FAQ

There are 4 types of UPS.

1. Offline UPS
2. Inverter / Home UPS
3. Line-Interactive UPS
4. Online UPS

OFFLINE UPS

The Offline / Standby UPS (SPS) offer only the most basic features, providing surge protection and battery backup. With this type of UPS, a user's equipment is normally connected directly to incoming utility power with high Voltage & low voltage cut off. When the incoming utility voltage falls below a predetermined level the SPS turns on its internal DC-AC inverter circuitry, which is powered from an internal storage battery. The SPS then mechanically switches the connected equipment on to its DC-AC inverter output. The switchover time can be as long as 25 milliseconds depending on the amount of time it takes the Standby UPS to detect the lost utility voltage. Due to this any computers if connected may restart (Reboot) during power failures or power fluctuations.

HOME UPS

The Home ups is similar in all the ways to an offline ups & it has two models available in the market.

• 1. Home ups with square wave output
  2. Home ups with sine wave output

Line-interactive UPS:

The Line-Interactive UPS is similar in operation to a Standby UPS, but with the addition of a multi-tap variable-voltage autotransformer. This is a special type of electrical transformer that is used to provide Automatic voltage Regulator (Built-in Stabilizer) inside the UPS to protect your equipments from low & high voltages.

This type of UPS is able to tolerate continuous under voltage brownouts and overvoltage surges without consuming the limited reserve battery power. It instead compensates by auto-selecting different power taps on the autotransformer. Changing the autotransformer tap can cause a very brief output power disruption, so the UPS may chirp for a moment, as it briefly switches to battery before changing the selected power tap. But in Silicon UPS we use additional circuits to ensure smooth changeover without any interruption.

During Power failure the ups switches from main power to battery power & the change over time will be less than a half cycle. The computers connected to the ups systems may sometimes restart during this period. This problem is totally avoided in Silicon Line-Interactive UPS because it has got “Synchronized & smooth Changeover” Technology (First in INDIA) where-in computers & other loads connected to Silicon ups works without any interruption or rebooting

This has become popular even in the cheapest UPS’s because it takes advantage of components already included. The main 50 Hz transformer used to convert between line voltage and battery voltage needs to provide two slightly different turns ratios: one to convert the battery output voltage (typically a multiple of 12 V) to line voltage, and a second one to convert the line voltage to a slightly higher battery charging voltage (such as a multiple of 14 V). Further, it is easier to do the switching on the line-voltage side of the transformer because of the lower currents on that side.

To gain the buck/boost feature, all that is required is two separate switches so that the AC input can be connected to one of the two primary taps, while the load is connected to the other, thus using the main transformer's primary windings as an auto transformer. Note that the battery can still be charged while "bucking" an over voltage, but while "boosting" an under voltage, the transformer output is too low to charge the batteries.

ONLINE UPS

 The Online UPS is ideal for environments where electrical isolation is necessary or for equipment that is very sensitive to power fluctuations. Although once previously reserved for very large installations of 10 KW or more, advances in technology have permitted it to now be available as a common consumer device, supplying 1000 watts or less. The Online UPS is generally more expensive but may be necessary when the power environment is "noisy" such as in industrial settings, for larger equipment loads like data centers, or when operation from an extended-run backup generator is necessary.

The basic technology of the online UPS is the same as in a Standby or Line-Interactive UPS. However it typically costs much more, due to it having a much greater current AC-to-DC battery charger/rectifier, and with the rectifier and inverter designed to run continuously with improved cooling systems. It is called a Double-Conversion UPS due to the rectifier directly driving the inverter, even when powered from normal AC current.

In an Online UPS, the batteries are always connected to the inverter, so that no power transfer switches are necessary. When power loss occurs, the rectifier simply drops out of the circuit and the batteries keep the power steady and unchanged. When power is restored, the rectifier resumes carrying most of the load and begins charging the batteries, though the charging current may be limited to prevent the high-power rectifier from overheating/ over charging the batteries.

The main advantage to the on-line UPS is its ability to provide an electrical firewall between the incoming utility power and sensitive electronic equipment. While the Standby and Line-Interactive UPS merely filter the input utility power, the Double-Conversion UPS provides a layer of insulation from power quality problems. It allows control of output voltage and frequency regardless of input voltage and frequency

AC power is transferred through two types of wave forms

• 1. Square Wave/Modified Sine Wave/Stepped Sine Wave
  2. True Sine Wave

The usual wave form of our utility AC power supply is Sine Wave.

