TY - JOUR
T1 - High efficiency fuel cell based uninterruptible power supply for digital equipment
AU - Gonzales, James
AU - Tamizhmani, Govindasamy
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to express our appreciation for the support of Arizona State University, and for the funding provided by Arizona State University through its faculty-grant-in-aid (FGIA) program. This project was carried out using a fuel cell stack generously donated by Arizona Public Service (Timothy McDonald).
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/1/23
Y1 - 2006/1/23
N2 - Eliminating the ac-dc converter (such as a computer's power supply), in a dc system when using a fuel cell based uninterruptible power supply (UPS), serves several primary functions. Firstly, it eliminates the need for a dc-ac inverter, and secondly, it eliminates a usually highly inefficient component - the power supply. Multiple conversions result in multiple inefficiencies. By replacing the computer's ac power supply with a high efficiency dc power supply capable of operating directly from a fuel cell - and thereby eliminating the inverter - the overall efficiency of the UPS can be increased by 50% or more. This is essential considering that the primary function of a fuel cell based UPS is long-term operation of the system, and poor efficiency equates to higher fuel consumption. Furthermore, inefficient systems have greater power demands, and therefore a larger fuel cell stack is needed to power them. At the present cost of fuel cell systems, this is a considerable problem. The easiest way to accomplish a direct dc UPS is to replace the computer's ac-dc power supply with a dc-dc power supply.
AB - Eliminating the ac-dc converter (such as a computer's power supply), in a dc system when using a fuel cell based uninterruptible power supply (UPS), serves several primary functions. Firstly, it eliminates the need for a dc-ac inverter, and secondly, it eliminates a usually highly inefficient component - the power supply. Multiple conversions result in multiple inefficiencies. By replacing the computer's ac power supply with a high efficiency dc power supply capable of operating directly from a fuel cell - and thereby eliminating the inverter - the overall efficiency of the UPS can be increased by 50% or more. This is essential considering that the primary function of a fuel cell based UPS is long-term operation of the system, and poor efficiency equates to higher fuel consumption. Furthermore, inefficient systems have greater power demands, and therefore a larger fuel cell stack is needed to power them. At the present cost of fuel cell systems, this is a considerable problem. The easiest way to accomplish a direct dc UPS is to replace the computer's ac-dc power supply with a dc-dc power supply.
KW - Cell
KW - Computer
KW - Fuel
KW - Power
KW - Supply
KW - Uninterruptible
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=30144442318&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=30144442318&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.02.091
DO - 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.02.091
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:30144442318
SN - 0378-7753
VL - 153
SP - 151
EP - 156
JO - Journal of Power Sources
JF - Journal of Power Sources
IS - 1
ER -