Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) protect sensitive devices from power blackouts and brownouts. They also help them keep going during power swells, spikes, surges and frequency drifts. Their most common cause of failure is their batteries. While these do eventually wear out, they can let you down prematurely if they overheat. Therefore, make sure your UPS is in well-insulated space especially on a hot day,
John J Hanley: Father of UPS
We don’t know an awful lot about John J Hanley except that he was a prolific inventor of electrical devices. He obtained a patent in 1934 for “maintaining unfailing and uninterruptible power supplies of electrical energy”.
His application describes an apparatus with automatic switching allowing a battery to cut in when an external power supply fails. That same external power supply would charge the battery under normal conditions. He envisaged his invention “maintaining uninterruptedly, and with unfailing certainty necessary electrical energy required to supply alarms and signal systems”. There were no computers then. His interest was rail passenger safety during power outages.
Does the Flywheel UPS System Predate John J Hanley?
We have seen mentions of earlier rotary designs using flywheels to provide short intervals of backup power. These would have supplied short bursts of kinetic energy when required to run dynamos.
Fast forward to today, when there is healthy competition between flywheels and battery power farms to store energy from wind power and solar. These uninterruptible power supplies are critical to maintaining continuity when the wind drops, or clouds partly obscure the sun. It’s important to run-test a working UPS once a year unless there have been intervening power cuts.
However, it is never a good idea to run a lead-acid battery completely flat because this can shorten its life. We recommend turning off computers when the battery is down to 15% power. It is always best to do so when we have time to do it properly.
Related
What is an Uninterruptible Power Supply Battery
How Flywheel Energy Storage Is a Battery
Preview Image: 1934 Srreamliner on Union Pacific Railroad
