A single utility source is normally how each of us manages on a daily requirement for energy. Beware of this, as this lone supplier may feel overloaded at times and decide to cut off its’ energy supply. It is in such a situation that we need an UPS to provide us with an uninterrupted power supply.How do we know which one to choose and which one is good?

As is known, uninterruptible power supplies or UPS are a back up source of energy that provide emergency power to devices that are connected to it until the main utility source is restored or the equipment safely switched off. Places such as hospitals rely on an uninterrupted power supply to save lives. It deters serious situations by keeping the power supply on all the time.

But how can we tell which uninterruptible power supply is appropriate for us. The on-line and the line interactive UPS systems are the two primary kinds of uninterruptible power supplies. The on-line uninterruptible power supply utilises the ‘double conversion’ technology wherein it takes in the AC input that is available from the main utility source and converts it into DC power, which is required for it to pass through the battery and again changes it back to AC power to run the connected equipment.

The line interactive uninterruptible power supplies have an internal or in-line inverter that transmits the DC power of the battery from the standard charging form to supplying energy during an emergency power failure. This UPS system is similar to the stand by or off-line UPS system but it has a flexible electrical transformer that has the ability to increase or decrease the magnetic field and therefore produce a different voltage to that of the transformer. Without using up the stored energy it is able to withstand constant high voltage surges and low voltage brownouts.

An on-line UPS is perfect for situations where there are extreme voltage fluctuations and the equipment connected to it is highly sensitive. The line-interactive and the stand-by UPS are slightly cheaper than this one and were once used only in large consumption installatiions. They are available now however, in smaller consumer equipments. These use about 500 watts of power. Large industries that have vast numbers of noise-making equipment generally will use this as they are convenient to this type of environment. A back up generator, apart from this may be required to supply these equipments with uninterrupted power supply.

They are more expensive than the other two types of UPS systems for the sole reason that they have a powerful AC to DC converter with advanced cooling systems that allow them to efficiently provide energy sources to your equipment. The on-line UPS require no power transmission switches as the converter moves out of the circuit when there is a power cut and moves back in to resume charging when the main power supply is restored.

You can decide, based on the two designs which uninterruptible power supply suits you the best. Whether it is for your home or office or a large organisation or industry, uninterruptible power supplies will provide you an uninterrupted power supply always.

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