How Energy Efficient Is Your UPS System?

by Isaac Prakash April 08, 2022

Almost all businesses have one or more UPS systems in their offices to ensure that critical equipment such as computers can be shut down properly in the event of a power failure. But how efficient are the UPS systems that your business relies on? Are they performing well, or are they wasting thousands of dollars of electricity every year — money that could more profitably be spent elsewhere? To answer these questions, we need to look at how UPS efficiency is measured, along with the factors that you need to consider when specifying a new system.

If it turns out that your current system is nowhere near as efficient as it ought to be, please feel free to contact us for advice. We design, specify, supply and install efficient commercial UPS systems for companies in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and other parts of Australia.

Measuring the energy efficiency of UPS systems

When calculating the energy efficiency of a UPS system, you need to consider two essential factors.

The design efficiency of your UPS — The most straightforward way to calculate the design efficiency of any UPS system is to measure the kWh of electricity going into the system and compare this figure to the kWh of electricity that is coming out of it. Even the best systems will lose a certain amount of electricity through electrical capacitance and heat. You can minimise this loss by installing the most efficient system possible and ensuring that it is correctly sized.
The size of your UPS — When we talk about size, we’re not referring to the physical dimensions of your system but rather to its capacity: how much power it can deliver and, more importantly, how much of this power your equipment is using.

As commercial UPS specialists, we have come across many systems that are being severely underutilised. Many people don’t realise that having a much larger system than required is almost as bad as having one that isn’t quite big enough, especially when it comes to UPS efficiency. Different systems will have different efficiency curves, but most systems are at their most inefficient when running at a very low percentage load. In other words, if the equipment attached to your UPS system is only using a fraction of the power it is capable of supplying, you will almost certainly be wasting a significant amount of electricity on an annual basis.

Our team of experts have completed numerous commercial projects in Australia, installing highly efficient UPS systems for organisations in many different industries. If you would like us to help you measure the efficiency of your system and determine whether it would be beneficial to replace it with a new one, you are welcome to call and speak to us now.