you do not want to leave these kinds of things to chance. That’s why I truly believe that everyone should look into purchasing and setting up a UPS with their own computer system.
A UPS generally protects a computer against four different power problems. The problems it generally protects from are voltage surges and spikes (voltage is greater than it should be), voltage sags ( the voltage on the line is less than it should be), total power failure (such as when a fuse is blown), and finally frequency differences (when the power is oscillating at something other than 60 Hertz). What your computer expects to get from the grid ( at least in the US) is 120-volt AC power oscillating at 60 Hertz. You see, a computer can tolerate slight differences from this specification, but a significant deviation will cause the computer’s power supply to fail. That is why a UPS can be so beneficial for working on your computer.
A computer getting its power from a UPS can run from one of two different type of waveforms; A modified sinewave which is the least expensive type to build for manufacturers, and a pure sinewave which uses special circuitry to emulate the power coming off of the power grid. This secondary type is necessary for all of the new servers, as they are particularly fussy when it comes to supplying reliable internal power to the components that make up a server. Some of the workstations may require this also, but the vast amount of these will run fine on a modified sinewave UPS. Just make sure that you supply a UPS that has enough power to reliably run your equipment. Under sizing the UPS will lead to power fails due to overloading and also short run times when you really need the longer times to keep you productive.
Finally, there are two different types of UPS systems to choose from. A standby UPS runs the computer off of the normal power until it detects a problem and with the continuous UPS, the computer is always running off of battery power and the battery is continuously being recharged. As you can see, there are a lot of details you can choose from when choosing your UPS.
What do you think would be the most useful thing about owning a UPS?