Rising energy costs and declining power quality has brought the concept of energy-efficient uniterruptible power supplies (UPS) systems into the limelight.
Energy efficiency implies reducing power losses and ensuring highest power availability to consumers. In addition to cost savings, energy-efficient UPS systems promote the green aspect by reducing carbon emissions.
However, these benefits come at a high initial price. Moreover, the inability to quantify the energy savings resulting from the use of such systems also hinders their sales.
“Spiralling energy costs and increasing attention to reducing carbon emissions are driving the growth of energy-efficient UPS systems,” says Frost & Sullivan Programme Manager Malavika Tohani. “It is, therefore, vital that applications consuming high amounts of power such as data centres and industrial applications adopt energy-efficient UPS. The use of energy-efficient UPS reduces the consumption of electricity, which lowers energy costs for the end user while having a positive impact on the environment”
Worldwide, industries and people are looking at active ways of conserving the environment. Carbon emissions are at an all-time high and, if not checked at this point, can cause serious harm in the near future. The energy-efficient UPS is a brilliant conception, especially with the current focus on environment conservation.
At present, one of the reasons for some customers not opting for energy-efficient UPS is that the initial investment is slightly more than conventional alternatives. While energy efficiency is increasingly becoming a major decision making criteria for UPS selection, price is still the prime consideration for some applications.
“Price still forms an important part of the decision-making criteria in certain industries due to the lack of awareness regarding the importance of UPS systems,” notes Malavika Tohani “Although energy-efficient UPS systems result in cost savings over the lifetime of the UPS, the high initial cost acts as a discouraging factor for some consumers.”
UPS manufacturers must actively participate in trade shows and debates, hold seminars, present white papers and join or form alliances with other organisations promoting energy efficiency (such as the Green Grid) to increase awareness among end users. Moreover, companies must invest in research and development (R&D) in order to develop the right technology to produce an energy-efficient UPS and other equipment at reasonable costs and also ensure that no feature is compromised.
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