In Puerto Rico, and everywhere, a backup power UPS solution should be a central component of any business’ infrastructure. The overall fragile state of our power grid, along with natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, have caused blackouts and power outages to become a common occurrence on the Island. These events severely impact businesses (from large enterprises to SMBs), causing hardware damage, downtime and data loss.
So, what exactly is a UPS and why do you need it?
What is a UPS?
An uninterruptible power supply or a UPS system is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS system:
- Prevents hardware damage typically caused by surges and spikes. Many UPS models continually condition incoming power as well.
- Enables seamless system shutdown during a complete power outage, preventing data loss and corruption due to a hard system shutdown.
- Prevents downtime by providing enough battery runtime to ride through brief outages or, in other cases, provide hours of runtime to ride through extended power outages.
What else do I need to know?
- UPSs are given a power rating in volt-amperes (VA) that range from 300 VA to 5,000 kVA, representing the maximum load that a UPS can support. Your UPS VA capacity should support your total load, account for the high-power inrush that occurs on startup, and allow room for growth.
- UPS units come in two different formats: single-phase and three-phase, describing the number of electrical phases the system receives and transmits. Three-phase UPSs are the standard choice for large installations, while small power consumers are supported by single-phase UPSs.
- UPS systems are grouped by topology, which refers to how the UPS and utility power work together. The three main types of topologies are:
- Standby – lets equipment run off utility power until it detects a problem and switches to the battery.
- Line-Interactive – actively regulates voltage before allowing it to pass to the protected equipment.
- Online – provides the highest level of protection by isolating equipment from raw utility power.
- Most UPSs are either rackmount or tower form, chosen by available space, level of security needed, expected growth, and application.
- Additional features to consider:
- Extended runtime
- Generator compatible
- Lithium-ion battery
- Pure sine wave
- Scalable, modular
- Network capable
- TAA compliant
Eaton backup power UPS
At EAS Systems, Inc, we trust Eaton – a leading provider of backup power UPS – to deliver high quality, reliable backup power solutions for everything from network closets and server rooms to enterprise and colocation data centers. We especially recommend their 5PX and 9PX solutions for power protection in most applications.
Eaton 5PX UPS
The 5PX features the connection of up to four extended battery modules for maximum runtime and premium backup of your professional and enterprise-grade servers, storage and networking equipment. Available in a convertible form factor for use as a tower UPS or rackmount UPS. Applications: Enterprise and distributed IT, telecom, retail, banks, IDF, small business, long runtime needs. Power rating: 1000-3000 VA.
Eaton 9PX UPS
The 9PX is a proven, best-in-class online UPS featuring ABM technology, which extends battery service life up to 50 percent. Built for scalable deployment and features a graphical LCD interface. Applications: IT, edge networks, medical/healthcare, universities, K-12, industrial automation, harsh electrical environments. Power rating: 700 VA to 11 kVA.
Want to talk about our backup power UPS solutions and other technology hardware?
Contact us! We provide networking equipment, server and desktop hardware, data room equipment, and power management hardware and tools. Assessing your short and long term needs from the inside out, we can design, install and maintain scalable, functional, and dependable systems at a price that’s just right.
[Related reading: Why Businesses in Puerto Rico Must Disaster Proof Their Data]
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EAS Systems, Inc. is a leading company in security, communication & infrastructure solutions – serving industrial, commercial and government clients in Puerto Rico and the USVI for 25+ years. Our services include Video Surveillance, Access Control, Structured Cabling, Perimeter Intrusion Detection, Key Control & Management, Intercom & Public Address, Commercial Audio/Visual + more.
