Generator VS. UPS
I need to ensure a continuous power supply at home to care for my mum, who has a trach and most likely need to be put back onto the bipap.
What is the difference between an uninterruptible power supply and a generator? I am sorry if this is a basic question. I am not familiar with electrical stuff. :X
Hi,
A generator can generate power when you need it to. Generators come in several configurations, some work on natural gas, some on regular unleaded and some on diesel. If it's wired into the panel of the house, it can run the house for a very long time. Generators come in different capacities to suite the required load. For example, one of our customers installed a 4 cylinder generator to power the basic necessities of his house. There also small and portable generators for mobility.
A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is powered by batteries and can provide power during a power outage. A UPS is powered by batteries and is usually used on computers, servers, atm's to provide emergency power during an outage.
UPSs can be configured in many ways to provide enough run time to shut down computers safely or to allow for a certain amount of run time to operate.
UPSs also provide filtered power and surge protection to appliances. A lot of people have a generator and a UPS installed to make sure that their equipment is receiving clean power as some generators output power that isn't good for computer/appliance power supplies.
If you're looking to back up an appliance you should first figure out how long you need it to work for. Then you should look into how much wattage the appliance consumes. If it's small enough, you could probably power it for a long time with a UPS, and it would be cost efficient.
If the appliance consumes a lot of power, you're probably better off going with a generator right away as it will be more cost effective and less space consuming than installing a UPS with many batteries to provide the run time required.
Also, find out if the power supply on the appliance requires clean power or can it operate off a generator?
If you have any questions, please feel free to post I would be more than happy to answer!
Yours truly,
Tony