Editing Uninterruptible power supply (section)

{{short description|Electrical device that uses batteries to prevent any interruption of power flow}}

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| footer = A tower type UPS with one [[IEC 60320]] [[IEC 60320#C13/C14 coupler|C14]] input and three [[IEC 60320#C13/C14 coupler|C13]] outlets
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[[File:500kVA-UPS.jpg|right|thumb|A large data-center-scale UPS being installed by electricians]]

An '''uninterruptible power supply''' ('''UPS''') or '''uninterruptible power source''' is a type of [[continual power system]] that provides automated backup [[electric power]] to a [[electrical load|load]] when the input power source or [[mains electricity|mains power]] fails. A UPS differs from a traditional [[auxiliary power|auxiliary]]/[[emergency power system]] or [[standby generator]] in that it will provide near-instantaneous protection from input power interruptions by switching to energy stored in [[battery pack]]s, [[supercapacitor]]s or [[flywheel]]s. The on-battery run-times of most UPSs are relatively short (only a few minutes) but sufficient to "buy time" for initiating a standby power source or properly shutting down the protected equipment. Almost all UPSs also contain integrated [[surge protection]] to shield the output appliances from [[voltage spike]]s.

A UPS is typically used to protect hardware such as [[computer]]s, hospital equipment, [[data center]]s, [[telecommunications equipment]] or other electrical equipment where an unexpected power disruption could cause injuries, fatalities, serious business disruption or [[data loss]]. UPS units range in size from ones designed to protect a single computer (around 200 [[volt-ampere]] rating) to large units powering entire data centers or buildings.