Sizing Calculation: Selection of UPS 3 Phase or 1 Phase
Sizing Calculation: Selection of UPS 3 Phase or 1 Phase
Sizing calculation
Prior to selecting the UPS, it is necessary to determine the need. UPS may be needed for a variety
of purposes such as lighting, startup power, transportation, mechanical utility systems, heating,
refrigeration, production, fire protection, space conditioning, data processing, communication, life
support, or signal circuits.
Some facilities need an UPS for more than one purpose. It is important to determine the acceptable
delay between loss of primary power and availability of UPS power, the length of time that
emergency or backup power is required, and the criticality of the load that the UPS must bear. All of
these factors play into the sizing of the UPS and the selection of the type of the UPS
3-Phase power is common in large businesses, data centers, as well as industry and manufacturing
around the globe. While it is expensive to convert to three phase from an existing single Phase
installation, 3-Phase allows for smaller, safer and less expensive wiring.
Figure-2 3-Phase power has 3 distinct wave cycles that overlap. Each phase reaches its peak 120 degrees apart
from the others so the level of power supplied remains consistent
Most consumers of electricity in India have a three phase mains connection if the total load is more
than 5-7 KW. Only if expected load is below 5-7KW, then the consumer gets a single Phase
connection. Even when the consumer has a three phase connection, the choice of three phase or
single phase UPS depends on several factors like the loads to be connected to UPS and also
electrical distribution within the facility from the building incomer, electrical switchgear and
distribution units to the room the loads to be protected are within. This not only builds up a complete
picture of the electrical circuits on-site. It also helps to determine whether to offer a three phase or
single pPase UPS system.
Inrush current
Input surge current or switch-on surge is the maximum, instantaneous input current drawn by an
electrical device when first turned on. The inrush current can be omitted in the selection calculation if
the load is switched on only once and run continuously till the next shutdown of the plant as we can
switch the loads in manual bypass and once the loads reach the steady state current, the loads can
be transferred to the UPS.
If the loads are switched on & off repetitively then the UPS selection should include the inrush
current also.
The purpose of the battery is to provide DC power to the inverter of the UPS when the mains fail and
becomes an important component in the UPS system. There are different technologies of battery
available in the market like Lead acid battery which is further classified as Tubular battery, Sealed
Maintenance free(SMF,VRLA) Battery, Nickel Cadmium and Lithium Ion battery.
Sealed Maintenance Free, Valve Regulated Lead Acid (SMF VRLA Battery) is mostly used with the
UPS systems today.
A VRLA battery utilizes a one-way, pressure-relief valve system to achieve a “recombinant”
technology. This means that the oxygen normally produced on the positive plate is absorbed by the
negative plate. This suppresses the production of hydrogen at the negative plate. Water (H2O) is
produced instead, retaining the moisture within the battery. It never needs watering, and should
never be opened as this would expose the battery to excess oxygen from the air.
• The nominal cell voltage of a battery cell is 2V, 6 cells are connected in series inside the battery
container to have a final voltage of 12V.
• The capacity of the battery is defined as “Ampere Hour (AH)”.
• The batteries are connected in series to increase the voltage of the battery bank and are connected
in parallel to increase the capacity of the battery bank.
By design, the battery has to be operated in a controlled electrical and environmental conditions and
the critical elements affecting battery life are:
References
• IEEE 1184:2006 IEEE Guide for Batteries for Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems
• IEEE 485:1997 IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications
• Datasheet’s of major battery manufacturer’s
Continuous
Non-Continuous
Momentary
Battery autonomy time
Design Margin
Ageing Factor
Effects of temperature
Design margin
Design Margin is considered to provide a capacity margin to allow for unforeseen additions of load to
the UPS system and less-than optimum operating conditions of the battery due to improper
maintenance, recent discharge, or ambient temperatures higher than anticipated, or a combination
of these factors. A method of providing this design margin is by adding load of 10–15% to the battery
sizing calculations.
Ageing factor
Captures the decrease in battery performance due to age. The performance of a lead-acid battery is
relatively stable but drops markedly at latter stages of life. The “knee point” of its life vs performance
curve is approximately when the battery can deliver 80% of its rated capacity. After this point, the
battery has reached the end of its useful life and should be replaced. Therefore, to ensure that
battery can meet capacity throughout its useful life, an ageing factor of 1.25 should be applied (i.e.
1 / 0.8). There are some exceptions, check with the manufacturer.
Effects of temperature
Temperature correction factor is an allowance to capture the ambient installation temperature. The
capacity for battery cells are typically quoted for a standard operating temperature of 25 deg C and
where this differs with the installation temperature, a correction factor must be applied. IEEE 485
gives guidance for vented lead-acid cells (see table), however for sealed lead-acid and Ni-Cd cells,
please consult manufacturer for recommendations. Note that high temperatures, lower battery life
irrespective of capacity and the correction factor is for capacity sizing only, i.e. you CANNOT
increase battery life by increasing capacity.
