Leading UPS manufacturer, CENTIEL, has opened its new Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) Facility at its manufacturing facility located in Lugano, Switzerland.  The state-of-the-art facility and CENTIEL SA’s global headquarters also house the Company’s R&D, production, sales and marketing, logistics, finance and quality control of all CENTIEL’s UPS solutions.  

Mike Elms, managing director, CENTIEL UK explains: “Every UPS we manufacture undergoes thorough individual stage and final testing prior to dispatch.    On occasions, customers may wish to witness their own specific testing, be it standalone UPS units or a complete system comprising of several units in parallel. If this is a requirement then clients, or their representatives, can visit the factory to inspect and witness their own  factory acceptance test against their required specifications before it is shipped.  For customers unable to visit Switzerland, the facility is also available to video record or witness remotely, e.g. via Skype.

“The main purpose of factory testing is to verify the quality of the equipment manufacturer and the system’s correct operation and performance. The testing comprises of many, multiple operational functions,” continues Elms.  “For example it includes testing on normal mains operation, mains failure or  battery mode, full load burn-in tests, varying load profiles with 100% unbalanced load, overload, 100% load switching from zero to max full load, and my personal favourite… the output short circuit test!  Input/output waveforms and harmonics are also recorded, and efficiency figures verified.

“We have already had a number of key clients visit the FAT facility and they have reported that the rigorous testing has given them ‘peace of mind’ and proof of adherence against specification which is important when purchasing a UPS system to protect critical loads with zero downtime. Of particular interest has been the innovative testing platform.  Rather than a traditional “load bank” Centiel has a unique facility based on UPS technology to imitate varying loads with regenerative power.  This uses less energy from the mains supply, further adding to Centiel’s green credentials.”  

Wayne McKane, critical power and HVAC engineer, G4S Secure Solutions confirms: “We visited CENTIEL’s FAT facility to witness the full functional testing of the CumulusPower modular UPS systems now successfully deployed in two data centers on Guernsey.   We saw the UPS run through their paces under all conditions, which meant we could guarantee the solution was fit for purpose and matched the required specification on behalf of our clients.  It was time well spent.”

CumulusPower is CENTIEL’s class leading, 4th generation, three phase modular UPS known for its “9 nines” system availability and low total cost of ownership.   CumulusPower has now been installed in data centers and comms rooms in over 60 countries across five continents.  More than 50 MW of critical power loads are now protected with CumulusPower in locations across the world including: the UK, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, and the Channel Islands.