How Does An Uninterruptible Power Supply Work?

Ever found yourself working on something crucial, only for the power to go out? 😱 Thanks to our friends at Schneider Electric 🌟, we'll explore the fascinating world of UPS's, including some top-notch models they've sent over!
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Did You Know: Surge Protection
02:02 - What is a UPS?
03:53 - Electrical Theory: How Does a UPS work?
05:09 - Continuing Education
05:28 - Safety: Dangers in Batteries in Parallel or Series
07:35 - Demonstration: Installation of the Schneider 10 KW 3-Phase 208 UPS
09:12 - Code: Securing and Supporting 248.30 (A)
10:09 - Outro
In our 'DID YOU KNOW' section, we'll bust some myths about surge protection. ⚡ Nope, that lightning bolt symbol doesn't mean lightning protection!
Next, we dive into the details with the 'ELECTRICAL THEORY' section. 💡 Learn what a UPS is and how it works, including the intriguing process of rectifiers and inverters.
Safety is paramount, and in the 'SAFETY' segment, we'll discuss handling batteries and the dangers of stacking them in series or parallel. 🚨 Knowledge is power, and we're here to keep you safe!
Now, the fun part! In 'DEMONSTRATION,' we hook up Schneider's remarkable 10 KW 3-Phase 208 UPS. Connecting it to a new panel that controls our editing studio, 🎥🔌 we put it to the test - and it works flawlessly! A big shout-out to Schneider Electric for making such reliable equipment!
Lastly, in the 'CODE' section, we explore the ins and outs of strapping flexible conduit, touching on NEC Securing and Supporting 248.30 (A). 📖 Be sure to read the exceptions to know your limits!
A big thanks to Schneider Electric for sponsoring this video and for their continued partnership. Their commitment to quality and innovation never ceases to amaze! 🌐 If you're interested in exploring more about Uninterruptible Power Supplies, click the link below for detailed information on the UPS systems we've discussed today. Schneider Electric has the solutions you need to keep your power running smoothly!💡💡
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[@Conqueef-tadoor]

Dustin, you should do a video about Emergency Stanby Generators. Different sizes, different types (Natural Gas, Deisel, Propane) and the different types of transfer switches. Pretty much cover all the common questions.

[@shelvins1841]

this would be awesome

[@Tubiggiesmalls]

He might have to get permission to post about different brands, but I bet Generac, Kholer, Briggs & Stratton, etc. would be eager to collab/partner with a quality channel like this.

[@TruculentGoose]

I would like to see one on "quick connects" into a panel for rented generators.

[@jd415]

Many uninterruptible power supplies do not have pure sine wave technology and its very important to have this, I wish you talked about it.

[@samsann4503]

yeah, wish he talks about UPS isolators too, also pure sine is very important for servers, some of our servers did not power on with non senoidal UPS's. Maybe in the next UPS video we might get more info.

[@docferringer]

SAFETY WARNING: UPSes should be kept in a well-ventilated area away from flammable items. CyberPower (and probably other UPS brands) have been caught using yellow "hot snot" on and around components to keep them from disconnecting/moving and causing a short. The irony is that yellow goo will turn brown and become electrically conductive after 2 or 3 years (I and a few others like EEV Blog have tested this). Conveniently this is also about the time it will take to wear out the batteries, so replace the whole UPS! Being cheap will cost you more in fried electronics, trust me. Now for the video... What Dustin is saying about UPSes and brownouts/surges is mostly correct, but it must be EXPLICITLY stated on your UPS's packaging that it supports Active Power Factor Correction (Abbreviated as Active PFC or just PFC), or Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR). Some will spell out that they handle OVP (Surge) and UVP (Brownout) conditions as well. BUT! When those corrections are made can vary depending on whether this is a low-end standby UPS or a line-interactive UPS. The latter will do a MUCH better job protecting your equipment. Pure Sine Wave UPS is pretty much mandatory for a modern computers. Not only do they handle voltage fluctuations more proactively, they will also boost your incoming power to keep it at 120V/240V. Pure Sine Wave UPSes will do the best job for in the home and small business customers. They will smooth your incoming power and generate a very close 60Hz sine wave on battery. Standby UPSes usually feature "simulated sine wave" output while on battery. That means the output power will have a stair-step look, and a lot of sensitive electronics can't handle such rough input power. They will refuse to even work on a standby UPS. Pure Sine Wave UPSes will always support AVR and most will be line-interactive. That is both good and bad: these types of UPSes do a LOT of work cleaning up your power and it wears them out. When one of these needs new batteries, opt instead for a new UPS. There are a lot of components like capacitors and relays that will wear out on you, and the handy dandy self-test feature doesn't test for that stuff. I had a rack-mount APC that welded one of its AVR relays, but if I unplugged and re-plugged it then it worked and passed its self-test (until the next brownout).

