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Differences Between Types of UPS's

FAQ & Tech Info

Glossary of UPS Terms

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Products

Server Rack

Server Rack Frame

Economy
Server Cabinet

LAN Racks

Shockmount
Rackmount
Cases

Computer
Classroom
Tables

Desktop &
Portable Racks

Relay/Network Racks

Wall Mount
Rack/Cabinets

KVM Switches

Patch Panels/Cables

Accessories

Angle
Brackets

Cable Management

Fans

Filler Panels

LCD Monitor/
Keyboards

Powerstrips

Reducer
Brackets

Rackmount
Screws

Rackmount
Shelves

Security
Doors

UPS Backup
Power

Minuteman UPS
Uninterruptible Power Supply

Glossary of UPS Industry Terms

AC CURRENT (ALTERNATING CURRENT)
Electric power from utility mains – “the power from the plug” – is AC current. Alternating current or voltage reverses its direction of flow at regular intervals and has alternately positive and negative values, the average of which over a period of time is zero. In the Americas, AC current is 120 volts. In Europe, Asia and the Pacific, AC current is 220 volts.

AMPERE
The unit of measurement of electric current; the unit current produced in a circuit by one Volt applied across a resistance of one Ohm. To convert amps to watts,

BLACKOUT
Total loss of power from the utility mains. Usually caused by an emergency forced outage or other fault in the power generation /transmission/ distribution system in the area. Intentional load shedding by the utility if it does not have adequate power generation capability to satisfy demand can also cause blackouts.

DC CURRENT (DIRECT CURRENT)
Electric power from batteries is DC current, which is electric current or voltage that does not reverse direction.

DAISY-CHAINED BATTERY PACKS
External UPS battery packs that can be connected serially to one another to supply virtually unlimited runtime.

DOUBLE CONVERSION
A UPS technology in which the UPS takes the incoming AC sinewave and recreates it by first converting the AC voltage to DC, conditioning the power to eliminate any noise, harmonics, sags, or surges, and then converting the DC power back to AC before it exits the UPS to the protected load.

EMI/RFI INTERFERENCE
Distortions of electric power caused by nearby equipment or machinery running on the same power circuit. Also called noise or harmonics. Can corrupt computer networks and other sensitive electronic equipment and cause “glitches.”

EXTENDED RUNTIME
A UPS that is specifically configured to accept daisy-chained battery packs that permit virtually unlimited runtime.

FULL-LOAD
When sizing UPS equipment and determining runtime, a full-load is equipment with power consumption equal to the total capacity of the UPS attached to it.

HALF-LOAD
When sizing UPS equipment and determining runtime, a half-load is equipment with power consumption equal to half of the total capacity of the UPS attached to it.

HARMONICS
Distortions of electric power caused by nearby equipment or machinery running on the same power circuit. Also called noise electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI). Can corrupt computer networks and other sensitive electronic equipment and cause “glitches.”

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