Uninterruptible power supplies today

Large installations are increasingly benefiting from UPS systems today, but the real needs for such systems should be objectively assessed before a UPS is specified. If and when the benefits have been clearly established, it becomes more straightforward to establish the optimum system components from the bewildering range of battery types and sizes, chargers, inverters, changeover switches, instrumentation, controls and environmental impact characteristics. Only then does specifying, installing and maintaining a UPS system become routine. The author reviews all these aspects