Compact DC UPS systems offer SuperCaps as energy storage

26th February 2018

Alice Matthews

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An economical solution for the uninterrupted power supply of DC loads, such as motors, sensors, actuators or card readers, has been announced by Bicker Elektronik. The two DC UPS modules UPSIC-1205 (12VDC/5A) and UPSIC-2403 (24VDC/3A) are equipped with ultracapacitors (so-called SuperCaps) as energy storage which operate according to the principle of double-layer capacitors (EDLC).

The DC UPS systems protect against voltage fluctuations, flicker, voltage drops or failures of the supply voltage. Unlike batteries that store energy through a chemical reaction, SuperCaps are based on electrophysical principles and are ready for operation within a short time. They operate in a wide temperature range and are characterised by their high current-carrying capacity, their power density and their reliability.

Due to the high cycle stability (greater than 500,000 charging and discharging cycles), the new SuperCap UPS solutions from Bicker Elektronik have a particularly long service life and are practically maintenance-free. This means an increase in long-term availability while minimising the maintenance effort of the supplied system.

Due to the compact dimensions, a high power density and the corresponding interface configuration, the integration into a wide range of sensitive applications is possible. The (almost) unlimited fields of application cover the areas IIoT/Industrie 4.0, laboratory and medical technology, robotics, kiosk, vending machines, cash register and payment systems, POS/POI as well as mobile applications etc.

In normal operation the intelligent system electronics of the UPSIC relays the input voltage to the output with a minimum deduction of 0.3V (UPSIC-1205) / 0.2V (UPSIC-2403) at full load, charges the supercapacitors and monitors the voltage thresholds at the input. If the input voltage falls below the defined threshold, the SuperCap UPS will switch to UPS backup mode within a fraction of a second and provide an uninterrupted and regulated voltage supply at 12VDC resp. 24VDC.

The intelligent distribution of the charging currents (power sharing) at the input ensures that the upstream AC/DC power supply has not to be oversized, due to the input power is kept constant and is distributed appropriately to the load and the SuperCap loader. With low load at the output, more energy flows into the SuperCap loader and vice versa.

Equipped with high-quality 3V SuperCaps (4x 100F capacity), the DC UPS modules are fully loaded in a maximum of 60 seconds and are designed for fanless 24/7 continuous operation in the extended temperature range from -20 to 70°C. The UPSIC-1205 resp. UPSIC-2403 operates with a reduced cell voltage of 2.6V per SuperCap. This ensures optimal and long-term operation of the UPS systems even at high ambient temperatures.

The UPSIC UPS modules are equipped with an active polarity protection and an overload protection (switch-off with automatic restart). Three LEDs indicate the supercaps charge status, normal and backup mode. With the help of the integrated relay contact, external units can be switched at 'PowerFail'. In addition, the SuperCap UPS has a communication interface (RS232, I2C, SMB).

Optionally available are matching input and output cables with open ends (PSZ-1036 and PSZ-1037). In addition to the three year warranty, Bicker Elektronik guarantees a long-term availability of at least five years on the new SuperCap UPS modules.