Eaton supercapacitor UPSs: back-up power for short runtimes

Eaton's new supercapacitors offer a wide range of benefits compared with traditional batteries. They are much lighter, have working lives of up to 20 years at 25degC, require no maintenance and, as they produce almost no heat, their cooling requirements are minimal. The supercapacitors are also suitable for applications where harsh operating conditions and high ambient temperatures mean that the use of batteries is not feasible.

Jussi Vihersalo, Product Manager, Eaton, says: "Our complete UPS plus supercapacitor solution delivers a compelling alternative for short-term back-up requirements, helping us lead the industry and deliver real business benefits for our customers. The solution is very competitively priced when compared to flywheel based solutions, which means lower capital expenditure for a given size of system. The long lives and lower operating costs of the supercapacitors mean that they substantially reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO)."

As the Eaton supercapacitors are highly scalable, especially when combined with an Eaton UPS, they can be accurately matched to the power and autonomy demand of almost any application. They can also be easily expanded, if necessary, to accommodate future growth. Unlike batteries, supercapacitors generate no hydrogen during their operation, so provisions for hydrogen removal are not needed.

A typical application for supercapacitor UPS systems is use in conjunction with standby generators to maintain power while the generator starts. Another example is for protection against short power interruptions resulting from the operation of upstream power distribution systems, such as auto transfers and auto reclose events. They are also invaluable for use as peak buffers in conjunction with equipment that has short repetitive peak power requirements, such as MRI scanners.

To learn more about Eaton's uninterruptible power supply (UPS) products, visit www.eaton.eu/powerquality.