In a normal inverter, due to its simple on and off switching it will produce a Square Wave form which contains Odd harmonics due to which we may hear humming noise from tube lights, fans and speakers.

A Sine Wave inverter generates a pure Sine Wave output which is better than the utility power by using PWM Technology.

The total harmonic distortion is also very less compared to a Square Wave inverter. Due to which you will not hear humming noise from your load.

The quality of waveform that is needed from an inverter depends on the characteristics of the connected load. Some loads need a nearly perfect Sine Wave voltage supply in order to work properly. Other loads may work quite well with a Square Wave Voltage.

Line-Interactive: Recommended only for computers and its peripherals. Line-Interactive UPS is available till 3KVA. Works best if your load is below 3KVA. Silicon Line-Interactive UPS has got a built-in Voltage Stabilizer and synchronized change over during power failures Which keeps your work going uninterrupted without any restarts or rebooting of your Computers. The only disadvantage is you cannot connect your inductive load (fans) to this kind of UPS.

Online UPS: This is the best UPS Suitable for any kind of loads and available from 1KVA to 100KVA. The quality of power produced from this kind of UPS is pure & better than the utility power. This UPS is costlier in price compared to other types of UPS.

Home UPS: This kind of UPS is generally used to give the power backup for lighting loads such as Tube lights, CFL’s, Fans, Televisions, music System etc. from small houses to multi storage buildings. High end Home UPS can even provide backup for your AC’s and Washing Machines.

Before purchasing a UPS make a note of important and specific loads which you want to use during power failures. Add up the power ratings of all the loads in watts which you want to use during power failures. Take the total watts and divide by 0.8 to get the VA rating of the UPS you require.

For Example: If you have 3 bulbs each of 100 Watts and 2 fans each of 100 Watts and 1 TV which is 300 Watts. Now the total wattage is coming to

100 X 3 Bulbs = 300 Watts

100 X 2 Fans = 200 Watts

300 X 1 TV = 300 Watts

Total  = 800 Watts 

Now divide 800 Watts by 0.8. It comes to 1000VA

So the rated UPS required for the above load is 1000VA or 1KVA. Accordingly you can calculate your load& find out the rating of UPS you require.

Basically there are three types of batteries

• 1. Automotive / flat plate
  2. Sealed maintenance free batteries
  3. Tubular batteries

Tubular batteries are best recommended for longer backups and it gives more life but requires maintenance of distilled water every six months once. These batteries are costlier & heavy

Sealed Maintenance Free batteries (SMF) can be used if you don’t want any head aches of maintaining the battery regularly. These batteries are generally neat & clean without producing any fumes, but the life of the SMF batteries is less compared to a Tubular battery.

Automotive / Flat Plate Batteries are used for motor vehicles and generators. These batteries give less life if used for an UPS purpose. These batteries are cheap in price.

The output of a normal static voltage stabilizer will not be a constant voltage and it may vary from 200V – 245V and it will produce surge or spikes during correction (Bucking/boosting). But in a Servo Stabilizer the output voltage is constant at a preseted value (220V/230V) without any surges or spike during correction.

Inverter is another term known for a Home UPS. So inverter and Home UPS are basically one and the same.

Yes, you can run your computer on a home ups. Even though you have an UPS mode in a home UPS the computer may restart / Reboot sometimes or very rarely which mainly depends upon the quality & voltage of your utility power in your area.

Keeping in consideration the power cuts & charging capacity of the home ups it is advised to connect 100AH or more than that.

With lot of new brands being launched in the market with attractive packages & irresistible offers, selecting the right product is very difficult. Even after selecting a brand getting the service is still more difficult.

This difficulty in getting service is because there are only less than 100 companies’s who manufacture the ups systems by having proper setup & dedicated service team with all the Customer support engineer’s being properly trained.

But there are more than 10,000 dealers who only sell the products without having a service team or proper knowledge about the products to give the proper solution to the customer.

To get a proper service support, the buyer should purchase the product (any brand) from a company who can explain & clear all your quires supported by trained service team who  have full technical knowledge and can service the ups of any brand even if they are a little costlier in price than others who don’t have any service setup.

 Silicon power systems is one of the oldest ups manufacturing company having a huge experience in producing good quality products supported by  high quality service team while being responsible, flexible and innovative to our clients who have supported us by giving us repeat orders, and a huge installation base proves this fact.