We have a piece of lab equipment & computer that needs to be plugged into a power conditioner and UPS. How should these be connected? UPS plug into the wall then Power Conditioner into the UPS? Devices connected to Power Conditioner. The people that set up the equipment connected to the power conditioner first, then ups, then devices to UPS. Can someone explain this to me or provide me a link to some information?
Plug in Power Conditioner with Seperate UPS
- Thread starter MEP_PM
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zbang
Senior Member
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- Roughly 5346 miles from Earls Court
Why both? A decent UPS is a power conditioners, too.
catchtwentytwo
Senior Member
Buy a UPS that has an internal isolation transformer, better models offer that.
I agree a combined unit would be better. However the equipment is leased and setup by an outside company. They are experiencing some problems with the lab equipment and the manufacture suggested it was a power quality issue. I found out a few more details yesterday. Power conditioner plugged into an outlet. 3 outlet on this circuit (Power conditioner, personal radio, 3rd not being used). Lab equipment plugged into just the power conditioner. UPS plugged into the power conditioner and PC & monitor into the UPS. Could the UPS rectifiers be affecting the Lab equipment?
hurk27
Senior Member
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- Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
The reason you always plug the conditioner in the wall first is because there is no reason to condition the output of a UPS system, many UPS system's connect the equipment to the utility when there is power, but when the power fails you are running off a inverter powered by battery's, when on the inverter, you are isolated from the PQ problems of the utility supply and as such there is no reason to condition it. Also the conditioner will add to the draining of the UPS battery's, which will shorten the run time in the event of a power failure.
With higher grade UPS systems you will always run on the inverter, with the utility only recharging the battery's, using one of these, there would be no reason to even run a conditioner unless you feel the battery charger needs clean power.
Very possible, as the battery charger in most of these are switching type, also the same for the computer, I would either do one of two things, locate the lab equipment to its own conditioner, and or put it on it's own circuit. the filters in these conditioners are design to filter the current that is passing through them, but are very limited to filtering upstream current, between equipment both connected to the output of the conditioner.
With higher grade UPS systems you will always run on the inverter, with the utility only recharging the battery's, using one of these, there would be no reason to even run a conditioner unless you feel the battery charger needs clean power.
Very possible, as the battery charger in most of these are switching type, also the same for the computer, I would either do one of two things, locate the lab equipment to its own conditioner, and or put it on it's own circuit. the filters in these conditioners are design to filter the current that is passing through them, but are very limited to filtering upstream current, between equipment both connected to the output of the conditioner.
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Get the power conditioner out of the equation and get a decent UPS. A true online UPS will provide your equipment with regulated voltage, stable frequency and with a pure sine wave. If you want to improve -even more- your power protection system get a decent SPD (surge protective device) to protect your UPS and load of serious transient overvoltages.
Ric
Ric
robbietan
Senior Member
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- Antipolo City
It would have helped if you have specified what the "power conditioner" is. Could be an MOV, a choke coil, isolation transformer, etc.
If the "power conditioner" is a surge protection device, it goes before the UPS. if its an AVR, better do away with it and use the UPS only.
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