Design of UPS systems

& their paralleling

Akhila.R
 Introduction on UPS
 UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply
 An UPS is a device that has an alternate or backup
source of energy that can provide power when the
primary power source is temporarily disabled.
 The switchover time must be small enough to not cause
a disruption in the operation of the loads.
 Provides protection of load against line frequency
variations, elimination of power line noise & voltage
transients, voltage regulation & uninterruptible power
for critical loads.
 UPS can be considered a source of standby power or
emergency power depending on nature of critical loads.
 Need for UPS
• Few purposes include :-

– emergency lighting for evacuation

– Emergency perimeter lighting for security
– shut down or continued operation of manufacturing
equipment or computer operations
– continued operation of life support or critical medical
equipment
– continued operation of communications
– safe operation of equipment during sags and
brownouts
– Combination of above needs.
 Selection & Design of UPS

• Consist of 8 steps:-
– determining the need for an UPS,
– determining the purpose(s) of the UPS,
– determining the power requirements,
– selecting the type of UPS,
– determining if the safety of the selected UPS is
acceptable,
– determining if the availability of the selected UPS is
acceptable,
– determining if the selected UPS is maintainable, and
– determining if the selected UPS is affordable.
Determining the need for an UPS
• Determining the need for an UPS is mainly a matter of
evaluating the way in which a facility is used, as well as
knowing whether local, state, or federal laws mandate the
incorporation of an UPS.
• The number of regulations mandating an alternate power
source to ensure safety of personnel and to prevent pollution of
the environment continues to increase.
• Consequently, enforcement agencies should be consulted to
determine if an UPS is mandated.
• They should also be consulted during design and installation to
make sure that the UPS is designed and installed in accordance
with current applicable regulations.
 Determining the purpose(s) of the UPS
• An UPS may be needed for a variety of purposes. Some facilities
need an UPS for more than one purpose.
• In any case, the purpose(s) must be known before proceeding
because it determines many factors that will drive the amount of
power required and the type of UPS that will be needed.
• These factors are the acceptable delay between loss of primary
power and availability of UPS power, the length of time that
emergency or backup power is required, and the criticality of the
load that the UPS must bear.
• Applications such as hospital life support and safety, aircraft tracking
and landing, and certain production process controls and data
processing cannot tolerate any loss of power, no matter how short the
period of time, without loss of life or revenue.
 Other applications like refrigeration, heating, and cooling may
tolerate loss of power for several minutes (or longer) without any
adverse effects.
 For data processing equipment, it may be necessary to maintain
power until the equipment can be shut down in an orderly
manner. This process may take only a few minutes.
 Alternatively, life support, safety, communications and security
equipment, and other applications may require continuous power
until primary power is restored.
 Restoration of primary power could take hours or even days. A
survey of commercial power outages may be necessary to
determine this information.
If commercial power outages are historically infrequent and last
only a few minutes or hours, it may not make economical sense
to install an UPS capable of supplying power for several days.
 Determining the power requirements
• This step is often laborious but essential because it sets the stage for the remainder
of the selection process.
• Undefined power requirements, or oversight of any initial conditions, could result in
the selection of a system that is not capable of meeting the needs of the facility,
costly budget overruns, and delays in completing the project.
• In addition, there is usually significant growth in the number of UPS loads as a
manufacturing plant is developed. This must be accounted for in the sizing of the
UPS.
• The first question to answer is how much power is needed.
• Power requirements can be divided into two categories, critical and non-critical.
• Critical power can be thought of as power for items such as emergency lighting for
evacuation of personnel, security systems, central computing systems, signaling
systems, medical equipment, and other functions that could cause loss of
productivity, or result in injury or a life threatening situation.
• Non-critical power is used for functions such as general lighting, escalators, coffee
makers, etc.
• Once the power requirements are defined, the next step is to determine
how much (if any) to oversize the unit.
• Over sizing serves two purposes.
• First, it provides the capability to efficiently and effectively handle
surges in power requirements due to peak demands caused by starting
machinery, switching power supplies, etc.
• Secondly, it provides for growth. Over time, power demands may rise
due to the addition of equipment or personnel, increases in
productivity, and other reasons.
• Over sizing the UPS ensures it will have the capacity to handle the
increased load without the expense of retrofitting the system, which is
more costly in the long run.
• A general rule of thumb in over sizing is to increase the initial power
requirement by 30 percent.
• If over sizing cannot be justified, the UPS should be selected and the
installation designed such that future expansion can be accommodated
at the least possible cost.
 Selecting the type of UPS
• Selecting a particular type and configuration of an UPS
depends on many factors that must be considered and
weighted according to a facility’s particular requirements.
• These factors include the purpose of the UPS, the required
power, cost, safety, environmental, availability, and
maintenance.
• The type and configuration of the UPS initially selected is
based on the purpose and power required. If the selected UPS
is not acceptable based on one or more of the remaining
factors, another type or configuration must be selected and the
evaluation repeated.
 Determining if the safety of the
selected UPS is acceptable
• Safety is an overriding concern of any UPS design and installation.
• Safety is basically governed by the electrical codes and standards as
adopted by government and commercial agencies, and good
judgment on the part of the design and installation team.
• In cases where more than one performance or safety design
alternative exists, preference should be given to those that have been
approved by the governmental authority having jurisdiction.
• Batteries pose special safety concerns for the facility manager.
• Safety problems associated with lead-acid batteries include spills of
sulfuric acid, potential explosions from the generation of hydrogen
and oxygen, and the generation of toxic gasses such as arsine
(AsH3) and stibine (SbH3).
• All of these problems can be satisfactorily handled with the
proper safety precautions.
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70, National
Electrical Code (NEC), provides guidance on battery room
ventilation.
• Wearing face shields and plastic/rubber aprons and gloves
when handling acid is recommended to avoid chemical burns
from sulfuric acid.
• Precautions must be routinely practiced to prevent explosions
from ignition of the flammable gas mixture of hydrogen and
oxygen formed during overcharge of lead-acid cells.
• The gas mixture is explosive when hydrogen in air exceeds 4
percent by volume.
• A standard practice is to set warning devices to alarm at 20 to
25 percent of this lower explosive level.
• Hydrogen accumulation is usually not a problem if good air
circulation around a battery is present.
• If relatively large batteries are confined in a small room, an
exhaust fan(s) should be used to constantly vent the room or
should start automatically when hydrogen accumulation
exceeds 20 percent of the lower explosive limit.
• Finally, the materials used in the battery container should be
fire retardant.
Determining if the availability of the
selected UPS is acceptable
• In managing a facility, the availability of
equipment and systems is of the utmost concern.
• Availability is the amount of time a piece of
equipment is available to perform its function
divided by the total time the equipment is needed.
• It is also defined as uptime divided by total time.
• Normally, the required availability for UPS is 98
percent.
• Availability is a function of reliability and
maintainability. The inherent or designed-in
availability is usually expressed as follows.

