robbie
Member
- Location
- California
How do these new generation UPS's operate? I've never actually seen one. 
Flywheel UPS's...
- Thread starter robbie
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Re: Flywheel UPS's...
It is really very simple. You have a motor that turns a fly-wheel. The fly-wheel turns a generator. The generator supplies critical loads. In the event of electrical interuption the inertial energy in the flywheel keeps turning the generator for a few cycles.
It is really very simple. You have a motor that turns a fly-wheel. The fly-wheel turns a generator. The generator supplies critical loads. In the event of electrical interuption the inertial energy in the flywheel keeps turning the generator for a few cycles.
ron
Senior Member
- Location
- New York, 40.7514,-73.9925
Re: Flywheel UPS's...
The flywheel is not so much the UPS. It is a 15-45 second batteryless source to the UPS during an outage. Hope the gen. starts!
The flywheel is not so much the UPS. It is a 15-45 second batteryless source to the UPS during an outage. Hope the gen. starts!
ron
Senior Member
- Location
- New York, 40.7514,-73.9925
Re: Flywheel UPS's...
Nick,
Your link is regarding rotary UPS's, which are somewhat out of favor in the design arena and have been made popular by the Pillar folks (now they sell static units too). I thought the original post was about flywheels,
like
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_cure_battery_blues/index.htm
or
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_flywheel_keeps_data/index.htm
or
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_flywheel_technology_improves/index.htm
or
http://www.activepower.com/
[ April 01, 2003, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: ron ]
Nick,
Your link is regarding rotary UPS's, which are somewhat out of favor in the design arena and have been made popular by the Pillar folks (now they sell static units too). I thought the original post was about flywheels,
like
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_cure_battery_blues/index.htm
or
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_flywheel_keeps_data/index.htm
or
http://ecmweb.com/ar/electric_flywheel_technology_improves/index.htm
or
http://www.activepower.com/
[ April 01, 2003, 10:52 PM: Message edited by: ron ]
Re: Flywheel UPS's...
Ron you have brought up good points so has Bennie. Flywheel UPS have been around for a long time. They come in many flavors and have advantages and disadvantages over a static UPS. I have installed both types and here are some ideas to consider.
One type of the flywheel UPS is the AC motor-generator type. Its advantage is it is the smallest of all of them, and like any flywheel, provides superior isolation from the utility. Its big disadvantage is it only rides through for a few seconds at best.
The best of the flywheel UPS is the rectifier with batteries powering a DC motor and fly-wheel-generator. It advantages is obvious. It can carry ride through an extended outage until a generator comes on line. It's disadvantages are its large, requires brushes in the DC motor to be replaced, and battery maintenance.
The other maintenance item to all flywheels is bearings have to be replaced regularly regardless of which type is used. All flywheels have some common advantages over the static UPS. They have excellent isolation from utility, higher fault currents, higher efficiency and better in-rush characteristics.
The biggest problem with static UPS is battery maintenance. This is due to many of them use VRLA batteries which are notorious for failures. Smart designers will use flooded batteries, which over-come the shortfalls. Flooded batteries can last up to 50-years with proper maintenance.
It really comes down to pros, cons, and economics in choosing which technology to use.
Ron you have brought up good points so has Bennie. Flywheel UPS have been around for a long time. They come in many flavors and have advantages and disadvantages over a static UPS. I have installed both types and here are some ideas to consider.
One type of the flywheel UPS is the AC motor-generator type. Its advantage is it is the smallest of all of them, and like any flywheel, provides superior isolation from the utility. Its big disadvantage is it only rides through for a few seconds at best.
The best of the flywheel UPS is the rectifier with batteries powering a DC motor and fly-wheel-generator. It advantages is obvious. It can carry ride through an extended outage until a generator comes on line. It's disadvantages are its large, requires brushes in the DC motor to be replaced, and battery maintenance.
The other maintenance item to all flywheels is bearings have to be replaced regularly regardless of which type is used. All flywheels have some common advantages over the static UPS. They have excellent isolation from utility, higher fault currents, higher efficiency and better in-rush characteristics.
The biggest problem with static UPS is battery maintenance. This is due to many of them use VRLA batteries which are notorious for failures. Smart designers will use flooded batteries, which over-come the shortfalls. Flooded batteries can last up to 50-years with proper maintenance.
It really comes down to pros, cons, and economics in choosing which technology to use.
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