Frost: Energy Cost Savings, Environment-Friendly Profile Motivate Demand for Energy-Efficient UPS

March 26, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

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Rising energy costs and declining power quality are bringing the concept of energy-efficient uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems into the limelight, according to Frost & Sullivan, with the expectation of reduced power losses and ensured power availability to consumers.

However, a high initial price and the inability to quantify the energy savings resulting from the use of such systems hinders their sales.

"Spiraling energy costs and increasing attention to reducing carbon emissions are driving the growth of energy-efficient UPS systems," said Frost & Sullivan program manager Malavika Tohani.

"It is therefore vital that applications consuming high amounts of power, such as data centers and industrial applications, adopt energy-efficient UPS. The use of energy-efficient UPS reduces the consumption of electricity, which lowers energy costs for the end-user while having a positive impact on the environment."

Worldwide, industries and people are looking at active ways of conserving the environment. Analysts said carbon emissions are at an all-time high and, if not checked at this point, can cause serious harm in the near future. The energy-efficient UPS comes at an important time, especially with the current focus on conservation.

Analysts said one of the reasons for some customers not opting for energy-efficient UPS is that the initial investment is slightly more than conventional alternatives. While energy efficiency is increasingly becoming a major decision-making criteria for UPS selection, price is still the prime consideration for some applications.

"Price still forms an important part of the decision-making criteria in certain industries, due to the lack of awareness regarding the importance of UPS systems," said Tohani. "Although energy-efficient UPS systems result in cost savings over the lifetime of the UPS, the high initial cost acts as a discouraging factor for some consumers."

UPS manufacturers must actively participate in trade shows and debates, hold seminars, present white papers and join or form alliances with other organizations promoting energy efficiency (such as the Green Grid) to increase awareness among end-users.

Analysts said companies must invest in R&D in order to develop the right technology to produce an energy-efficient UPS and other equipment at reasonable costs and also ensure that no feature is compromised.

Source: Frost & Sullivan.