• Ai = MTBF / ( MTBF + MTTR )

Where:

• Ai is inherent availability
• MTBF is mean time between failure (a measure
of reliability)
• MTTR is mean time to repair (a measure of
maintainability)
• Reliability is the probability that the item will perform as
intended for a specified period of time, under a stated set of
conditions.
• It can be expressed in terms of the number of failures in a given
time (the failure rate), or as the time between failures (for
repairable items), or time to failure (for non-repairable items).
• Maintainability is defined as the relative ease and economy of
time and resources with which an item can be retained in, or
restored to, a specific condition.
• This assumes maintenance is performed by personnel having the
specified skill levels, using prescribed procedures and resources,
at each prescribed level of maintenance and repair.
• It can be expressed as the probability that an item can be
restored to operational condition in a stated time, the number of
repairs that can be made in a specific time (repair rate), or the
MTTR.
• From the equation for Ai, availability can be increased by increasing MTBF or
reducing MTTR.
• For example, assume the MTBF and the MTTR of a single UPS unit are 500 hours
and 20 hours, respectively. The inherent availability of a single unit configuration
would be:
• Ai = 500 / ( 500 + 20 ) = 0.962
• The inherent availability of a two-unit configuration where only one unit is required
would be:
• Ai = A1 + A2 - (A1 x A2 )
• The inherent availability of a two-unit configuration where both units are required
would be:
• Ai = A1 x A2

• The availability could be increased by increasing the reliability or reducing the

