SDA 2-HOUR
EMERGENCY UPS BACKUP

✓ The XRT6 6KVA Online Series by UPS Solutions

✓ 10 Year Design Life Batteries as Standard

✓ Includes 5 Year Warranty on the UPS and Batteries

SDA 2-HOUR
EMERGENCY UPS BACKUP

design specification

The SDA standard below requires 2-hour emergency backup in the event of a power outage for 2x GPO points in the participants bedroom and any automated doors for entry or egress. The most suitable emergency backup device to accommodate the requirements is a UPS system.

TYPES OF EQUIPMENT THAT MAY REQUIRE REDUNDANT POWER

• Ventilator
• Ceiling hoist
• Emergency notification alarm
• Electric bed controls
• Alternating air mattress

• CPAP device
• Door controllers
• Suctioning equipment
• Small fridge for medication
• Communication devices

Air-conditioning is typically not factored into the design load, however, the two-hour capacity provides a participant who is reliant on heating and cooling enough time for support services to organise transportation to a hospital.

WHAT IS A UPS?

a UPS System or Uninterruptible Power Supply is a battery backup system that provides surge protection, power filtering and instantaneous power to connected equipment, without interruption, in the event of a power outage.

how to pick the right ups?

The first step is to pick the topology type, there are three main UPS topologies:

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO CHOOSE AN ONLINE DOUBLE CONVERSION UPS SYSTEM TO PROTECT AGAINST ALL MAIN POWER ISSUES.

PICKING THE RIGHT SIZE OF THE UPS SYSTEM?

There are two considerations, first is the UPS rating which goes by KVA/KW and is the total power load the UPS can handle from connected devices at any given time. Then we have the UPS runtime, which is the battery amount and type required to provide 2-hour backup time for the UPS load in a power outage.

WHAT KW (KILOWATT) LOAD SHOULD BE ALLOWED FOR?

As a rule of thumb, allow for the load of 1.5kW per participant which is based on experience. However, the actual load per participant requires must be confir med once they move in and all equipment can be tested.

UPS Rating Considerations:

• The total equipment load
• Will automatic doors be on UPS?
• Load in-rush currents
• Potential misuse (people plugging items such as vacuums, hairdryers etc. that may trip the UPS circuit)

UPS RUNTIME Considerations:

• Back-up time required (2-hours for SDA standard)
• Load on the UPS, if known. The more power, the more batteries required.
• Scope runtime based on batteries at the end of life (not start of life)
• Type of power required by equipment, constant or variable load

sda wiring example

Input Feed

The UPS system needs to be on it’s own isolated input power supply that is separated from common feeds to avoid interference on the UPS power circuit. This circuit should be clearly marked as the UPS input breaker, and easily identifiable. For br eaker and cable ratings please refer to the UPS manufacturer's installation guidelines.

OUTput Feed

The most common way to provide UPS power to equipment is to have a small UPS sub board fed from the output of the UPS. On this sub board, strictly have only the 2x GPO feeds from the participants bedroom, automated doors, and external UPS exhaust fan. The output circuits & GPO’s being fed from the UPS should be clearly marked and easily identifiable. We would also recommend to put signage on or near to the GPO’s stating something to the likes of “UPS Power: Critical Devices Only”.

Bypass Feed

It is recommended that you install a bypass panel for the UPS that will bypass the UPS feed to mains power in the event of UPS maintenance or failure, this should be requested from the UPS supplier along with the UPS purchase, some UPS systems like the one recommended at the end of this article come with a bypass switch built in.

INSTALLING AND COMMISSIONING THE UPS SYSTEM

It is highly recommended to use experienced UPS installation professionals to avoid any damage and warranty issues to hardware and in order to test proper operation of the system. It is common for the electrician to provide the electrical circuits, input and output as needed, ready for the UPS installer to terminate into the UPS system, and commission the device.

Environmental Considerations

The team scoping and designing the UPS need to take into consideration environmental factors such as the following:

SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

General Servicing

It is recommended to service the UPS every 6-12 months should the UPS environment be optimal, more frequently if there is heavy dust and debris clogging up UPS fans or heavy usage from local power problems. Servicing should be performed by a specialist familiar with the system who has the skills to perform the various UPS tests and services required.

BATTERY REPLACEMENTS

Batteries are one of the main components of a UPS and are also the main reason for UPS damage and failure. When a battery has exceeded it’s life expectancy it can reduce runtime and even the load, expand, leak and potentially be a fire hazard. The optimal room temperature to get the most out of your battery is 25 degrees, every 7 degrees higher you potentially lose approx. half the life expectancy.

battery design life

You will need to determine the design life of batteries in your UPS system, Most major brands all use (5) year batteries as standard, UPS systems such as the UPS Solutions XRT6 use (10) year batteries standard at no extra cost. (5) years batteries should be replaced between year (3) and (4) years to avoid damage and maintain uptime, (10) year batteries will last for the reasonable life cycle of the UPS and should be replaced along with the UPS replacement.

UPS Life Expectancy

The typical component design life of internal UPS components is 10 years, to avoid end of life faults and failures a UPS should be replaced around the 6-7 year mark.

UPS Monitoring

The UPS can be monitored by an appropriate party as long as there is a local network connection and a network card has been installed into the UPS. You will be able to login and see the status of the UPS as well as receive fault and failure alerts to a nominated email account. For SMS alerts, you can set up an email to SMS service .

Recommended UPS systems

From our experience we have successfully installed multiple UPS Solutions XRT6 UPS systems which can be found on the following link:

view the xrt6 online series

This UPS along with additional battery packs covers the SDA requirements and has 10-year design life batteries. The XRT6 UPS range comes in various size s, but the most common size taking into consideration all of the above recommendations has been the 6KVA UPS with multiple battery packs.

UPS Solutions work closely with local government agencies, industry experts and SDA providers across Australia, partnering with industry experts who offer innovative products and services to provide best in class solutions.

DOWNLOAD SDA 2-HOUR BACKUP BROCHURE

About UPS Solutions

UPS Solutions drafted this blog on behalf of SDA Consulting and are a government accredited specialist provider of UPS systems and UPS field services across Australia. They have extensive experience with over 18 years servicing the Australian market.

To discuss your project and request a quote for a new UPS we can be contacted on 1300 555 992, send us an email at sales@upss.com.au or click below to fill out a form.

contact ups solutions

For UPS systems there is design and engineering that will need to be done so it is best to book a site inspection or enquire directly with our team by filling out the form, emailing sales@upss.com.au or calling 1300 555 992.

1300 555 992

sales@upss.com.au

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