[@kNoCKs]

Im an electrician in MN, love you stuff bro!!

[@waynegram8907]

DUSTIN, you should go over on how to prevent "overloading" UPS using inductive loads and capacitive loads of various machinery equipment that will blow up UPS from overloading them.

[@gqborges]

Hey Dustin, I could really see the quality and the editing has increased dramatically. Great job very cool.

[@Sembazuru]

There is another way that some UPSs work. Instead of having the internal switchover circuit, the outputs are always running from the internal inverter. I don't know how common this UPS architecture is, but it does exist. I would also imagine that this type of UPS isn't very efficient due to the constant rectification and inverter losses. As someone mentioned, you might want to cover why pure sine wave UPSs (and stand-alone inverters) are important for some applications in a future video. And where you can get away without paying the extra coin for a pure sine wave UPS. Another use for UPS units is as a bridge for a generator. That way you don't need as many batteries if you only need to be able to provide power for the few minutes it takes for the generator to kick on and stabilize its own output. But you don't loose power while the generator is coming up to speed.

[@williambraswell4196]

Great content! I work for GB Technologies a reseller of Eaton UPS systems out of Raleigh NC. I have 4Eaton 5sc 500 on all of my TVs and Eaton 9px 1000 for my internet router at home. In my area we have new construction going on and have power blips all the time but never long enough to get a generator. I tell people when you do have a generator, they should have a UPS just to protect from the surge and SAG like you stated in your video from generator start up.

[@wolphin732]

I wish you talked about the 3 types of UPSes... Not just talked about stand-by UPS, and not even talked about the delay on the switchover for them (which is very important for sensitive electronics); PC Power supplies have smoothing capacitors so can handle a short (milliseconds) outage as the UPS switches over and only protect from outages. Line Interactive are more expensive, but also help to condition the power for dips or surges and have much lower switch delay. There is also Double Conversion and Delta Conversion Online, where basically you are always on UPS, and just have a large enough charger to keep up with demand, and has no delay, as all that drops out is the charger half, but do have a Bypass to use the supply if it is good enough. Pairing a UPS with a generator is best. UPS for the critical loads and short outages, and then the generator to spin up for longer outages.

[@austinbryan4040]

Fantastic video bro, very relatable content for all us sparkys

[@DaveSunde]

You should really cover the difference between "line interactive" and "on-line double conversion" UPS models. And show examples of the output of each on something like a Dranetz power quality monitor or scope. That would make for an interesting video and really shows the difference in output.

[@docferringer]

Dustin seems to do a lot of different types of jobs, but for a comprehensive guide you should search for a data center KZbinr to explain all that. They will have access to server-grade UPSes of all sizes and they test the living hell out of everything before it goes into production and they re-test periodically, so they are more likely to have failed UPSes they can analyze.

[@ElectricianU]

Id love to. Space is rather limited so accessing a Liebert NXL UPS or a Schneider/ APC Ups of those types would require A more space, and B the scope you mentioned. OR someone bold enough to let us come in and film inside a T2 or higher Data center.

