Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Why ENERGY STAR?

ENERGY STAR makes it easy to find the UPS Battery Backup to fit your needs. Using our ENERGY STAR product finder, you can select from hundreds of certified efficient models from the best, most popular and most trusted brands you rely on to keep your equipment safe -- like APC, Eaton, Liebert, Tripp Lite, and others. In addition, you can filter the list of models by specific attributes such as:

Application (e.g., consumer, commercial, data center)
Active output power
Product type
Rated output voltage

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (aka a UPS Battery Backup) protects vital connected equipment -- computers, servers, and telecommunications equipment -- from power outages. During an outage, that small UPS Battery Backup under your desk at work gives you enough time to save your spreadsheet and properly shut down your computer. For data centers, a massive, 8-ton UPS Battery Backup affords operators a chance to bring on backup generators during a power outage. See our buying guidance for information on how to select the right model for your situation.

Regardless of whether you need one under your desk or in your data center, look for UPS Battery Backups that have earned the ENERGY STAR label to save energy and help protect the climate. They are third-party certified to be energy efficient and reduce energy waste by up to 52 percent compared to conventional UPS Battery Backups by minimizing losses in inverters and transformers, offering modular units to avoid oversizing, and/or providing an “eco-mode” of operation.

Interested in energy efficient servers, data center storage, or networking equipment? Learn more about ENERGY STAR certified data center equipment.

Interested in easy ways to be more energy efficient in your data center? Review ENERGY STAR’s 5 Simple Ways to Avoid Energy Waste in Your Data Center.

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ENERGY STAR products are certified to save energy.

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Choosing a UPS

The choice of UPS is a complicated process and depends on a number of factors, including:

the type of equipment you have;
the number and size of equipment pieces to be protected (each possibly drawing a different amount of current);
the features you require (e.g., communication port and smart software); and
the length of "uptime" in the event of an outage

With many sizes and types of UPSs, a buyer must carefully examine each piece of critical equipment to be protected by the UPS -- taking into account the amount of power your combined equipment will draw and the time that this equipment needs to be supported -- and work in an appropriate safety margin to accommodate growth. Several UPS manufacturers provide online guides for office equipment, server rooms and entire data centers. These guides allow you to enter your equipment types and receive recommendations for UPS sizing and type.

In addition, below are white papers that explore the different types of UPSs for data centers:

Comparison of Static and Rotary UPSs (PDF, 1.1 MB)
Comparison of On-Line versus Line Interactive UPSs (PDF, 266 KB)

Helpful Hints When Purchasing a UPS for Your Computer

Make sure that the UPS comes with software which shuts down and backs up computers.
Make sure that the UPS includes surge protectors on input and communication lines.
Consider an air conditioned location --battery lifetime is strongly temperature dependent and decreases by 50 percent with every 15 degrees in temperature rise.
Make sure that the UPS performs automatic battery tests to warn whenever the batteries should be replaced.
Consider selecting the next higher UPS size to increase backup time.

Be sure to look for the ENERGY STAR when shopping for uninterruptible power supplies

Current Specification Effective Date: January 1, 2019

The ENERGY STAR Uninterruptible Power Supply specification establishes minimum average efficiencies for UPS battery backups with different rated output power and input dependency characteristics, such as voltage and frequency dependent (VFD), voltage independent (VI), and voltage and frequency independent (VFI). Each of these product types, as well as multi-mode and DC-output/rectifiers, have their own criteria levels, which weight the efficiency of the product by the time spent at a specified proportion of the test load. In addition, ENERGY STAR products meeting the VI and VFI definitions must also have a minimum power factor of 90%.

For a complete description of the specification, please go to Uninterruptible Power Supplies Version 2.0 Program Requirements (PDF, 980 KB).

Uninterruptible Power Supply Key Product Criteria: ENERGY STAR

Learn How a Product Earns the Label