MTTR.
• The reliability could be increased by selecting a more reliable unit, derating the unit
(i.e., use a unit capable of providing more power than needed - when used, it will be
operating below its capacity thereby reducing stresses), or use redundancy .
• MTTR could be decreased by selecting an inherently more maintainable system or
perhaps by improving diagnostics, training, or procedures.
 Determining if the selected UPS is
maintainable
• Maintenance determines much of the operating cost of an UPS.
• Done correctly, maintenance can ensure that the UPS stays reliable. Poorly
done, maintenance can compromise reliability and safety.
• A system may be inherently maintainable (i.e., good access, good
diagnostics, etc.), but other factors can determine whether or not the system
can be maintained.
• These factors include availability of trained personnel, availability of spares
and parts, and location of repair facilities for removed components.
• Availability of personnel is a function of the total number of maintenance
personnel, the hours of facility operation (dictates the number of shifts
during which maintenance personnel may be required), and training
schedules.
• Availability of spares (to replace removed components) and parts (to repair
in-place or removed components) depends on the total number initially
procured.
• Replacement and repair then depends on the rate spares and parts
purchased and the rate at which the spares and parts become
obsolete.
• Location of repair facilities is important because if they are located
a significant distance from the UPS, transportation may increase the
time (and the cost) to restore the UPS to operation.
• In many cases, the facility manager may choose to do only that
maintenance performed directly on the UPS (i.e., in-place repair
and removal and replacement) with internal resources.
• All other maintenance (i.e., repair of removed components) would
be done by the UPS manufacturer or a third party.
• Alternatively, the manager may contract out all of the maintenance.
• This decision should be made primarily on the basis of cost and
availability.
• The cost of hiring and training personnel should be compared to
that of contracting out all or some of the maintenance.
• The expected number of repairs should be considered.
• A study of high failure rate components and the stock levels
needed to minimize down time is also important.
• Another party might be able to maintain the required stock
levels at a lower cost and might be able to make repairs in a
shorter time.
• On the other hand, many contractors require time (typically 24
hours) to respond to a problem.
• This additional time may result in large losses of revenue.
• Even if internal repair is more expensive, the added cost may
be more than offset by the savings in revenue.
 Determining if the selected UPS is
affordable
• Although the last step in the selection process, affordability is often
a limiting factor in the selection of an UPS.
• It is placed last because the pricing of the UPS can only be done
when the type, configuration, and sizing are known.
• When considering the cost of an UPS, it is best to consider the total
cost, or life cycle cost, that will be incurred.
• For a UPS, the total cost includes the purchase price, installation
cost, operating and support costs, and disposal costs.
• The acquisition and installation of the UPS typically constitute the
greatest portion of the life cycle cost.
• A static UPS will cost between $100 and $250,000 while the cost
of a rotary ranges between $5000 and $1,000,000 for single units.
• The cost of any needed auxiliary equipment must also be considered.
• At a minimum, a manual bypass switch is required to disengage the
UPS from the input power and load during maintenance or repair.
• These switches are typically integrated into a static UPS but are
standalone items with rotaries. In the latter case, the switches require
additional cabling and support hardware.
• More sophisticated systems having automatic monitoring, switching,
and control functions requiring additional components, adding to the
complexity and cost of the system(s).
• As part of the installation costs, the costs associated with needed
facility modifications should also be considered.
• If the UPS is operated under adverse conditions, availability will
suffer.
• Specific precautions must be taken for dirty, hot, cold, corrosive,
explosive, tropical and other adverse conditions.
• Additional air conditioning might be required for the UPS (or for the
facility due to heat loads from the UPS).
• Rotary units may require additional or special ventilation equipment
to purge toxic fumes from working areas.
• Floor units (usually static UPS for computer system backup) may
require strengthening of the floor to support their weight.
• Large UPSs may require the construction of a separate building to
house the unit.
• A rotary UPS or engine generator used in a cold climate will probably
require thermostatically controlled lubricating oil, coolant heaters.
• All equipment manufacturers specify the temperature extremes,
humidity, and other conditions for which the UPS was designed.
• Operating and support costs of the UPS are usually secondary to the
costs of purchasing and installation.
