|
First decide what
equipment you want to use the UPS for. At a minimum it should be your
computer and perhaps one terminal. By having a terminal on the UPS
this will allow you to shutdown the computer before the UPS runs out
of juice.
On the back of
the equipment there should be a listing in either watts or amps. You
need to calculate the voltage-amps (VA) power rating. If watts is
given, VA=watts x 1.7. If amps is given, VA=amps x 120. Add up the
total VA values. You will need an UPS with at least the total VA
value.
It is recommended
to go higher than your VA total. A VA of 600 on a UPS rated at 600
will run for about 5 minutes. By increasing the UPS to 900, the same
VA of 600 will increase the run time to 15 minutes.
top of page
These simple instructions
will allow you to verify the battery power of your UPS. Over time,
UPS batteries wear out. This leads to a loss of power capacity and
runtime. Testing your unit monthly will ensure that the batteries
are still providing the required runtime for your system.
Depending upon
the model of UPS you own, you may either perform a manual test on
your unit or use APC's PowerChute(R) plus software to monitor and
log the results of the automatic battery test.
To
perform a manual test you..
- Simply press
the test button located on the UPS.
- After testing,
if you find that the battery indicator has turned red, then you
may need to replace your batteries or upgrade your UPS.
The new APC systems
have user-replaceable batteries which can be changed with no system
downtime! If your UPS has neither a self-test button nor PowerChute,
you have a very old model. It's probably time to upgrade your UPS.
top of page
Blackout
This is when
the power drops to practically or absolutely nothing. In a study
by IBM of the five major causes of power disturbances, blackouts
rated for only 1% of the total. UPS are the only devices that
will handle blackouts.
Brownout
This is a
temporary reduction in power which can last from seconds to hours.
This is the most significant of power problems and accounts for
87%. Utility companies will sometimes actually cause a brownout
on purpose to provide a little power to everyone during high demands.
Conditioners or an UPS with conditioner will handle brownouts.
Surges
A surge is
a transient increase of power for more than a fraction of a second
and less than 2.5 seconds. Surges cause a power supply to generate
heat. Heat is the major cause of equipment failure. SURGE SUPPRESSORS
DO NOT SUPPRESS SURGES, they only suppress spikes. Conditioners
or an UPS with conditioner will handle surges.
Spikes
Spikes are
an intense increase/decrease in voltage. They are more extreme
than a surge and of shorter duration. Spikes can mess up the computer's
memory causing weird or strange things to happen. In extreme cases,
spikes can actually melt wiring. An IBM study predicts a power
disturbance at least twice a day. Surge suppressor protect against
spikes. Don't ask why they don't call them spike suppressor.
top of page
Surge Suppressor
UPS
Line Voltage Regulators
These protect
against voltage fluctuation but don't handle surges, spikes or
blackouts.
Isolation Transformers
These protect
equipment from electrical noise. They are used with mainly communication
and process control equipment.
Power Line Conditioner
This is a
combination of line voltage regulator, isolation transfer and
surge suppressor. It handles everything but blackouts.
Telephone Line Surge
Suppressor
This is a
type of surge suppressor. Because a modem provides little or no
power protection, power problems over phone lines can be more
destructive than over electrical power lines.
top of page |
Business Info 
