I was reading yesterday about how the UK Government has been ‘blue-skying’ the future of energy – Nuclear or Wind Power? Centralized v distributed supply? It got me thinking about the future of UPS and I decided to do a bit of blue-skying myself:

Examine any technological innovation over the years and what usually happens is that all efforts, once it has been invented, turn to ‘miniaturization’. UPS is no different. The uninterruptible power supplies of the future – even in huge industrial applications – will be tiny in comparison to today’s units. Transformers, inverters, filters, conditioners, fans and all internal elements in a UPS are being continually downsized.

Alongside an increasing upsurge in demand for energy, ‘income-per-squarefoot’ is something business managers are trying desperately to increase, which is why essential equipment like UPS needs to be smaller, take up less space, be more energy efficient and at the same time more sophisticated, faster and better than before.

The challenge for us as UPS manufacturers in blue-skying the future is to develop products that meet these demands whilst at the same time ensuring reliability, quality, innovation, resilience and ease of use. To me, the best definition of progress is development towards an improved or more advanced condition. So, to borrow the phrase from a well-known advert – “more forwards please…………….”

As technology converges to Power over Ethernet (PoE) and VoIP, there is a far greater need for power filtering, conditioning and surge protection, which you typically get from UPS installation.  

As an enterprise technology, Ethernet has resided inside a building where it only has to contend with minor surge-related issues like cable discharge and disconnect events. PoE expands use of the technology and takes it outside to security cameras, WiFi access points, or fiber-to-the-home. Suddenly it becomes more prone to lightning and other, more serious, surge-related issues. In emerging countries like China, Russia, or India, were power is not as tightly controlled as it is in Western Europe and North American, serious power surges can be a real problem.  

An effective UPS solution will contain filters and frequency conditioners that shield and protect upstream equipment and loads from power quality problems. But power protection should always begin with a power quality review to asses the actually quality of mains supply and the level required. This should also include future demands, sources of alternative power on site and priority-based load shedding and shutdown.  

For more information on power quality issues and how they can be addressed through the strategic use and implementation of UPS, see The Power Protection Guide, written by Robin Koffler and Jason Yates of Riello UPS and published by entiveon, or visit Riello UPS at Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) – Riello UPS Ltd – Power Protection.