Riello UPS has just launched the Premium Pro series from 700VA to 3kVA. The range includes new energy saving features and provides on-line power protection for critical IT servers, telecommunications, EPoS and data applications.

The Premium Pro from Riello UPS has a digitally controlled inverter to provide true on-line power protection. Coupled with a new rectifier-charger, the Premium Pro operates at 0.99 power factor; saving 10% more energy than its predecessor range and achieving an operating efficiency of 98% in full on-line mode. The UPS avoids unnecessary power consumption by sensing circuits and battery chargers. The unit can also be configured to automatically power-off when no load is present therefore reducing further energy use. For more information about the Premium Pro series click here. To read the Press Release click here.

Thanks to my contacts at Data Power Protection who gave me a link to a Daily Mail website article the other day about the state of the UK’s electrical supply network. The newspaper article discusses the state of UK power generation and lack of investment which will see us facing regular blackouts and rising electricity costs over the next few years. The basic problem is that our existing power stations are coming to the end of their working lives and our government has not initiated new-build programmes as quickly as required. For Riello UPS and UPS suppliers like Data Power Protection, this means continued market expansion and opportunities but not just for UPS. We would also expect to see a huge demand for standby generators. Personally, I just wonder if local, on-site power generation will be as common a feature of the modern home as a satellite dish and Nintendo WII.

I came across a piece the other day in The Peninsula, Qatar’s leading English Daily, covering the harnessing of solar power. The article is on a French engineer, Olivier Boegner, whose passions are solar power and sailing. Now I had never considered solar power anything but a secondary standby power system. Here we have it as the prime one. With a little research I then came across the MW-Line company in Switzerland who have been making solar powered boats for several years – the one shown runs for less than 1Euro per day which is simply just quite staggering. I think that the downside will off course be speed when compared to traditional fossil fuelled engines. However, with engineers like Olivier pushing the boundaries (and attempting ventures like a planned British Channel crossings), this technology and application will continue to mature.

In terms of power protection I think that we will see a merging of battery and solar power technologies for buildings in the future to create a central storage of electrical energy. From this ‘local pool’ electrical devices will be able to draw their standby power. This has implications not just for Uninterruptibe Power Supplies but any back-up device. It will provide building engineers with a central maintenance point for standby power and provide a host of benefits – the only downside is that there is still no cheaper energy store than a battery, and especially the sealed lead acid maintenance-free type.