"Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) for Isolation Cubicles"
William R. Britz
Vice President, Britz-Heidbrink, Inc.
A Brief Introduction
As a former NASA flight controller, two things were important:
That we have “triple redundancy” – in both equipment and process; we always had more than one way
to get something done, especially in an emergency.
That we were trained – trained on our equipment and our processes. Training was regular and unending.
We were certified at certain levels of our processes, but that certification expired without regular
re-training and re-certification.
These two items are directly applicable to emergency response processes for lab animal managers
and staff.
How do you value your Science?
Yes, it’s just a mouse, but when you consider the value of the science, labor and other materials associated with the animal, then the value of each animal is significant.
If you equate the value of each animal to a gold bar, and you have a rack full of gold bars, then shouldn’t you be keeping them in something as secure as Ft. Knox?
UPS 101 – Surges & Spikes
UPS’s condition the incoming power and “normalize” spikes but not letting them pass to upstream.
This is self explanatory, but these 4 power problems can occur whether you’re on commercial power
or on back-up generators.
UPS 101 – Sags
The UPS will use power from it’s power cell (aka battery) to “fill in the gaps” from the main power source.
UPS 101 – Failures
The UPS will use it’s power cell (aka battery) to provide power if the main source is removed. However,
the amount of time the cell can provide sufficient power for the user is dependent on the user’s draw and
the size of the cell.
UPS 101 – Frequency Differences
Frequency errors can cause problems for power supplies, and can lead to unexpected under or
over volt conditions at certain points in the system. This can lead to erroneous readings or alarm conditions.
UPS 101 – 2 Flavors
Standby is the most common form of UPS, however a continuous system provides a seamless
power stream in the event of a loss of commercial power.
UPS 101 – Fault Tolerance
UPS 101 – Intelligent Power
If you weren’t aware of it, many UPS’s are available with some intelligence. If implemented properly,
they can provide an elegant shut down of upstream systems and/or make a call for assistance from
specific individuals.
UPS 101 - Using the Signal
These are example of how an intelligent UPS might be implemented in your facility.
Sizing up the UPS
The up front cost of a UPS is dependent on how much power you need to provide to upstream
users and how long you want upstream users to run after the loss of the main power source.
However, the back end cost (or the Return On Investment) can be more than 10x, if you recall
the previous slide about the value of your science investment.Real Life Disasters - Disaster Planning - Facility Planning - Assets Protection - Web Links - Home
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