Full load operating time
UPS continuous operation time from a fully charged battery when connected to a load with a power equal to the UPS output power (maximum or effective, depending on the type of load, see the relevant paragraphs for details). For a UPS designed to work with a home or office PC, a time of about 10-15 minutes is considered sufficient, this is enough to save data and complete work. To power servers, it is worth using devices with an operating time
of 20 minutes or more.
Half load operating time
UPS continuous operation time from a fully charged battery when connected to a load with a power equal to half the output power of the UPS (maximum or effective, depending on the type of load, see below for details). The operating time with such a load is much longer than for a full load, and even in the simplest models it can reach 20-30 minutes.
Switching to battery
The time required to transfer the load from mains power to battery power. In standby and
interactive UPSs (see Type), a short-term power failure occurs at this moment — accordingly, the shorter the time to switch to the battery, the more uniform the power supply is provided by the source during a power failure. Ideally, the switching time for the traditional 50 Hz AC frequency should be less than 5 ms (a quarter of one cycle of the sine wave). With inverter UPSs, the transfer time is, by definition, zero.
Input voltage range
In this case, the input voltage range is implied, in which the UPS is able to supply a stable voltage to the load only due to its own regulators, without switching to the battery. For redundant UPSs (see "Type") this range is quite small, approximately 190 to 260 V; for interactive and especially inverter ones, it is much wider. Some UPS models allow you to manually set the input voltage range.
Max. current
The maximum current drawn by the UPS. In fact, the current reaches its maximum value only when the UPS is operating from the mains with maximum load power and a completely discharged battery. However, when calculating the load on the power grid, this parameter should be taken into account.
Peak output power
The maximum output power supplied by the UPS, in other words, the highest apparent load power allowed for this model.
This indicator is measured in volt-amperes (the general meaning of this unit is the same as that of the watt, and different names are used to separate different types of power). The total power consumption of the load, implied in this case, is the sum of two powers — active and reactive. Active power is actually effective power (it is indicated in watts in the characteristics of electrical appliances). Reactive power is the power wasted by coils and capacitors in AC devices; with numerous coils and/or capacitors, this power can be a fairly significant part of the total energy consumption. Note that for simple tasks, you can use data on effective power (it is often given for UPS — see below); but for accurate electrical calculations it is worth using the full one.
The simplest selection rule for this indicator is: the maximum output power of the UPS in volt-amperes should be at least 1.7 times higher than the total load power in watts. There are also more detailed calculation formulas that take into account the characteristics of different types of load; they can be found in special sources. As for specific values, the most modest modern UPSs give out
700 – 1000 VA, or even
less — this is enough to power a PC of average performance; and in the most "heavyweight" models, th
...is figure can be 8 – 10 kVA and higher.Output voltage accuracy
This parameter characterizes the degree of difference between the AC voltage at the output of the UPS and the perfect voltage, the graph of which has the shape of a regular sinusoid. The perfect voltage is so named because it is the most uniform and creates the least unnecessary load on the connected devices. Thus, the distortion of the output voltage is one of the most important parameters that determine the quality of the power received by the load. A distortion level of 0% means that the UPS produces a perfect sine wave, up to 5% — slight sine wave distortion, up to 18% — strong distortion, from 18% to 40% — a trapezoidal signal, more than 40% — a square wave.
Reserved C13/C14 connectors
Number of
C13/C14 connectors with power reserve provided in the UPS design.
Electrical appliances connected to connectors with a reserve are insured against a power failure in the network - in this case they switch to the battery. The C13/C14 connector itself is also known as a “computer socket”; it supplies the same 230 V as a regular household network, but is not compatible with plugs for traditional sockets, because uses three flat contacts. However, there are adapters between these standards.
At a minimum, the UPS is provided with
1,
2 or
3 C13/C14 connectors for one workstation. In more advanced, so to speak office ones, the number of C13/C14 connectors may be greater -
4 ports,
6 connectors,
8 and even more
Total battery capacity
The capacity of the battery installed in the UPS. For models with multiple batteries, this is both the total working capacity and the capacity of each individual battery: the batteries in such devices are usually connected in series, so that their total capacity corresponds to the capacity of each individual cell.
Theoretically, a higher battery capacity means the ability to power loads of a given capacity for longer. However, in fact, this parameter is more of a reference than practically significant. The fact is that the actual amount of energy stored by the battery depends not only on the capacity in amp-hours, but also on the voltage in volts; this voltage is often not specified in the characteristics, despite the fact that for accurate calculations it must be known. So when choosing, you should focus on more "close to life" characteristics — first of all, on the directly claimed operating time in different modes (see above).
