New Industry Products

Single-Phase UPS Range with Unity Power Factor Capability

June 10, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

Schneider Electric has announced its new 5- to 10-kVA on-line UPS range. The 6- to 10-kVA units are the company's first single-phase UPS range to feature unity power factor capability, while the 5-kVA UPS have 0.9 power factor. The new range has been designed with a fast recharge time, providing high uptime in installations where chronic power problems may result in multiple successive power outages within a short period of time. Additionally, the UPS can operate with or without a charged battery to guarantee load restart once utility power is restored.

Bill Manning, VP Business Power Solutions, Schneider Electric said, "With rising cost of energy and concerns over efficiency, IT and facility professionals are keen to minimize waste by ensuring a better fit between infrastructure and load requirements. Our unity power factor UPS help reduce waste as well as complexity when specifying power protection. Unity power factor provides more real power for the active power factor corrected Switched Mode Power Supplies typically found in most IT servers and network equipment."

The new Smart-UPS On-Line offers efficient power quality and performance in a compact footprint. Its flexible design allows the units to be configured for rack-mounted or free standing applications, making the new UPS easy to install, operate and service in almost any environment. The range is complete with an embedded network management card enabling further accessories and communication options to be conveniently added.

Designed for a range of applications, from network and server rooms to branch offices and secure power uses, the new APC Smart-UPS On-Line utilize double conversion, on-line topology. This high availability design, in which the inverter continuously provides regulated power output, means the UPS can be used to protect equipment that is not resilient to the slightest break in voltage or variations in frequency (e.g., devices with linear power supplies which are ubiquitous in the process and control industries).

However, since most computer and networking equipment can easily ride through small voltage breaks (>20ms), Smart-UPS On-Line can also be operated in a high efficiency operating "green" mode. In a steady state, double conversion operations are bypassed to enable up to 97% UPS efficiency*. Not only does this reduce power use and cost, but also the cooling required as units create fewer heat losses. Lower heat also leads to longer life of key components such as batteries.

A graphical LCD with multi-color backlight provides a real-time, at-a-glance display of UPS status. The LCD also provides diagnostic and log information that that may be helpful to identify power issues before they result in any downtime. To enhance efficient operations and energy monitoring, the units also feature a built-in Energy Meter.

The new Smart-UPS On-Line range also features Intelligent Battery Management with Predictive Battery Replacement that continually adjusts to enhance battery life, enables users to check the health of each battery (including those in external packs) and provides the most advanced warning that a battery needs to be replaced. In the event of a failure, a user interface enables the specific battery to be easily located and recommends if the user should replace other batteries at the same time. Batteries are hot-swappable and can be replaced with no interruption to operations.