[@calmeilles]

I like USP systems and have deployed them in many situations. However adding battery capacity to UPS systems is expensive and makes no sense beyond a certain scale. The next step is standby generators where the UPS just bridges the time between loss of utility power and generator getting up to speed to take over. It might also have the control systems to make switching between utility and generator transparent or those might be supplied separately As a data centre manager I'd be looking for a total UPS capacity of 30 minutes - enough time to fire up a generator manually if the automatics didn't do it. But then I'd be testing those systems including a generator test on a weekly basis to have confidence in them. Today there are really cute possibilities. Once you are investing big dollars in batteries why should they sit there idle most of the time? Put some solar panels on them and start making power. This of course makes any ATS more complex and for a proper grid tie system with fully function isolated mode regulations can be a beach. But if at all possible it should be done. If every property had a certain battery capacity linked with some generation capacity we'd be making huge strides into clean power territory _and providing ourselves with UPS capability at the same time!_

[@gooneybird808]

This was so dope…thank you dude!!!

[@xoxo2008oxox]

Know this about APC and other UPS makers (Cyberpower, etc) that when it comes to electronics like computers, routers, HTDVs, etc, the condition of the power is critical. So having a TRUE sinewave output is analogous to having pure, clean water to drink. I know Schneider-Electric sponsored this but some of the APC BackUPS lack True Sinewave. So if you have an expensive server or workstation(s), you want to have a clean Sinewave of power. Also, some UPS models will not only filter the power but buck up the voltage if there is a drop like a lost leg. I prefer informative displays to inform you of voltage, hours remaining, output/input... then again, I have a UPS for my media room, my networking, my computers, the internet router/FIOS box, and some other power-sensitive gear. And like he said about generators, there is a power loss till the genny is up and switched over...a UPS on critical electronics is a must.

[@pedrooropeza3527]

I'm so glad I found this channel

[@edgarcarrillo5259]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge very helpful saludos from 🇲🇽

[@charleshill7184]

Dustin, can you do a comparison between traditional UPS units, like APC (Schneider Electric), Tripp Lite (Eaton), and modern power stations like EcoFlow, Bluetti, and the like. Some, like EcoFlow, can act as UPS units and provide instantaneous backup which can be measured in hours for just a few hundred dollars.

[@bryzenzen]

They do work, worked in the ups service industry for years and it was fun!

[@kieferp5]

Awesome Unifi Set up!

[@TheDismack]

I'd love to see you do a video on the small and larger uses of solar generators like Ecoflow, Jackery ect. And how it compares to UPC's like you featured in this video.

[@martf1061]

In the demo part of the video, would have been nice to show that you unpluged a couple of ccts from the top panel, to plugged them in the bottom one. And most of all, would have been fun to watch you do the piping between the 2 panels, to understand how you managed to fit them in between the 2 panels...

[@heatherryan9820]

I think they are awesome also. There was many times growing up that my UPS saved my rear during thunderstorms cause I’m one of the worst at remembering to save my work. I just wish they weren’t so expensive.

[@Electronzap]

Good info

[@Shmade0304]

Oh ya finally your talking about this …running my house 24/7 on my ups

[@pjtruslow]

I have a pair of 2200VA units that can have as many external batteries as you want. They aren’t listed for hardwiring like this but my dream is to find a code compliant way to power the lighting circuit in the house off of them, so that my lights will not even flicker during a power outage. Not really sure if feeding a circuit or sun panel from an inlet is allowed from a UPS, maybe a generator sub panel would be.

[@youdontknowme5969]

Interesting timing. A lightning strike last Friday absolutely fried one of our UPSs. At least the UPS took the hit instead the equipment behind it. Too bad the OS on one of the servers got borked and had to be reinstalled, but the data on the NAS was fine. Close call.

[@natecroz]

Dustin have you considered installing a Line Reactor with your UPS?

[@sharkey086]

Nice ubiquity equipment!

[@mahnaz5095]

It was great. Thank you very much. I also need UPS simulation. Can you help?

[@DeleteriousEffect]

For anyone actually kitting out your home or business with UPS units or a system, pay attention to how frequently the manufacturer is expecting you to replace them or the batteries. It may change the math on what you consider vital to your operations. Also, figure out what you will do with the batteries. I went in a home of someone that i think went overboard with UPS and he just had dozens of dead batteries/UPSs piling up in a basement closet.

