2004 IEEE InternationalConference on Industrial Technology (ICIT)

ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE TEST PROCEDURE FOR

UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES
Srdjan Skok, Ph.D.,
srdi an.skok@ fer.hr

Minea Skok, M Se.,

minea.skok@fer.hr

Niksa Vrkic, B.Sc.

niksa.vrkic@,hep.hr

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing

Department ofPower Systems
Unska 3, I O 000 Zagreb, Croatia
teI./fax:++385 1612997Xitt.385 16129890

ABSTRACT
This paper will eiaboruie electrical performance
test procedure for uninfemrptible power supplies (UPS).
The focus will be pointed io on - line one - phase UPS up
to 3000 VA nominal output power that are mostly used for
protection computer equipment. But the test procedure can
be applied to three - phase UPS or of- line and line interactive UPS and alsofor morepowerjid UPS.
Test procedures are based on relevant standards
(IEC 62040-3 31-Mar-1999: Unintemptiblr power
systems (UPS) - Part 3: Method of specijiing the
perfiormarace and test requirements; CSA C8I3.1-01:
Performance Test Method for Uninderruptible Power
Supplies; ...), but all those mentioned siandards have
infernational restrictions and they are applicable only for
domestic use in some countries.
This paper will propose unique test procedure
only for elecirical perlformances of UPS that can be
applicable worlaivide. In this paper it is excluded other
UPSpe$rmances like noise, heating, weighi, aHd other.
Electrical performances that are observed are:
- Input current total harmonic distortion (THRO,
- Output voltage total harmonic distortion (THDU),
- Input efficiency,
- Ouput eJqiciency and
- Autonomy time,
lt will be given elecwical schemn for testing each
peformance. Total harmonic dtslortion of current and
efficiency will be distinguished for linear and nonlinear
load. It will be given simple electrical schema far
simulation nonlinear load. Total harmonic distortion of
voltage will be distinguished for case when AC power is
present and cose when there is no ACpower and batfery
starts to provide power for load.
In the paper will be described possible power
problems (also power quality) in the electrical network
and from which problems each UPS protect its load.
Paper will present test results for almost twenty
direrent UPS (power range form 500 VA to 3000 VA; and
@om diflerent manufacturers).

L INTRODUCTION

technological improvement made it available not only for

the big and important consumers, but also for individual
PC users. Now it is almost like a standard - when you buy
PC you do not ask and automatically buy a UPS as a
normal penpheraI part of a PC.
Need for UPS systems come as a protection of a
sudden loss of power supply that will disrupt most business
operations, and in some cases lead to a total inability to
trade. There are many examples of companies which have
gone into liquidation as a direct result of the consequences
of power supply failures. However, it is not only total
power supply failure or blackouts which can trigger
devastating effects. Many electrical loads, mostly the ones
that have microprocessors and fine electronics, are equally
susceptible to power sags, brown-outs, power spikes and
surges, noise and radio frequency interference, and supply
frequency changes. Such loads are often referred to as
critical loads, partly because their continuous operation
is fimdamental to the functioning of the business, and also
because they require a more stabile and reliable power
supply than that generally ofiered by the utility power
supply in order to guarantee their correct h c t i o n . Among
typical critical loads are: computers, industrial process
equipment, medical equipment, telecommunications
network equipment, point of sales terminals, on-line
business transactions. The effects of an inadequate supply
to a critical load can include: cessation of the business
process - i.e. a total inability to trade and/or communicate,
data loss or corruption due to software crashing, expensive
hardware failure including component damage e.g. due
to power sags, spikes etc., production loss due to incorrect
operation of manufacturing process and possible
production equipment damage, inappropriate control
system operation, lost business due to failed point of sales
or telecommunications equipment, possible time penalty
paid to repairireset affected systems.
UPS systems differ in many aspects, from topological
point of view, electrical, mechanical (dimension and
weight) and acoustic. In the next chapters it will be
explained differences between UPS systems. Also it will
be proposed procedure for electrical test which will
evaluate electrical quality of UPS systems. This procedure
will be described on testing UPS single phase devices from
500 VA to 3000 VA.

Unintermptible Power Supplies (UPS) systems have

evolved rapidly in recent years. Fifteen years ago very few
WS were to be found in office environments. UPS

0-7803-8662-0/04/$20.00
02004 IEEE

667

II. PQ - POWER QUALITY

converting the battery charge into an alternative current

supply in times of mains supply failure. All U P S must
therefore include battery charger and a power inverter
circuit as illustrated in fig. 3.

Deregulation process in many countries outlined

power quality as a research field of special interest. Power
quality hides many issues known from the past but till now
they have been marginalized. Power quality become
important issue because of many microprocessors in
different types of load and because of globalization and
deregulation of electrical energy market, that lead to
development of power quality control and measurement.
Power quality definition is different for different type
of consumers, but there is one that will mostly satisfy all.
According to that definition power quality, connected to
the sinusoidal shape of voltage and current and frequency
o f 50/60 Hz. Every difference of those parameters
decreases power quality. So power quality is determined
with frequency, amplitude and shape of voltage and
current.
Power quality on the power plant buses are perfect,
but inside our wall, the shape, and amplitude are not so
perkct (Fig. 1).

