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Choosing the appropriate uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is a very important move to safeguard your equipment. One of the most widespread areas of misunderstanding are the notion of power ratings and load capacity. Making a mistake will result in system malfunctions, lost equipment, or wasteful costs. This guide will assist you to maneuver these important specifications.
Defining kVA, kW, and Power Factor in UPS Systems
In order to select the correct UPS, you should be aware first of the units of measurement. The two that matter the most are kVA and kW.
A measure of apparent power is kVA (kilovolt-ampere). It is a sum of all the real power that the UPS system is intended to deliver. kW (kilowatt) is used in measure and of real power. This is the real work force which does your work to run your servers and computers.
The correlation between these two units is characterized by the power factor (PF) that is a number between 0 and 1. kW = kVA x Power Factor is the simple formula. Current IT devices such as servers and switches are heavily power factor (0.9 or higher) devices. This implies that a device that has a large power factor pulls real power (kW) nearer to its apparent power (kVA) rating.
In the past, a difference between kVA and kW ratings created confusion. The essential lesson nowadays is that you should size your UPS by the actual power (kW) required of your load, and not only by the kVA rating.
Why Oversizing or Undersizing Your UPS Is Risky
There is a big risk of picking a UPS that is either overly large or too small to fit your load.
Under-size of your UPS is a grave risk. In case the equipment attached has higher power consumption (kW) than that available on the UPS it will overrun. This will most probably make the UPS switch to bypass or stop entirely, exposing your vital equipment to power anomalies and power outages. Often overloading may also result in the irreversible damage of the UPS itself.
The temptation to oversize your UPS can be tolerable, but it will cause inefficiencies. UPS systems have an optimal range of loading that are most effective when they are used within certain ranges which are usually 50-80 percent of the system capacity. An excessively sized unit will be under-loaded, thus wasting energy, escalating electricity expenses, and may reduce the battery duration of operation because of repetitive and shallow discharges. It also entails unnecessary excessive capital expenditure in the form of start up capital.
Future-Proofing Your Power Strategy with Load Scalability
Your power requirements will not stand still. A sound power protection strategy requires planning of future growth.
Compared to the UPS system, see scalability. A modular UPS will enable you to start your load with the baseline unit capable of supporting your current load. Power in this way the module can be further added to your IT infrastructure to score the KW and KVA of your system, necessarily to achieve and establish an entire new system. This is a safe way to protect your original investment and offers the option to work with the needs that develop.
The first step before choosing UPS has to determine your current total load in KW, and then the project will be how you expect to grow in the coming 3-5 years. This will help you select a solution that fulfills your current requirements as well as offering a clear and cost -effective pathway -keeping your important equipment safe and satisfies the most as your company's development.
