Full form of UPS

While working in an office, schools, colleges, or at homes, UPS might have helped you thousands of times at the time of power cut by saving your important data or information that you forget to save.  Despite using this device so frequently in your day-to-day lives, many of you are yet not aware of its full form.

The full form of the abbreviation UPS is Uninterruptible Power Supply.

This tutorial will briefly cover the definition, history, types, advantages, limitations, applications and other detailed information related to Uninterruptible power supply or UPS.

What is UPS?

“Uninterruptible power supply or UPS is an electronic device that supplies power back up for a fixed amount of time when there are problems or significant reduction in the main power source. “

UPS is a kind of power supply system that houses several integrated batteries to provide electricity in the lack of primary power mode or if power is shut down. A UPS helps to keep the computer operating alive for some time. With UPS the user can run all the computer systems as normal to compensate the shortage of electric power. Thus it offers the users sufficient time to preserve and save all of the data and prevent it from crashing. UPS is not limited only to computer systems and equipment.  It can be used to power up from a hair dryer to television.

UPS's concept came into existence to protect various hardware equipment’s (unlike computers systems, data or network centers, and telecommunication) or other electrical devices where an accidental power disturbance could induce damages, fatalities, and serious business misfortune or data loss. There are numerous UPSs available in the market currently, which offer advanced technology that immediately saves your data and shuts down your computer system. Hence,  we can conclude that the UPS works as a connecting bridge between the general and machine sources.

History of UPS

In the year 1934, John Hanley was the first to invent Uninterruptible Power Supply. It prevents harm inflicted by spikes & surges to the hardware. After the successful completion of his invention, Hanley stated, “Apparatus for Maintaining an Unfailing and Uninterrupted Supply of Electrical Energy”.

Types of UPS

UPS systems are categorized into two types, which are as follows:

1. Online UPS

Online UPS is a reservoir of constant power supply, giving power or electricity from its inverter without any delay. It is usually found in small businesses and organizations. The added advantage of online UPS is that they offer the ability to regulate the voltage automatically. It has two significant shortcomings: and the first is that it is more costly when compared to offline UPS, and the second is that it contains a cooling fan that creates noise pollution.

• Standby power supply

The standby power supply or offline UPS is converted into a batter in few seconds after the power is cut off. It sets in wait for its time to spring into action, and once there is a power failure, it takes control. The Standby power source is principally used for computer systems and is mostly found in the office supply store. It is the cheaper UPS system available in the market.

Advantages of UPS

The advantages of uninterruptible power supply or UPS are as follows:

1. UPS acts as an emergency Power supply.
2. UPS protects against surges
3. UPS comes with expanded battery life
4. The uninterruptible power supply comes at cost-effective prices for resource and data maintenance.
5. UPS protects against anonymous data or information loss.

Limitations of UPS

The limitations of uninterruptible power supply or UPS are as follows:

1. UPS is not 100% reliable
2. The Replacement price is high because the batteries will not last forever. UPS batteries last about six to ten years. Therefore new batteries have to be purchased in their place.
3. UPS is not very easy to install and needs experts or technical person intervention to fix it.

Applications of UPS

UPS can be used at any place where there is a loss of power supply. The applications of uninterruptible power supply or UPS are as follows:

1. UPS are widely used in Homes, societies, or apartments to support the necessary electric appliances wherever there is a sudden power failure.
2. UPS is widely used in the business world, i.e., in offices, organizations, and multinational firms.
3. UPS are used in shops and café.

Various industries use UPS to run their machines.