Figure 3, Main parts of UPS

As descnbed above, the battery provides a power

source for the inverter when the mains supply fails,
whereupon it discharges at rate determined by the critical
load connected to the UPS output. The inverter
automatically shuts down when its supply falls below a
certain voltage, therefore the duration for which the critical
load can be supported in times of mains failure depends
upon the battery capacity and the percentage applied load.
The battery back up time is often referred as the autonomy
time (rated typically 5 to IS minutes). Virtually all systems
contain a bypass system which, in conjunction with some
form of output switching circuit, provides a means of
connecting the critical load directly to the mains supply. In
most cases the output switching circuit is implemented
using solid-state switching devices, hence the static
switch.

Figure 1. Voltage shape at the consumer point (220 V,

A. On-line UPS systems

50Hz)

There are several categories of static UPS systems

available. Broadly speaking, UPS modules fall within one
of three operational design architectures, namely off-line,
line interactive and on-line. Today most of the UPS
systems are on-line so this ,chapter will elaborate basic
principals of on-line UPS systems.
A typical on-line UPS module is illustrated in fig. 4.
? --C & d r h

Basic power problems are electrical noises, impulses /

spikes, sags, surges, blackouts and harmonic distortion
(Fig. 2). Some UPS manufacturers outhned 3-5-9 base that
define all power problems: blackout, impulse, surge (3),
longtime surge, sag, (5), spike, noise, frequency changes
and harmonic distortion (4).

Load

III. UPS SYSTEM

Unintermptible power supplies or UPS represent
interface between mains power supply and critical load, so
they enable unintermptible supply to the load no matter
what is going on with the mains supply. UPS system has
three main parts. They all contain batteries which store
energy when the mains supply is available and a means of

668

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llppb

F i G e 4.On-lide UPS operation

Performance and Test Requirements and national

Canadian standard CSA C8 13.1-01 Performance Test
Method for Uninterruptible Power Supplies. Those two
standards are close to unique electrical performance test
procedure, but each standard has some disadvantages that
have to be changed.
Finally it was concluded that it should be tested
following electrical characteristic values:
input and output voltage, current and power at 0%,
25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of nominal load,
- efficiency (calculated from above measured values)
voltage break after mains supply failure,
- Total Harmonic Distortion Current (THDI) Harmonic distortion of input current and
- Total Harmonic Distortion Voltage (THDU) Harmonic distortion of output voltage
Last two values are assumed that will be calculated
from Fourier analysis of input current and output voltage.
Fig. 5 represent electrical scheme of the performed
test.

Difference between on-line U P S systems and off-line

is that the battery charger is rcplaced by a rectifier /
charger block. The rectifier / charger may be two separate
units or combined power block. When the mains supply is
present this block float charges the battery and supplies the
inverter with a stabile dc voltage. In the absence of the
mains supply the charger shuts down and the inverter dc
supply is provided by the battery, which begins to
discharge. The connection between the rectifier / battery
and inverter is often known as the dc busbar or dc bus.
As part of its control function the rectifier / charger
generally includes an input current limit feature to provide
overload protection and a dc overvoltage shutdown
mechanism to protect the battery / inverter and dc filter
components.
This UPS design, which i s sometimes also referred as
a double conversion UPS, offers the greatest degree of
critical supply integrity in that the load is supplied with
processed power at all times. That is, when the UPS input
mains supply is present the rectifier, charger and inverter
power blocks are all active and the load is connected to the
inverter output via the static switch.

Q
0
0

3. UPS communicutions

W S systems contain facilities to signal their

operational status and activity to remote monitoring
stations and the critical load equipment. Simple status
information is usually provided by volt-free contacts, with
more detailed information being supplied over an RS-232
serial connection. When used in conjunction with an
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) adaptor,
the serial communication sllows the more detailed
information to be sent directly on to a computer network,
where it can provide management infomation and invoke
shutdown procedures across the network.
The RS-232 protocol enables analogue values to be
monitored; for example:
- inverter output voltage, frequency, current, kVA and
kW,
- bypass voltage, frequency, current, kVA and kW,
- battery voltage and charge / discharge current,
- expected remaining battery time,
- statistics regarding mains failures and UPS operation.
SNMP adaptor connects the UPS system directly to
the computer network so that the UPS system becomes a
network peripheral device.

UPS TESTING PROCEDURE

Ill 1

UPS devices are declared with information about

their dimensions, weight, electrical performances, possible
communication, upper noise limit etc. In this chapter it will
be proposed procedure for testing electrical performances
of LTPS devices. Proposed procedure is presented on single
phase UPS but it can be generalized to three phased. UPS.
Proposed procedure was also tested on UPS devices form
500 VA to 3000 VA but it is not limited by power.
Testing procedure is compilation between two
standards: IEC 62040-3 Methods of Specifying

COM

Figure 5. Electrical scheme of performed test

For determining THDI and THDU it was used
oscilloscope with ability of Fourier analysis of the
recorded current and voltage. Calculation of THDI and
THDU are based on relations (1) and (2).

