UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source fails. A UPS is typically used to protect computers & servers from an unexpected power disruption and range in size.

How can it help me?
A UPS has internal batteries to guarantee that continuous power is provided to the equipment even if the power source stops providing power. Of course the UPS can only provide power for a while, typically a few minutes, but that is often enough to ride out power company glitches or short outages. Even if the outage is longer than the battery lifetime of the UPS, this provides the opportunity to execute an orderly shutdown of the equipment.

Advantages:

Computer jobs don’t stop simply because the power fails.

Users are not inconvenienced by their computer shutting down.

Equipment does not incur the stress of another (hard) power cycle.

Data isn’t lost because  machine shut down without doing a “sync” or equivalent to flush cached or real time data.

How long can my equipment on a UPS keep running after the power goes?
A: That depends on how big a UPS you have and what kind of equipment it protects. For most typical computer workstations, one might have a UPS that was rated to keep the machine alive through a 15 minute power loss. If it is important for a machine to survive hours without power, a more robust power backup solution that includes a generator and other components may be considered.

Interested in learning more about UPS? Contact MTI today!