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Falcon Electric has provided power protection solutions to the IT world for two decades. IT has a different and demanding set of power protection requirements due to large scale I/O interconnectivity, data reliability, security, a continuous up time requirement and centralized network management.

In any size IT environment, clean reliable power is imperative. It is an absolute necessity to sustaining all the equipment operation. Utility power is not an absolute and due to an aging infrastructure, deregulation and increasing demand, becoming even more unreliable. Large IT systems may incorporate backup generators, but unless kept turned on all of the time, the transition between utility and generator power is messy and problematic. So you decide that an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is the answer to protect equipment in your IT environment.  You are then faced with selecting a UPS that will solve your specific power problem from a sea of products that claim they are the solution. What should you know before making your choice?

First not all Uninterruptible Power Supplies are the same.

There are three basic UPS designs that vary greatly in their level of protection.

Off-line UPS

The first is the Off-line UPS which is the lowest cost and offers the least amount of protection (Go to our UPS Tutorial for more details). The protection provided is limited to basic battery backup and high voltage spike protection. Most Off-line UPS manufacturer have cut production costs so much, that they cannot provide true sinewave power in battery mode. They use terms like quasi-sinewave or modified-sinewave to describe their inverter output waveform. The Off-line does not protect effectively against sustained low utility voltage conditions called “brownouts”. When the utility voltage drops, the UPS output voltage follows. The output voltage can go down to 100V or lower before the UPS switches to battery mode leaving little ride-through capability in your equipment’s internal power supply. Just when your equipment is the most susceptible, the UPS switches to inverter creating a voltage dropout from 4-25 milliseconds.  We do not recommend the use of the Off-line UPS for any application.

Line-interactive UPS

The second is the Line-interactive UPS which depending on size and quality level, can vary in cost from Off-line UPS pricing to the cost of a reasonably good On-line UPS. The Line-interactive UPS is very similar in design to the Off-line topology with the exception of incorporating a tap-switching transformer circuit into the design. The circuit senses the incoming utility voltage and automatically switches transformer taps to adjust the UPS output voltage up or down in steps. Typically the Line-interactive output voltage maintains a voltage regulation of 5-12% depending on the specific model selected. This is an improvement over the Off-line design. Both the Off-line and Line-interactive UPS types leave the sensitive equipment connected to their output connected to utility power until it falls below a specified level prior to going to battery inverter mode. The more expensive Line-interactive UPS products will have an improved sinewave inverter output, but still only provide basic battery backup, high voltage transient protection and rudimentary output voltage regulation. As you read further you will see that both the Off-line and Line-interactive UPS designs leave the connected sensitive equipment unprotected when encountering a substantial number of power quality problems.

On-line UPS

The On-line UPS is designed to solve the widest spectrum of power-related problems. First, it continuously converts the incoming Alternating Current (AC) utility power to a Direct Current (DC) which removes most frequency-related problems. Next, the DC is regulated, thereby eliminating voltage stability problems. The regulated DC is then supplied to ithe DC-AC Inverter stage, which recreates new, clean AC sinewave power with a superior voltage regulation of +/-2% typical. When utility power is lost the battery supplies the DC power instead of the initial DC rectifier stage. There is no switch-over time or loss of output power associated with a true On-line UPS.

The table below details the local utility power standards. As you can see the low line output of an Off-line UPS is well below what is considered “Minimal Utilization”. Worst case +/-12% Line-interactive designs with a low level at 105.5Vac are just under the “Minimal Utilization” levels. High-end Line-interactive models with a +/-5% output regulation at 114Vac, are just inside the “Favorable Service Voltage”. The On-line with a +/-2% output voltage regulation would be at the optimum 117.6Vac level, well within the “Favorable Service Voltage Range”.  Output voltage regulation is not the entire story. Please refer to the table below that details the differing levels of protection against the most typical power problems.

What voltage ranges can the customer expect from the local power company ?

The following is a typical real-world example of the capabilities of an On-line UPS. Most of what is shown on the input waveform would have been passed directly through an Off-line and Line-interactive UPS design and on to the sensitive connected equipment. This is not the case with the On-line design as can be seen by the actual output waveform.

Click links below to see the type of Interruptions:

• Temporary Interruptions
• Momentary Interruptions
• Sag or Under-Voltage Interruptions
• Swell or Over-Voltage Interruptions
• Noise Interruptions
• Harmonic Distortion

This brings us to one final issue: long-term battery backup. Due to their low-cost inverter designs, most Off-line and Line-interactive designs will not support the connection of the optional external battery banks needed to support long term battery backup requirements of up to four hours in duration. They are designed to operate for the 5-12 minutes supported by their internal batteries without overheating or causing damage to their DC-AC Inverter stage. Since the On-line UPS has been designed with a continuous duty DC-AC Inverter stage, with adequate cooling, long-term battery backup is not a problem.

As can be seen, the level of protection offered by the On-line UPS is superior to the other topologies. The good news is the purchase price of the On-line UPS is comparable to that of a good Line-interactive model. When the level of protection is factored in, the true long-term cost of the On-line UPS may well be far less than the low-cost Line-interactive model. When you factor the true value of your data and overall system reliability, there is no substitute for a good On-line UPS.

Falcon Electric offers several families of true On-line Uninterruptible Power Supplies designed to meet the specialized demands and high reliability requirements of the large corporation. The following is a brief overview of some of our product families.

