1. Field of Invention
At least some embodiments described herein relate generally to Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS).
2. Discussion of Related Art
The use of power devices, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to provide regulated, uninterrupted power for sensitive and/or critical loads, such as computer systems and other data processing systems, is known. Known uninterruptible power supplies include on-line UPS's, off-line UPS's, line interactive UPS's, as well as others. On-line UPS's provide conditioned AC power as well as back-up AC power upon interruption of a primary source of AC power. Off-line UPS's typically do not provide conditioning of input AC power, but do provide back-up AC power upon interruption of the primary AC power source. Line interactive UPS's are similar to off-line UPS's in that they switch to battery power when a blackout occurs but also typically include a multi-tap transformer for regulating the output voltage provided by the UPS.
A conventional online UPS rectifies input power provided by an electric utility using a Power Factor Correction circuit (PFC) to provide power to a DC bus. The rectified DC voltage is typically used to charge a battery while mains power is available, as well as to provide power to the DC bus. In the absence of mains power, the battery provides power to the DC bus. From the DC bus, an inverter generates an AC output voltage to the load. Since the DC bus is powered either by mains or the battery, the output power of the UPS is uninterrupted if the mains fails and the battery is sufficiently charged. Typical online UPS's may also operate in a bypass mode where unconditioned power with basic protection is provided directly from an AC power source to a load via a bypass line.
To provide enhanced scalability and/or redundancy, two or more UPS's may be electrically connected to form a single parallel UPS system with one output. In such a system, the combination of multiple UPS's may provide increased power capacity to a load attached to the parallel UPS system. Also, if one of the UPS's coupled in parallel fails, the other UPS's coupled in parallel may backup for the failed UPS.