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| Getting the Most for Your Money when Buying a UPS |
Should I buy the simplest and the smallest UPS system?
The only way to derive an intelligent solution is to compare the available systems and prices of different UPS sizes .
Prices of UPS systems do not exhibit linear dollar to power relation. UPS prices are determined by various factors
such as market popularity of a specific UPS size, maximum power which can be dissipated in a standard enclosure,
cost to Power relations of power components used by manufacturers and more.
Knowing the market prices of the different types and sizes available in the power range you need, is necessary in
order to get enough information to make a logical decision.
Here are some guiding suggestions for home and small office, as well as for professional data center and
high power UPS applications:
1. As a rule: For better protection Line Interactive type should be preferred over Standby type and On Line type over
Line Interactive type. You may find in some cases almost the same cost for Online and Line Interactive UPS systems.
Therefore, unless other considerations prevail, choose the better system if its price is equal or only slightly higher.
2. Compare specified UPS price to the price of next size system. Consider buying next size UPS, if the added price isn't
significant, and if its Cost to kVA ( $/ kVA) ratio, is lower. Bigger UPS enables to increase future loads. It has bigger
battery, providing longer backup time, and longer battery life time. In some cases increase of UPS power by 50%, and
backup time by 400% requires adding only 10% to the smaller UPS cost.
3. Consider buying a bigger system if you need to increase battery capacity, beyond the standard battery coming with the
UPS. You might pay for a bigger UPS, already equipped with the battery size you need, hundreds of dollars less than a
smaller system with extended battery.
4. Consider using several stand alone single phase UPS systems, instead of a three phase UPS, provided loads and
installation allow. The cost of two or three single phase units is sometimes Thousands of dollars less than one three phase
system. Multiple single phase systems may in certain cases, add redundancy in your ability to provide service.
5. Consider using three single phase UPS systems, each fed from different phase, instead of a single three phase UPS,
provided loads and installation allow. Cost of three single phase units may be thousands of dollars lower than a three phase
UPS. This configuration allows continuing operation, in case of a single UPS or a single input phase failure.
6. In redundant configuration, two or more units work in parallel, while at least one is a spare unit. Thus full power is
supplied even if a single UPS fails. Over Tenth of thousands dollars can be gained by investigating possible combinations
to find the lowest cost. For instance, for a redundant system supplying 60 kVA load, compare the cost of two parallel
systems 60kVA each, to three parallel systems 30 kVA each.
The only way to derive an intelligent solution is to compare the available systems and prices of different UPS sizes .
Prices of UPS systems do not exhibit linear dollar to power relation. UPS prices are determined by various factors
such as market popularity of a specific UPS size, maximum power which can be dissipated in a standard enclosure,
cost to Power relations of power components used by manufacturers and more.
Knowing the market prices of the different types and sizes available in the power range you need, is necessary in
order to get enough information to make a logical decision.
Here are some guiding suggestions for home and small office, as well as for professional data center and
high power UPS applications:
1. As a rule: For better protection Line Interactive type should be preferred over Standby type and On Line type over
Line Interactive type. You may find in some cases almost the same cost for Online and Line Interactive UPS systems.
Therefore, unless other considerations prevail, choose the better system if its price is equal or only slightly higher.
2. Compare specified UPS price to the price of next size system. Consider buying next size UPS, if the added price isn't
significant, and if its Cost to kVA ( $/ kVA) ratio, is lower. Bigger UPS enables to increase future loads. It has bigger
battery, providing longer backup time, and longer battery life time. In some cases increase of UPS power by 50%, and
backup time by 400% requires adding only 10% to the smaller UPS cost.
3. Consider buying a bigger system if you need to increase battery capacity, beyond the standard battery coming with the
UPS. You might pay for a bigger UPS, already equipped with the battery size you need, hundreds of dollars less than a
smaller system with extended battery.
4. Consider using several stand alone single phase UPS systems, instead of a three phase UPS, provided loads and
installation allow. The cost of two or three single phase units is sometimes Thousands of dollars less than one three phase
system. Multiple single phase systems may in certain cases, add redundancy in your ability to provide service.
5. Consider using three single phase UPS systems, each fed from different phase, instead of a single three phase UPS,
provided loads and installation allow. Cost of three single phase units may be thousands of dollars lower than a three phase
UPS. This configuration allows continuing operation, in case of a single UPS or a single input phase failure.
6. In redundant configuration, two or more units work in parallel, while at least one is a spare unit. Thus full power is
supplied even if a single UPS fails. Over Tenth of thousands dollars can be gained by investigating possible combinations
to find the lowest cost. For instance, for a redundant system supplying 60 kVA load, compare the cost of two parallel
systems 60kVA each, to three parallel systems 30 kVA each.
UPS Price Directory
You can perform yourself, market comparison and implement the said suggestions, by using information presented on
the Internet or contacting relevant suppliers. We suggest however to consider our UPS Price Directory
which provides average North American Market Prices of common UPS sizes from 350VA up to 120kVA aimed to
help you in selecting the right UPS
..
The following steps were used to derive the price directory.
- Market prices of About 350 latest UPS products from Major brand manufacturer were examined. Each UPS was
equipped with an automatic bypass and with communications software for informing UPS state and automatic
computer turn off in case of prolonged power outage.
2. The examined products wer segregated into five main UPS categories ( groups )
- Off Line UPS Systems ( called also Backup or Standby ): from 350VA to 750VA
- Line Interactive UPS Systems : from 500VA to 5kVA (5,000VA)
- Online ( Double Conversion) Single Phase UPS Systems : from 700VA to 10kVA.
- Online Single Phase Rack-Mount UPS Systems : from 700VA to 10kVA)
- Online Three Phase UPS systems from 10kVA to 120 kVA)
3. The price of each product was multiplied by a weighting factor that represents relative market share.
4. The average price was calculated for each UPS type and size.
We believe that the price directory can serve as a valuable tool to asses average UPS market prices. User should however
look for the best deal, based on the mentioned guidance, paying also specific attention to the brand, UPS production date
(making sure the type wasn't discontinued), warranty, and service, particularly if the offered price is considerably lower than
stated in the Price directory.
Proceed to UPS Price Directory .