subject: Uniterrupted Power Supply (UPS) [print this page] Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) are used in organizations that cannot afford to lose power for any period of time If the critical power supply is interrupted then the UPS system will back-up the power supply and provide cover until the mains power supply is restored. It is not uncommon however for power supplies to fail for prolonged period of times and often in these situations the UPS systems battery will be exhausted. It is in this situation where a standby generator and fuel supply is necessary in order to maintain a power supply. It is not enough to have any backup generator as they do not come online automatically unless they are paired with the correct UPS system. There are many varieties of backup generators and UPS systems meaning that matching the two is vital so that your home or business will survive a power outage.
The UPS and generator must be matched correctly because if they are not they can create problems for each other. The most common problems are that a generators frequency range can sometimes be too wide for a UPS system to handle or that the generators slew rate is to fast for the UPS system to safely follow. This issue can be overcome by installing an electronic governor to the backup generator which will manage its output by limiting the frequency. A further issue is the UPS can also interfere with how the generators control power as they often include rectifier charge control circuits which enforce notches on the power feed.
