Green Power

The Silcon saves money and protects the environment

Over a five-year period, the savings you'll enjoy with a Silcon are quite amazing. By changing to the Silcon, you will save enough in yearly power consumption to pay for your new UPS within 5 years!

If you are buying your first UPS the advantages are obvious- the Silcon savings on the power bill will generate return on investment from day one.

The Environmental Benefit

A smaller monthly electric bill is visible proof of the energy conservation offered by the Silcon which results in less pollution as you use less power and reduce the CO2 emitted from the power plant. Furthermore, the Silcon systems are made of PVC free materials, and all components are recyclable. Additionally, in the event of fire, halogen gases are not emitted.

Input corrected power factor, plus no mains repercussion, and high efficiency - all add up to Green Power

The Silcon power factor

The Silcon has a power factor corrected input side ensuring that the input power factor is always 1 regardless of load and mains voltage. A power factor of 1 minimizes installation costs by using smaller cables and smaller fuses.

No mains repercussions

In more and more countries, power distributors are setting new restrictions on mains distortion. Exceeding those standards can be very costly. Most UPS systems have a problem with distortion of the utility mains. The distortion is caused by the 6-pulse thyristor rectifier in the mains input circuit. This distortion has to be eliminated (EMC requirements) by large filters, which causes further decrease in efficiency. Silcon technology which maintains a sinusoidal mains current, eliminates this problem and meets the EMC requirements.

Small heat losses

Silcon offers massive savings not only in operating costs for the unit itself, but also in air conditioning costs due to the very low heat losses from Silcon. Lloyds Bank in London, for example, installed a 2.7 MW Silcon system. The annual power savings from using a Silcon instead of an ordinary UPS was estimated at $160,000. That figure with becomes even more substantial with additional savings in air conditioning costs.

The Silcon extends battery lifetime

APC has long been recognized as a leader in providing extended battery life. A unique process within Silcon called "float voltage compensation" achieves maximum battery life. Moreover, charge voltage is regulated to compensate for battery temperature. With no compensation, battery life decreases, as temperature increases. By adjusting the charging voltage by very small amounts (typical compensation levels range from 2.20 to 2.36 volts/cell), battery life is extended as seen in the green curve.

Extra safety with Advanced Battery Monitoring (ABM)

Batteries are an extremely important part of the UPS. ABM continuously compares actual battery data to preprogrammed data in the monitoring software to ensure Silcon batteries are healthy and ready. Any reduction in battery capacity automatically triggers the Silcon alarms.