FN Series™ 3kVA to 24kVA Parallelable and N+1 Redundant UPS

Parallel Individual FN Series Units up to 24kVA

Today's businesses rely on absolute system availability and scalability.  The Falcon Electric FN Parallelable, N+1 Redundant On-line Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides the ideal solution. The FN Series UPS may be configured using individual 3, 5 or 6kVA models, providing up to 18kVA with N+1 redundancy. Alternate parallel mode operation configurations of 6 to 24kVA are achievable if N+1 redundancy is not required.

The FN Series Stand-Alone Unit Design Lower Costs

In contrast to most modular scalable Uninterruptible Power Supplies, the FN Series UPSes are stand-alone units that may be connected in parallel. This lower-cost approach eliminates the added expense of buying cabinets to house control, power and battery modules. This design also eliminates single points of failure found in other modular-configured UPS systems.

True Regenerative On-line Design
 
The FN Series True Regenerative On-line UPS provides the highest level of protection against the widest spectrum of power problems.  The incoming AC utility source is converted to a regulated DC voltage. From this DC voltage, a new AC voltage is generated, providing clean, tightly regulated power to your equipment.

N+1 Redundancy Ensures Reliability & Serviceability

If your equipment has to operate without interruption or downtime, the N+1 configured FN Series UPS is the clear choice. Should an individual UPS require maintenance, the UPS is automatically sensed and taken offline. The user is notified through the LCD display and an audible alarm.

Servicing or replacement of the unit may be performed without the remaining UPS(es) or connected load having to be powered down. Internal UPS batteries are user-replaceable and hot-swappable, again while the UPS(es) and connected equipment are in full operation.

SSG Series™ 1.5kVA to 3kVA Industrial-Grade UPS

(Download Datasheet)

Industrial-Grade Protection for a Wide Range of Applications

Protecting industrial equipment and other demanding environments against power disturbances can be a challenge unless you use an industrial-grade On-line UPS from Falcon. The new SSG SeriesTM is designed to handle harsh power environments commonly found in industrial facilities.

On-line UPS with High Temperature Operation

A true regenerative On-line UPS provides the highest level of protection in the industrial environment. Due to its rugged design, the SSG Series can withstand extreme temperatures up to 55oC. Moreover, unlike Off-line and Line-interactive designs, the Falcon On-line UPS acts like an electronic firewall between the incoming “dirty” power source and your sensitive equipment. The double-conversion On-line SSG Series provides continuous, clean, tightly regulated power regardless of the incoming AC power.

Hot-Swappable Batteries and Extended Run-Times

All SSG Series models feature user-replaceable, hot-swappable battery packs that allow you to easily change batteries through the front panel. Replacement can be accomplished while the UPS continues to power the critical load and without having to remove the UPS from the equipment rack.

These models also incorporate continuous duty inverters and support the connection of optional extended battery banks for extended run-times. Optional extended battery banks are available with internal chargers to maintain a reasonable recharge time.

Remote Emergency Power Off (REPO)

The SSG Series is equipped with an NFPA-70, NEC 645-11 compliant REPO interface assuring easy integration into factory automation, industrial and server farm applications.

SG Series™ 1kVA to 6kVA On-line UPS

(Download Datasheet)

True Regenerative On-line Design

As new and innovative technologies have become the backbone of today's businesses, maximum system scalability is critical and downtime is more expensive than ever.  Increasingly, businesses need a UPS that not only protects against blackouts, but also virtually eliminates more frequent and subtle power disturbances.  Surges, sags, line noise and brownouts can disrupt proper operation of sensitive equipment.  These disturbances may also create unnecessary production, service, and data recovery costs.

A True Regenerative On-line UPS provides the highest level of protection against the widest spectrum of power problems.  The incoming AC utility source is converted to a regulated DC voltage. From this DC voltage, a new AC voltage is regenerated, providing continuous, clean, tightly regulated power to your equipment. Line-interactive and Off-line designs leave your equipment connected directly to dirty utility power – providing only minimal transient, voltage and backup protection.  If your equipment operation is "mission critical", a true double-conversion On-line UPS--such as Falcon® Electric's SG SeriesTM UPS Plus® --is the only clear choice.

Input Power Factor Correction

All SG Series UPS Plus models include state-of-the-art Input Power Factor Correction (PFC).  This greatly reduces the amount of current demanded from your building wiring system, yielding a highly efficient, "building friendly" UPS.

UPSilon® Monitoring and Shutdown Software & Optional SNMP/HTTP Remote Management

(Download Datasheet)

With the supplied UPSilon software, all models support unattended shutdown, UPS management, data logging and a power diagnostic tool.  The software supports all Windows® platforms including Vista, Novell NetWare® 5 & 6, LINUX and FreeBSD. UPSilon for UNIX is available at an additional cost and supports most popular UNIX platform and OS versions.

Secure, remote LAN or Internet UPS management and control is a snap when an optional SNMP/HTTP agent board is installed. The board provides one TCP-IP addressable, 10/100 Ethernet port and configures easily. The board supports SNMP, HTTP and Telnet protocols.  Remote shutdown client software is provided with an unlimited installation license – this is a real value as many competitors sell Client licenses on a per workstation or server basis. Clients are provided all currently supported Windows® standalone and server OS versions in addition to LINUX and Novell NetWare®.