• However, they can be substantial and should be included as a factor in
the final selection.
• Operating and support costs include cost of fuel, maintenance,
replacement parts, and taxes.
• Finally, when an UPS reaches the end of its life, disposal costs
will be incurred.
• Disposal may simply consist of dismantling the UPS and selling
the parts to a recycling company or dumping it at an approved
refuse site.
• For UPSs containing dangerous or environmentally unsafe
chemicals or materials, disposal is much more complicated and
expensive.
• For example, disposal of lead acid batteries must be performed
according to all federal, state, and local regulations.
• Lead-acid batteries should be reclaimed to avoid the regulatory
requirements for hazardous waste treatment and disposal
facilities.
• In disposing of spent batteries, the facility manager must ensure
that batteries meet all radioactive contamination requirements for
uncontrolled release.
 Paralleling of UPS
• Parallel operation extends the normal operation of a UPS by offering
increased capacity and/or redundant capability.
• The parallel system continues to maintain power to the critical loads during
commercial electrical power brownout, blackout, overvoltage, undervoltage,
and out of tolerance frequency conditions.
• The architecture of such a power protection system is designed to prevent
the loss of valuable electronic information, minimize equipment downtime,
and minimize the adverse effect on production equipment due to unexpected
power problems.
• Organizations such as large data centers, hospitals and banks are
increasingly finding that using straight utility power is risky, even if used for
short periods of time.
• Because the cost of downtime and the risk of losing data are too high,
organizations deploy redundant UPS systems to ensure electrical supply
even in cases when one UPS ceases to operate.
 How paralleling technologies enhance
the reliability of electricity
• In paralleling, two or more UPSs are electrically and
mechanically connected to form a unified system with one output
— either for extra capacity or redundancy.
• In an N+1 redundant configuration, there would be at least one
more UPS than needed to support the load.
• As a conjoined system, each UPS stands ready to take over the
load from another UPS whenever necessary, without disrupting
protected loads.
• A redundant UPS configuration is designed to ensure that critical
workloads remain protected even if one or more of the UPSs
within that configuration becomes unavailable.
• Parallel redundant configurations, including N+1 and N+N
architectures, are among the most common and effective varieties.
• In the parallel redundant system, the electrical failure of any UPS
power module (UPM) results only in the affected module isolating
itself instantly, and not shutting down the entire system.
• The remaining UPMs continue to support the critical load, with
conditioned power, and thus the mission reliability is enhanced.
• The reliability benefit is due to the redundancy in the protected
power. If the system operates as intended, it is extremely unlikely
that the user would have to operate from the straight utility power.
• Any equipment failure is handled by the redundancy of the system,
by isolation of the failed component, and the transfer to bypass is
only used as the very last resort.
• In essence, mains bypass power would only be used due to UPS-
external factors such as overload, over temperature or short-circuit.
• Routine maintenance of the UPS system should not require transfer
to bypass.
 Types of parallel UPS systems
• There are typically two different types of parallel UPS systems: distributed
bypass systems and centralized bypass systems.
• In the distributed bypass system, each UPS has its own internal static switch,
rated according to the UPS size.
• Each UPS monitors its own output, and if the UPS system needs to transfer to
bypass, each static switch in each module turns on at the same time, and they
share the load current amongst themselves.
• In the centralized bypass system, there is one large common static switch
(also known as System Bypass Module or SBM) for all paralleled UPSs, rated
according to the size of the entire system.
• If the UPS system needs to transfer to bypass, the load current is then fed
through the System Bypass Module.
• In this case, the UPS units do not include internal static switches. These UPS
units without internal bypass are sometimes referred to as Input-Output
Modules, IOMs.
Pros & Cons of the UPS
Configurations
Pros & Cons of the UPS
Configurations
• When comparing the cost of the systems, the distributed
bypass system will be less expensive since SBM unit is not
needed.
• The cost difference is greatest with the smallest parallel
systems.
• However, as the size of the parallel system increases, the
difference in overall system cost, including the switchgear and
installation, decreases.
• Whether distributed or centralized bypass system is optimal
for each installation is dependent on the entire solution, and
needs to be considered specifically for each UPS project.
• Both paralleling methods have their pros and cons, but most
importantly both are solutions that guarantee reliable
protection for critical loads.