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Uninterruptible Power Supply: Battery Charges The Battery Rectifier Charge Controller

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides backup power during outages, with two main types: Online and Offline UPS. Online UPS offers continuous power with zero switching delay, making it ideal for sensitive equipment, but it is more expensive and less efficient due to constant battery use. Offline UPS supplies power directly from AC mains during normal operation and switches to battery power during outages, making it more cost-effective but less protective against AC mains fluctuations.

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Jesse Sathyadas
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9 views4 pages

Uninterruptible Power Supply: Battery Charges The Battery Rectifier Charge Controller

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) provides backup power during outages, with two main types: Online and Offline UPS. Online UPS offers continuous power with zero switching delay, making it ideal for sensitive equipment, but it is more expensive and less efficient due to constant battery use. Offline UPS supplies power directly from AC mains during normal operation and switches to battery power during outages, making it more cost-effective but less protective against AC mains fluctuations.

Uploaded by

Jesse Sathyadas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY

UPS, Uninterruptible Power Supply is a device that supplies power in case of power failures.
A UPS can be either Online UPS or Offline UPS. Both types of UPS can be used as a backup
power source but there are many differences between them.
The major point that differentiates between the online UPS and offline UPS is that the online
UPS supplies power from the AC mains to the Load through the rectifier and inverter
combination while the Offline UPS directly supplies power from AC mains to the load
UPS is an abbreviation for Uninterruptible Power Supply and the reason for its name is that it
provides a constant supply of power without any interruption. In Normal operation, it draws
current from the AC mains and during a power outage; it draws current from its backup
source.
A UPS system utilizes a DC power stored in the battery as its backup source. The UPS charges
the battery from the AC mains through a Rectifier and charge controller circuit. At the same
time, it supplies power to the output AC load. In case of power failure, the UPS utilizes this
charged DC power in the battery and converts it into AC using an inverter and supplies it to
the AC load.
Now the switch over between the sources (AC mains and the battery in case of power failure)
is instantaneous. But it does take some time. This time delay during the switching may affect
some sensitive electronic equipment while other devices may tolerate it in a specific range.
This is where Online UPS and Offline UPS comes into play
ONLINE UPS
The Online UPS is a type of UPS that supplies power to the AC load through the Rectifier and
Inverter Combo in normal operation and uses an inverter to supply AC power during a power
failure. Therefore, the output power supply always stays ON and there is no need for
switching. Hence, there is no time delay in switching between its sources. There is no
interruption in the case of power failure even for a nanosecond
During normal operation, it converts the AC supply from the AC mains into DC using a rectifier
and charges the battery using a charge controller circuit. Now at the same time, the DC power
from the charged battery is being converted into AC using an inverter to supply it to the
output AC load.
In case of power failure, the UPS will stop drawing current from the AC mains, and stops
charging the battery. But the AC load will continuously draw current from the battery through
Inverter.
Therefore, Online UPS has a zero time delay when switching its power source. It is also why it
is known as Online UPS because it stays ON even during its normal operation.
Since the current drawn by the AC load is continuously flowing through its whole circuit,
the temperature of the system increases. Therefore, it needs comparatively larger heat
sinks and the components that can withstand high temperature and it can tolerate current
flow for very long duration. Due to such a requirement, the cost of Online UPS increases
significantly.
It continuously draws current from the battery which quickly reduces the lifetime of the
battery compared to offline UPS. They are more inefficient because they continuously stay
ON even in normal operation.
On the other hand, it does offer high-quality output because there is no gap during the
switching between the source supplies. It completely isolates the output from the AC mains.
Therefore, it helps in protection against the distortions or fluctuations in the AC mains.
OFFLINE UPS

The offline UPS is a type of UPS that directly supplies the power to the AC load from the AC
mains in normal operation and uses an inverter to power the AC load from the DC battery.
Since there are two separate lines of supplies, the output supply must be switched between
the two sources.
The switching speed of an Offline UPS is around 5ms which is enough to keep a computer from
shutting down. But not fast enough to keep a smooth operation of sensitive equipment in
hospitals.

During normal operation, the power from AC mains is directly supplied to the output through
a static transfer switch. At the same time, the AC is converted into DC using a rectifier to
charge the battery using a charge controller. But unlike Online UPS, the inverter does not
draw current from the battery until the primary supply (AC main) is interrupted.
When the primary supply breaks, the battery stops charging and the static switch transfer the
output line to the inverter side very quickly. At the same time, the inverter starts drawing
current from the battery which is then supplied to the AC load.
Since it stays off when it draws current from the AC line during normal operation, it is known
as Offline UPS.
The Offline UPS mostly stays off in normal operation and because of that, the temperature of
the components stays low. Therefore, it requires smaller heat sinks and the components with
a lower tolerance can be used which also decreases the overall cost of the offline UPS.
Since it stays off in its normal operation and does not use the battery continuously, the
efficiency of the system increases.
But the downside of offline UPS is that the directly supplied AC is not completely isolated from
the load. Therefore, there is no protection between the load and source and the distortion or
fluctuations in the Ac mains can damage the connected load.

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