What Are AC UPS?

AC UPS units are uninterruptible power supplies, that will provide a stable AC output when there is a mains or power failure. Available in a variety of form factors, specifications and output sizes, there are many options to choose from when selecting an AC UPS. We appreciate there's a lot of options available and it may not be obvious what these differences are, so we've put together this page to give some more information. If you still need more information, then please do let us know what you are looking for so we can help you further.
 

We offer 3 types of AC UPS, which are:

Tower UPS - A "traditionally" shaped AC UPS, the tower UPS is a rectangular shaped unit designed to be sat next to a computer, or office equipment. Fairly simple, with all of it's electrical connections to the rear of the unit, these can be easily fitted in to office environments easily and at a low cost.

Rack Mounted UPS - Options that designed to be mounted within a 19" Rack Cabinet. Typically, these are used in server applications, or wherever it is more convenient to use the industrial rack mount standard.

Rack Tower UPS - Effekta also offers a unit that can be used as either a Rack or a Tower UPS. With it's longer form factor, it can be used for either application above whilst still being easy to install.
 

There are different options available when choosing a UPS, and one of those options is how the UPS interacts between the input voltage and the batteries and the load. The two main options we offer are:

Line Interactive UPS - Line interactive AC UPS are designed such that in normal operation, the output is being bypassed through the UPS, charging the batteries at the same time. There is an approx 5 millisecond changeover time between a power failure, and the batteries providing the load. Whilst a lot of applications will find this time acceptable due to capacitance in the system, more sensitive applications may require a quicker changeover.

Online Double Conversion UPS - For those more sensitive applications, an Online UPS is more suitable. These will have an internal DC power supply or battery charger, so the AC input is convertered to DC, then back to AC again. This is why we refer to the unit as double conversion, as the voltage is converted twice. In these units, the power is continous, and the changeover from the mains AC to the battery supply is seamless.
 

Modified Sine Wave - Sometimes referred to as a "Squre Wave", they are visually that. A Sine Wave that has steps rather than the smoothness of a Sine Wave you would see from an AC source or the national grid. Usually these are found on lower cost options which also have line interactive functionality. In this case, the load will see the true sinewave from the AC input during normal operation, whilst in mains failure they will see the modified Sine Wave. 

True Sine Wave - The output from these AC UPS will be very similar to the Sine Wave you see from the National Grid.

There are also options available for a selectable output which offers either a true sine wave or modified sine wave as an eco-mode.
 

We have options for each of the variables above, and you can see these as below:

           
          

 

             
      

      

          
     
 

Why choose us?

With 25 years of experience in the power supply industry, we are here to balance the need of industry with the complexities of supply. As engineers first and foremost, our aim is to fix and find a solution above anything else. We aren’t just box shifters, we’re here to guide and advise so if you do have an enquiry please do let us know as we are always interested to hear your projects.