669

THDI =

Jm

.LOO [Sb]

I,

(1)

where:

ICf- effective value of the measured input current [A],

11 - effective value of the 1. harmonic of measured input
current [A],

Uef- effective value of the measured output voltage [VI,

U1 - effective value of the 1. harmonic of measured output
voltage [VI.
In the test i t was used non-linear Ioad (most
computers and other loads with microprocessors are)
which is simulated with circuit that consist from R,, RI,
and C. Values of those components are given in equations
(31, (4) and (51.

Figure7. Output voltage of UPS >IO00 VA

UZ

R, = 1,5.-

UPS devices rated power smaller than 500 VA have

some voltage break after mains supply fails (Fig. 8).

R, =O,Ol.R,

where:
U -nominal voltage
P - nominal power [VAJ

[v,

Resistance R.1 was made by parallel connection of

lamps from 200 W to 3000 W and capacity C was made by
parallel and serial connection of capacitance.

V. TESTING RESULTS
It is performed electrical test on 14 different UPS
(different nominal power and different manufacturers).
Following results have been achieved:
- Output voltage after mains supply failure has
harmonic distortion for UPS devices of smaller
nominal power (<lo00 VA) and for the bigger UPS
devices harmonic distortion is irrelevant (Fig. 6 and

Fig 7.).

Figure 8. Voltage break after mains supply fails

THDI is different from

manufacturer (Fig. 9 and Fig IO.).

Figure 9. Large THDI

Figure 6. Output voltage ofUPS <lo00 VA

670

manufacturer

to

UPS Name

Emerson Liebert
LIBMXTZ..
2000RT-230
MGE Pulsar Ellipse
500 USBS
MGE Pulsar Ellipse
Premium 800
USBS
MGE Pulsar

Evolution 1 LOO
MGE Pulsar
Evolution 1500
Powerware
PW5 125-2200VA

Figure 10. Good THDI

Powerware
PW9120-700VA
Powerware
PW9 120-lOOOVA
Powerware
PW9 120-1 500VA
Powenvare
PW9120-2000VA

All oscillographs has two diagrams. First represent

recorded value (current or voltage) and the second is
Fourier analysis of the first diagram.
Efficiency also vanes from manufacturer to manufacturer
(Fig. 11 and Fig 12.).

a 25

o 70

050
P.rclnt.g.

Power

200011400

0,7510,84

13,l

5001280

0,8810,91

7,5

34,7

800/520

0,93/0,92

32

1 IOOl700

150011000
220011600
7001490
1000/700

1 1 I;
0,89/0,88

10,5

10,l

0,82/0,86

10,2

0,81/0,86

25,s

2,6

0,7810,75

U;

0,6910,77

150011050

0,79/0,81

200011400

0,7410.79

13,l

Table 1. Shows complete results from 14 different

tested UPS devices. Main differences are shown between
different manufacturer and between different power.
Bigger UPS devices (from the power point of view)
have better electrical performances than smaIler one.
Also differences from manufacturer to manufacturer are
significant.

100

d Dlllll1 p0w.r

VL CONCL USION

Figure 11. Small efficiency

Presented procedure for electrical performance test

can evaIuate electrical performances of UPS devices very

fast and with satisfactory accuracy. This test does not need
special equipmcnt (if it is excluded oscilloscope) and the
testing circuit can be very fast connected. Results are
mandatory for selection best UPS device according to the
electrical performance and the price.

vrL REFERENCES
Figure 12. Good efficiency

111 IEC 62040-3 Methods of Specifjmg Performance

and Test Requirements
[2] CSA C813.1-01 Performance Test Method for

Table 1. Complete results from 14 different UPS devices

Unintermptible Power Supplies

Bently P., Bond D., The Handbook Unintermptible Power Supplies, Unintermptible
Power Supplies Limited 2000.
[4]Merlin Gerin, High Power UPS Systems - Design
Guide
[ 5 ] Merlin Gerin, High Power UPS Systems
Installation Guide
[6] Best Power, S4000-Tender Assistance
[7] European Commitee of Manufacturers of Electrical
Machines and Power Electronics, UPS - European
Guide, Gimelec Promotion, 1998.

[3]
Power

UPS Name
APC Smart
RTZOOOXL
(SURTZOOOXLI)
Active
3kVA
Emerson Liebm
LIB/GXT210OORT-230
Emmon Liebert
LIB1GXTZI5OORT-230

[vniwl

Efficiency
(halfifull

THDI
~~

THDU
Ye

load)%

2OLH)l1400

0,70/0,81

-4

300012100

0,82/0,86

20

1000/700

0,75/0,80

10,2

-4

~~

t500/1050

0,77/0,84

671