Ups Battery Backup, On Line UPS, On Line Uninterruptible Power Supply, UPS Solutions, Ups For Power Backup

Small and Medium Business UPS Solutions

UCSD-TV
"Keeping UCSD-TV and UCTV on the air has become less stressful since we purchased the Falcon UPS unit."

Steven Anderson, On-Air Operations

For two decades, Falcon Electric, Inc. has been providing Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. Whether your business consists of consulting from your home or hundreds of employees at several locations, Falcon truly understands that every business is different and has a unique set of UPS battery backup and power protection needs. We specialize in helping companies like yours select the solution that meets your specific set of requirements. Unlike retail stores, our sales department is backed by experienced power engineers that can discuss, analyze and recommend solutions to the most difficult or demanding customer applications.

Like real estate, when it comes to power, location is everything. Where your business is located in the country can play a part in determining the type of UPS you need. In the Southwest and Florida, lightning and summer storms typically cause localized short duration outages. In the Eastern and Northern part of the U.S., winter storms cause wide area short and long term outages. Both kinds of weather cause damage to transformers, transmission lines and other elements on the power grid that may result in damaging high voltage levels reaching your equipment. Depending on your business type and infrastructure, short and long duration outages may not be a problem as long as a few computers or a file-server are provided battery backup to allow them to be properly shutdown. Damage to your costly equipment is not acceptable. For a large telemarketing company or Internet Service Provider that requires a 24/7 up time, weather-related outages result in a very costly disaster.

Every business is located in a building and every building has an electrical and wiring system that is also unique. The number and kinds of equipment operating from the building’s power system are also unique and can adversely affect the power quality. A modern office building wired to meet the demands of today’s sensitive microprocessor-based equipment may have very reliable, high quality power. The same office building with a welding shop or large bakery next door may be another story, especially if operating from the same utility transformer. Large motors, electric heating elements, air conditioning compressors, etc. operating in the same building or complex can degrade the power quality of the entire building or complex. Even a simple photo copy machine and a computer connected to the same circuit may result in problems.

Power quality problems can be so quantum in nature, it may seem impossible to plan in advance for every power problem you may encounter. Selecting the proper type UPS can go a long way in mitigating the majority of power quality problems that may be encountered. It can also provide an upgradeable solution to longer term backup requirements that may arise.

Understanding the types of UPS products available is key to making the right choice.

OFF-LINE (UPS), Solves the least number of power-related problems.
LINE-INTERACTIVE (UPS), Solves slightly more power-related problems than the Off-line design.
ON-LINE (UPS), Solves the greatest number of power-related problems.

The Off-line UPS design passes utility power directly through the unit during the time the utility power is present. During normal utility operation, this design typically provides short-term battery backup and offers no more high voltage transient protection than a surge protection plug strip. Only during a utility power outage does the Off-line UPS switch to its internal DC-AC inverter to provide battery backup power. A relay is typically used to accomplish the switch-over which causes a 4-20 millisecond voltage dropout to the connected equipment. Most Off-line designs do not have a true sinewave output and do not support the connection of extended battery banks or extended battery operation. Output voltage regulation is very poor (±15% to ±25%).

Note: Has difficulty operating from a generator power source. Also, it passes generator frequency and voltage changes on to the connected equipment.

The Line-interactive UPS is identical to the Off-line, with the exception of adding a tap-switching regulator (AVR), and passes utility power directly through the unit during the time the utility power is present. During normal utility operation, this design typically provides battery backup and offers no more high voltage transient protection than a surge protection plug strip. It has the addition of a tap-switching automatic voltage regulator (AVR). While this design is operating from the utility line, the AVR senses the UPS output voltage. In the event of a low voltage utility brownout condition, the Line-interactive UPS’s AVR automatically switches transformer taps to increase or boost its output voltage. The AVR also reduces the output voltage during high utility voltage conditions. The output voltage regulation for most Line-interactive UPS products on the market today is typically ±25% to ±8%. Higher cost models may have a sinewave output and support the connection of extended battery banks.

Note: Has difficulty operating from a generator power source. Also, it passes generator frequency and voltage changes on to the connected equipment.

