Allan Jackson, Southern Healthcare manager at Power Control, takes a look at the vital role of isolated and uninterruptible power supplies in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and discusses some of the most important steps to maintaining them for optimal, reliable operation.
An isolated power supply (IPS) and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) are both important components of a hospital’s electrical infrastructure, and although they serve different purposes, together they ensure patient safety and continuity of care, protect expensive and sensitive medical equipment, maintain the IT infrastructure, and comply with regulations and standards.
An isolated power supply is used to provide electrical power to critical medical equipment in a hospital. This equipment often requires a specific type of electrical power, such as a clean, constant voltage and frequency, to function properly. An isolated power supply is typically used in conjunction with a transformer to isolate the incoming power in a medical location for safety and performance purposes. Used to increase resilience wherever there is a need for higher availability from the power supply, an IPS ATS (automatic transfer switch) monitors the two AC systems for voltages and frequencies that exceed the limits. When either the voltage or frequency exceed the limits, the device will switch to the reserve AC line, ensuring that the critical equipment can continue to operate without interruption.
A back-up power source
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