[@calmeilles]

Current lithium iron phosphate battery tech offers better than 3,000 charge cycles and a decade for age degradation to 80% capacity so any company suggesting their product does less than this and wants more frequent expensive battery changes is taking the customers for rubes needs to be kicked into touch. Hard!

[@DeleteriousEffect]

Three out of the four products linked under this video are using sealed lead acid batteries.

[@calmeilles]

@@DeleteriousEffect Not surprised. 5 years ago that would have been my pick for proven reliability. Today I wouldn't touch them and wouldn't countenance any company insisting on them.

[@DougLockard]

Great!!

[@jasonweaver2566]

Can you do a video explaining how a surge protector works?

[@maetrixtech8687]

What's up with the two conduits that you added and didn't mention? I could see one for a grounding conductor but it looks like more than just that.

[@jacksonkilonzo1699]

Hi,, what size of ups is a perfect match for running a 1500w surface mount water pump

[@jjgam]

little off topic Dustin But will you be attending the Worester trade show at polar park on sept 28th?

[@Tritium21]

Many whole rack, and whole facility UPS systems run full time off of the inverter - there is no changeover time. Even the 20ms that it takes can cause a computer powersupply to go into a failure mode and shutdown. Granted, most PFC powersupplies these days have holdup time to support a changeover

[@docferringer]

If anyone is interested in these types of UPSes, the industry term for them is "Online UPS", or "online double-conversion UPS". Overkill for most home setups though.

[@Crashing310]

How about discussing lightning protection?

[@elliot1784]

A video focusing on old residential system wiring setups/practices would be really cool!

[@jessew5650]

Lots of knob and tube videos on KZbin already

[@anthonysupplee858]

You mean a video on different ways to remove/junk that crap lol

[@miomine3527]

I bought one of these ups for my instant gas water heater, it gives me about 50 minutes of hot water..depends also on the what's and amps

[@dremwolf5419]

Dustin why does Schneider Electric state specifically on some of their UPS devices they are rated for lightning protection?

[@ElectricianU]

Because Lightning protection, is a whole different animal. Requires different equipment a head of your MDP/ UPS and still only MIGHT protect equipment down stream. UPS's are only a "power sponge" in that all power hits the batteries first before it goes out to the load. But some UPS's also can be configured for Lightning protection devices. Like emon-d-mon ect.

[@edwatts9890]

Some UPS devices operate like your second drawing (outpur from the battery/inverter) all of the time.

[@shanemichael7978]

Connecting batteries in parallel does bot increase current. Just increases the power supplies operation life

[@zackstrackhouse1086]

One thing Dustin got wrong is that UPS are not meant to run for a long time in any scenario, they are meant to allow the user to safely power down the equipment and not lose any progress in the work or function that it is performing. If you actually wanted to run the equipment or operation continuously you would want a standby generator. The UPS could bridge the gap between when the main power shuts off and the standby generator turns on, but an UPS is not meant for total power loss from main to run the equipment.

[@throttlebottle5906]

that depends on the type and size of the UPS. some are large "online" models that are always in use and can have giant battery banks which run many hours/days/weeks of run time. But yes, most of the smaller consumer models are not fan cooled, line interactive and limited to short run times allowing safe shutdown(or hibernation). high load and long run time would overheat them.

[@zackstrackhouse1086]

@@throttlebottle5906 they are all meant for safe shut down of the equipment, I know this because even the biggest ups I work with that takes an entire room to house is only there for us to shutdown the equipment it's there to back up

[@throttlebottle5906]

@@zackstrackhouse1086 the amount of runtime available before "proper shutdown" occurs is directly proportional to the cost and run time wanted. granted there should be generators that come online, leaving enough reserve time to properly shutdown. in even of repeat power return and failure or generators and large sags caused by high power equipment cycling. but I can say that there are some setups meant to run for weeks on end(smaller loading/critical infrastructure.

