The Arizona Monsoon season begins in early to mid-June and can last for two to three months. During this time, sudden storms can cause lightning, high winds, heavy rain, and flooding. These storms can also cause power outages. These issues can affect your electrical systems and increase your risk of data loss, power surges, and fried electronics and electrical equipment. Installing a battery backup system or uninterruptible power supply (UPS) offers protection for all protected electronics.
What is a UPS?
An uninterruptible power supply is a piece of hardware that protects electronics and data. It offers a backup source of power in the event of a main power failure. It automatically turns on when it senses a power failure caused by an electrical current problem due to a blackout, brownout, or power surge. A small UPS can protect individual computers, and a larger UPS can protect multiple devices or even a small office.
How Uninterruptible Power Supplies Work
A UPS is different from a standby generator or emergency power system, as it offers instantaneous protection from power interruption and is powered by a battery. A UPS consists of batteries, an inverter, a rectifier, and a static bypass switch. The UPS rectifier converts the input utility power from AC to DC and recharges the batteries as DC power is routed to the inverter. The inverter then converts DC power back to AC power for load use. The static bypass switch channels AC power through the UPS to the load while bypassing the UPS components. This is a defensive measure that protects against a UPS failure.
The Main Types of UPS
A UPS power supply can be in the form of a standby or offline UPS, line-interactive UPS, or online or double-conversion UPS.
- Standby – A standby UPS system offers basic features like surge protection and battery backup. The cost is lower, but the power supply quality is not as robust as other types. If the utility power fails or doesn’t perform correctly, the inverter and battery supply continuous power to the load within 10ms. A standby UPS is only used for low power ratings of less than 2 kVA, and for powering devices that aren’t susceptible to voltage variation.
- Line-interactive – A line-interactive UPS offers battery backup with a transfer time of less than 10ms. It offers better power supply quality as it uses a bypass mode through which the load is transferred to the bypass AC input when the UPS functions fail. It has a higher cost but is more versatile and powerful. It can be used with low power ratings of less than 6 kVA.
- Online UPS – An online UPS offers continuous, pure, and high-quality power no matter the condition of input utility power. It is a reliable, effective solution for all main power supply problems, and offers instantaneous power without transfer time. It is the highest cost of the three options and can be used for power ratings higher than 1 kVA and meets the needs of high power supply requirements.
What to Consider When Choosing a UPS
Your IT team or IT consultant can help you choose the right UPS system for your office. They will consider:
- Voltage rating – The UPS voltage rating is the measurement of the max load it can support, ranging from 300 VA to 5000 kVA.
- Performance monitoring – Performance monitoring assesses warning signs like an overheating battery or deteriorating performance. It will send real-time notifications if an issue develops.
- Available connections – A UPS battery typically offers 5-8 outlets. You may need one that also offers ethernet and coaxial connections.
- Form factors – The two primary form factors are freestanding or tower, and rack-mounted. A tower is smaller and used for simpler home office and small office setups. A rack-mounted UPS system is larger and used for complex commercial operations.
- Battery – Batteries that can be replaced may extend the lifespan of your system and help you avoid replacing the whole unit if the battery breaks down.
- Noise – Larger UPS systems may require a fan for cooling, which can be noisy.
Learn More About Installing a Battery Backup System in Tucson, AZ
Don’t risk your company’s performance, efficiency, or productivity this monsoon season. Installing a battery backup system in Tucson, AZ will protect you from power outages, power surges, and data loss. At Silverado Technologies, we offer comprehensive disaster recovery services. These services can protect you from a natural disaster, data breach, or IT security breach.
When you schedule a consultation with our team, we’ll assess your needs and goals and go over all of our options for disaster prevention and recovery. We specialize in periodic inventory checks, data and backup tools, targeted risk assessments, disaster recovery team meetings, cloud solutions, ongoing communication and planning, and robust testing of all systems for efficiency and accuracy. To schedule a consultation, call us today at 520-903-1580 or contact us online.