No-Break DC UPS

No-Break™ DC UPS systems are truly unique.

Click on the appropriate the image below for a 6 minute Demonstration of the

No-Break™ DC  UPS System to find out more.

         High Res (21 MB)        Low Res (7 MB)

The system is the ideal solution for:

• Critical systems from 100W to 750W and above using parallel operation
• Applications having standing load with back up standby battery installed
• Systems which require no transition from mains to battery backup
• Providing cost effective management of your battery system investment
• Lower power systems that require battery testing (see battery condition test below)
  

Battery Condition Test Function (BCT)

(Extra Functionality of the No-Break™ DC  Range and not integrated with standard models)

Overview	Considerations
A battery consists of a series of 2V cells (a battery of cells, hence its name). A 12V battery will have 6 of these cells in series. Sometimes, one of the cells will “break”, something commonly referred to as “the battery has dropped a cell”. This will have all sorts of repercussions, including causing a battery charger to overcharge the remaining cells (and boiling it dry), and/or producing a much lower output voltage which can cause physical damage to the load.	1.        The BCT function ( if enabled)  reduces the voltage of the power supply and allows  the battery to power the load. During the BCT an additional relay changes state to indicate that the BCT is in progress.  This relay may be used to add additional load current to provide a quicker and/or more meaningful test for the battery (see para. 7 below).
A battery condition test tries to detect these “breakages”. Effectively, it raises red flags so that the operators of the battery have a warning (“replace this battery!”) before they have to rely on it due to a mains failure. Certain reliability critical applications (e.g., fire alarms) have standards that insist on a certain level of battery condition testing. The fire safety standards, for example, specify that a battery conditions test be done for 1 hour every 24 hours for all battery banks.	2.        If the system detects that the battery terminal voltage has fallen below a set value the BATT SYS OK alarm will be activated and the Battery System alarm LED on the front panel will flash to indicate a fault condition. This battery ‘ok / failure’ threshold is usually set to 2.033V/cell (i.e. 48.8V for a 48V nominal system) but can be adjusted to suit the specific battery types and installation requirements. Once a battery failure condition is detected the power supply unit will immediately abort the test and revert to mains input power. The Battery System alarm LED will continue to flash and the BATT SYS OK alarm will stay latched (de-energized state) until either both the mains power input and the battery are disconnected briefly or the system passes the next BCT successfully.
The BCT is an additional feature of the No-Break TMDC system that supports the user with determining the condition of the back-up batteries. It will provide an early warning for batteries showing age related problems. Please read the considerations in the next column or download the additional notes below.	3.        The frequency and the duration of the BCT may be specified by the customer. The requested times will be set during the manufacturing process and cannot be altered later.  See para. 8 below for a typical recommended setting. 4.        The SR250/500/750 series also allow a manual start of a BCT by pushing the BATT SYS OK pushbutton on the front panel.
Click here for No-Break™ DC UPS  extra notes for the battery condition test and over-current protection circuit.	5.        To prevent a BCT with partially discharged batteries a mains-fail can reset the internal BCT interval timer. The criteria for resetting the interval timer is that a mains-fail exceeds a specified time (i.e.5min) and that there are less then 2 days to the next scheduled BCT.  The resetting of the interval timer delays the BCT by the interval time.
Click here for SR100i No-Break™ DC UPS   important configuration notes for the battery condition test	6.        To improve the reliability of the BCT results, we recommend that sufficient load be applied to the battery during the test. If any additional loading is not applied directly to the battery connection but via the system then there is an upper limit of this loading. The Innovative Energies No-Break TMDC system has a built-in electronic over-current protection in the battery circuit. This limit allows the battery to supply up to 1.5 times the rated current of the power supply unit continuously. If the battery current exceeds this value the electronic circuit breaker (ELCB) will open and disconnect the battery from the load.
Click here for SR250 / 500 / 750C No-Break™ DC UPS  important configuration notes for the battery condition test	7.        A BCT performed at 2 monthly intervals with a battery loaded at C20/4 amps applied for 10minutes would provide some good indication. For a battery rated at a C20 = 100Ah the total load during the test should be 25A.
Click here for Complete No-Break™ DC UPS  overview including state diagrams and LED alarm conditions.	8.        Care must be taken that the cabling to the battery is of adequate capacity to minimize voltage drops which are a cause of false alarms (battery reported as fail while still ok) when using the BCT function. I.e with the a 25A current and a 2m cable of 6mm2 to the Battery a drop of ~300mV should be expected. It might be necessary to use separate wiring for additional battery loading.
Rack mount option with optional V/I meter	9.      In situations where the system load current fluctuates significantly the result of a BCT can become meaningless as the rate of discharge is unknown. Only additional (constant) loading to the battery during the BCT can improve this situation.
No- Break DC UPS - Series C	10.      The Innovative Energies No-Break TMDC system is available with a ‘T’ option for temperature compensated battery charging. The battery ‘ok / failure’ threshold is not temperature compensated and the temperature dependency of the battery terminal voltage and capacity during a BCT needs to be taken into account.
No- Break DC UPS - Series i (comms)	11.      The BCT should be used in conjunction with other maintenance checks in determining whether the battery system will operate in the event of a power failure.   It should not be relied on as a definitive test as every battery has slightly different design and hence operating characteristics.