[@AdamsLab]

Schneider needs to clarify their marketing... In big letters on the Easy UPS page they say "non-IT" but then also say "Designed for fast and easy installation in the data center..." So which is it?

[@rty1955]

What you describe is a STANDBY power supply not a UPS. The reason: it takes time to SWITCH to battery. That is typically 6-12ms. This switching time could affect some sensitive electronic devices. A TRUE UPS is running off the inverter ALL the time and the MAINS is supplying both a small charge to the batteries AND supplying power to the inverter. This is called online double concersion. When you lose the MAINS there is zero switching time. Most people do not know this. In addition, UPS systems should give you enough power to SHUTDOWN in an orderly fashion, not to continue operating. Most big places will use a UPS to give a generator time to start up and stabilize. When the generator comes online the UPS sees this as main power being restored. I worked in a place that had a HUGE TRUE UPS system with batteries in racked all over a 25x25 room. This gave the data center 45 min of power, plenty of time for the buildings generator to come online. Interesting story, once we lost power because of a car accident slamming into a transformer. People ran into the data center aski f what happened. We didn't know as the room was operating fine because of the UPS we had. I checked the UPS system after 10 min and noticed we still had no main power. Hmmmm odd the generator should have kicked in. I went outside to check the generator and it was NOT running!! I manually started the generator and once stabilized I transferred power. I called the buildings electrician to find out why the generator did not automatically start. Upon investigation it was learned that we only lost 2 phases of a 3 phase system! The autostart didn't see this as a power outage. Yikes!

[@dusty5955]

Thank you for that information

[@rty1955]

​@@dusty5955 yw. facts matter

[@LordSaliss]

They are both called a UPS, just different kinds of UPS. You are describing a double conversion/online UPS, there are also line interactive and standby/offline types.

[@williambraswell4196]

There’s 3 different types Stand by - for like tv and small stuff like computer Eaton 5s series Line interactive - used in data center racks like an Eaton 9px series Online UPS- usually the bigger ones like Eaton 9pxm and 93pm series.

[@rty1955]

​​​​@@LordSalissactually they are called STANDBY battery backup supply. As it actually does interrupt power therefore not a true UPS. Yes it is a online double conversion, the only real UPS. Most people who dont know the differences will call all of them a UPS

[@allpurposeconstructionwiz]

Is it a code violation to mount panels that low for the ups

[@ChipBeforePC]

Dustin, I have a nuanced disagreement with your explanation on how true UPS works... APC (Now apart of Schneider) explained it like this... Power from the wall is rectified to charge the battery constantly... and all items hooked up to the UPS are actually always running on the battery power that is inverted back to AC... When power is lost the battery will begin to drain... The important point here is that UPS provide essentially perfect power (aka sine wave) meaning early days of computers were less likely to be effective by brownouts et. al. To underline the main point here is that any equipment hooked up via a true UPS isn't actually drawing power from the utility it is in fact drawing its power through the inverted battery power... Therefore it is shielded from the problems of your local electric company's power which in some places can be very erratic!!

[@lukesnyder3293]

so everything you want protected needs to be in a sub?

[@amshaq007CR7]

Hey im new channel but i would like to see him install solar .

[@throttlebottle5906]

nice dinosaur age arrow hart disconnects. 😏🤣

[@mrscoot1]

That would be great if it were affordable to homeowners, with all the green technologies and supposed incentives, allowing tax break is not incentive, many people are not able to get them because they do not make enough to use long form to get the rebate or money back! If they were serious they would give each person a set amount of $ and they could apply and get whatever they neeed to use green technologies of their choice upto set amount, and go get it and the government pay for it, upto the one time set $ amount! Would love to have battery bank and solar panels to be completely off-grid but am single and do not have 20k to do it! So their entire go green b.s system is useless! They give the incentive to the companies who then screw us out of the $s .I do not need them to overcharge me with installation and cost of system! Give me the ability to control and acguire what I need to set up my system or Let government finance the amount and I pay them every month until it is paid and I own it 100%! Because what they have now only helps everyone but citizens(taxpayer) and most people get nothing back! Sorry to rant but if they really wanted to go green they could!