Choosing an Uninterruptable Power Supply to meet your business requirements

The Challenge

Use this solution brief to help you choose the type of UPS to protect your sensitive equipment.

Standby UPS

Standby UPS, also known as off-line or line-preferred UPS, offers only the most basic features, providing surge protection and battery backup. The protected equipment is normally connected directly to incoming utility power then mechanically switches the connected equipment on to its battery output when required. This type of UPS system provides a high degree of efficiency, small size, and relatively low costs, making it suitable for personal computing.

Line Interactive UPS

In the line interactive design the UPS provides additional filtering and lowers the risk of switching transients because in case of power failure, the transfer switch can shift electrical flow from the battery to the system output. The line interactive design’s high levels of efficiency and reliability, as well as its relatively small size and low cost, make it well-suited for servers and racks.

Double Conversion/Online

The double conversion/online UPS is ideal for environments where electrical isolation is necessary or for equipment that is very sensitive to power fluctuations. In an online UPS, the batteries are always connected to the inverter, so that no power transfer switches are necessary. When power loss occurs, the rectifier simply drops out of the circuit and the batteries keep the power steady and unchanged. Online UPS provide the greatest amount of protection and are well suited to server rooms and data centers.