UPS the basics

UPS display information

In the vast majority of UPS systems, you can expect to find an LCD, depicting information about the UPS, the input and the output, among other things. Some of the smaller offline UPS, due to their price point, have LED lights rather than displays to showcase status and fault information, although these are in the minority.

The intel available from UPS system via their display can vary. Generally however, you can expect to see information on the load, often shown as a percentage or a percentage range, input/output details such as frequency and voltage, as well as alarm/fault information and current UPS status.

To most end user clients, this information can be irrelevant. If the UPS is commissioned or installed and left in online mode, on many occasions the UPS units will not be looked at until there is a fault, but how helpful can this information be?

Remaining backup time is often defined as an estimate based on the information utilised in the installation/commissioning of the UPS unit. It takes into account the battery configuration and the current load and will give an estimated time to you. This can help to guide you if you are looking to extend or reduce runtime when your net overhaul is required.

Confirming the UPS is in the correct mode is also highly important. A quick check to see if the UPS is in normal mode, rather than another can mean the difference between UPS protection and not.

With that being said, on occasion the information presented can be misplaced in the wrong hands. We have known situations where the information presented has been misinterpreted. An example of this would be to review the load percentage at a glance and assume that is correct at all times. Some loads do vary, especially in life-safety applications where devices such as emergency lighting, smoke extractors and fire suppression systems. These critical safety devices are often dormant until required, meaning they pull little to no load until they are activated.

Employing UPS experts as consultants in the field can be the difference between successful protection against power disruptions and not. Whether it’s advice, product comparisons, availability of hardware/engineers or pricing you need, our sales engineers are available on the below to assist you.