The On-line UPS protects against and solves the greatest number of power problems. Falcon Electric’s superior On-line UPS technology not only provides battery backup, but also protects your equipment by providing the highest level of power protection. Unlike Off-line and Line-interactive UPS products on the market that leave you sensitive equipment connected directly to dirty and sometimes destructive utility power, Falcon’s patented On-line UPS technology acts like an electronic firewall installed between your equipment and the utility or backup generator power.

This is accomplished by converting the incoming AC power to a rectified and regulated Direct Current (DC) eliminating noise, transients, frequency and harmonic distortion problems. The DC is then fed to a continuous duty inverter stage where new, clean and tightly regulated sinewave AC power is regenerated. The multiple stages of active electronics provide a substantial amount of added protection against power problems that would otherwise cause damage to your equipment. Since the On-line UPS has a continuous duty inverter stage, it supports the connection of extended battery banks, providing backup times of up to several hours.

Does it make good business sense to buy UPSes with limited capabilities for your company?

Falcon Electric’s On-line UPS products provide the greatest level of power protection and flexibility. Falcon has reduced the cost of On-line technology and is competitive with many Line-interactive technologies. Where power protection is concerned, the hidden costs of not providing adequate protection can far exceed the cost of a quality built On-line UPS.

Our SG Series On-line UPS models offer excellent performance at an affordable price. They accept a wide range input voltage while providing a sinewave output voltage having a ±2% regulation, with less than 3% harmonic distortion. The SG has an RS-232 serial port and ships with UPSilon® shutdown and management software. The addition of optional extended battery banks and chargers is supported. The UPS has an internal communications board option slot that supports the addition of a contact closure interface board or an SNMP/HTTP Agent board. Separate mini-tower and rackmount models are available.

Our SSG Industrial-Grade On-line UPS family has all of the features and performance of the SG. It has a convenient front panel mounted Liquid Crystal Display that reports UPS operational parameters at a glance. The SSG is rated to operate in a high temperature 55°C (131°F) ambient environment. It comes computer and telecommunications room ready with a NFPA-70 compliant Remote Emergency Power Off (REPO) interface. The SSG provides two output receptacle groups supporting programmable Load Segment Control modes. The receptacles may be programmed to turn off to “shed” the connected loads upon the loss of utility or at a low battery condition, extending the amount of battery run time available to equipment connected to the continuous outputs. Optional “break-before-make” remote maintenance bypass boxes are available for some SG models to facilitate UPS removal for servicing.

All SSG models may be configured for installation as a table top mini-tower or into any standard 19” equipment rack. To reduce the need to power down the UPS for servicing, the SSG has been designed with user-replaceable and hot-swappable battery packs that are easily removed and replaced through the removal of the UPS front panel. We have eliminated the need to connect and disconnect wires or remove the UPS from the equipment rack during battery pack replacement. The addition of optional extended battery banks and chargers is supported. The SSG supports the same RS-232 and optional SNMP/HTTP communication with the addition of a USB interface port standard on every model. Again, UPSilon software ships with every UPS.

The Falcon FN Series Parallelable and N+1 Redundant UPS family offers the same superior level of On-line UPS protection and the ability to connect the hardwire outputs of up to four units together in parallel. The models are offered in 3, 4, 5 and 6kVA models. Four 6kVA units connected in parallel deliver 24kVA of power. 8 & 10kVA models will be available soon for up to 40kVA of protection. The same four 6kVA UPS units configured for N+1 operation would provide 18kVA of power with the added advantage of supporting applications that demand 24/7 uptime. In the event that one of the four UPS units detects that it requires servicing, it automatically disconnects itself from the output bus and sounds an audible alarm. It is then a simple matter of disconnecting and removing the UPS while the remaining three UPS units continue to provide protection to the connected equipment. To eliminate the need to power down any of the UPS units requiring a battery replacement, battery packs are simply removed through the front panel of the individual UPS units. The addition of optional extended battery banks, chargers, REPO, SNMP/HTTP, USB and contact closure interface cards are supported.