Battery is connected to a DC-DC Converter and the output of the DC-DC converter is connected as
an input to the UPS (refer figure 9)
In this case, the load on the battery is based on the output load connected to the inverter, the losses
of the inverter bridge and also the losses of the DC-DC Converter, which could increase the required
battery capacity.
UPS Efficiency and power factor
UPS power ratings are quoted in volt-amperes (VA) and/or watts. The rating in watts is equal to the
rating in volts-amperes multiplied by the power factor.
UPS output power rating in watts = UPS output in volts-amperes × power factor
The battery load for sizing purpose is the UPS output rating in watts divided by the efficiency of the
inverter. The efficiency should be based on rated UPS output
Sample calculation :
15 mins backup on a 500KVA UPS with an output power factor of 0.9
Step 1:
Arrive UPS output power rating in watts = UPS output in volts-amperes × power factor
= 500 X 0.8 KW = 400KW
Step 2:
Arrive the nominal battery load in W
Sample calculation
Step 3:
Arrive the nominal battery load in W per Battery
Step 4:
Arrive at the adjusted battery power required by taking into consideration design margin,ageing
factor and TCF (Temperature correction factor)
Adjusted nominal battery load in W/Battery = Answer of Step 3 X Design Margin X Ageing Factor X
TCF
= 8421.05 X 1 X 1.25 X 1
=10526 W/Battery
As the maximum available AH is 200AH Battery in 12V SMF VRLA battery, we need to parallel
multiple strings of battery to achieve the desired backup time.
Step 5:
Hence in this scenario, 3 strings of 160AH battery with 50 battery in each string will provide 10 mins
backup at end cell voltage of 1.75V/Cell.
Selection of cables
The cross section of cables depends on:
• Permissible temperature rise
• Permissible voltage drop
For a given load, each of these parameters results in a minimum permissible cross section. The
larger of the two must be used.
When routing cables, care must be taken to maintain the required distances between control circuits
and power circuits, to avoid any EMI disturbances caused by HF currents.
Temperature rise
Permissible temperature rise in cables is limited by the withstanding capacity of cable insulation.
Temperature rise in cables depends on:
Voltage drops
The maximum permissible voltage drops are:
• AC circuits (50 or 60 Hz)
If the voltage drop exceeds 3% (50-60 Hz), increase the cross section of conductors.
• DC circuit
If the voltage drop exceeds 1%, increase the cross section of conductors.
Output cables
To arrive at the cross section of the cable, the output current needs to be calculated using the below
formula
using the cable manufacturer’s datasheet and the conditions linked with routing and bunching of
cables, the required cable can be selected.
As thumb rule, we can consider 2A/sq mm to arrive the cross section of the required cables.
Input, output and UPS to battery cables
Input Cables
The cross section of cables required for the input of the UPS can be derived using the same formula
like output cables, but the input power in KVA needs to be derived based on the
Connected Load
Efficiency of the Inverter
Battery charging Power
Efficiency of Rectifier
Input power factor of rectifier
Minimum operating Voltage of Rectifier
Uninyvin cables are generally preferred for cables between UPS & battery due to high current
carrying capacity and smaller cross sectional area.
Cable datasheet
Selection of protections (circuit breakers or fuses)
Moulded Case Circuit Breakers are electro mechanical devices, which protect a circuit from
Overcurrent and Short Circuit.
Their primary functions are to provide a means either to manually open a circuit and automatically
open a circuit under overload or short circuit conditions. The overcurrent, in an electrical circuit, may
result from short circuit, overload or faulty design.
MCCB is an alternative to a fuse since it does not require replacement once an overload is detected.
Unlike fuse, an MCCB can be easily reset after a fault and offers improved operational safety and
convenience without incurring operating cost.
Moulded case circuit breakers generally have a
When a short circuit happens it will downstream the UPS, and the UPS will transfer the short circuit
immediately to the static bypass as the static bypass will have a higher let-through energy(i2t).
In this scenario, let through energy(i2t) of the MCB 7 has to be lower than that of the breakers
present in the upstream in to have a proper discrimination of the short circuit. If the MCB 6 has a
lower let through energy(i2t) when compared with MCB 7, then we risk to lose all the loads
connected to MCB6.
The let through energy(i2t) of MCCB2 is very important. If the let through energy of MCCB 2 is
higher than what the SCR can handle, then the SCR will fail.
To protect the loads, SCR and to have the proper discrimination of short circuit, the following rule
has to be respected
• i2tSCR> i2tMCCB2
• i2tMCCB3> i2tMCB6>i2tMCB7
To overcome this issue, the magnetic pickup of the breaker trip unit is set at 70% of the nominal
short circuit current so that even at low voltage or when the battery reaches the end of life, the
battery breaker will do its job of “protecting the battery “
The magnetic setting (Im) of the breaker is < 70% of Isc of Battery