Do I Need An AVR For My Power Supply? What If I Have UPS?

AVR is installed on generators as part of their excitation system, while UPS converts a battery’s DC (direct current) into AC (alternating current).

UPS stands for uninterruptible power supply. It provides power to the electronic appliances when the power is cut off. On the other hand, AVR stands for the automatic voltage regulator. It is an electronic circuit that is an alternative to UPS. Unlike UPS, AVR provides constant power to your devices.

This article discusses whether you need an AVR for your power supply. We will also talk about using AVR when you already have a UPS installed at your place. We will also understand the difference between an AVR and a UPS in more detail. So, without any delay, let’s dive into it.

Do I Need An AVR For My Power Supply? What If I Have UPS?

You need an AVR for your power supply, even with a UPS. AVR will give your electronic devices constant power without any ups and downs in the voltage. The latest AVRs also have surge protectors installed in their circuits to protect your devices from power spikes. Whereas UPS only ensures to provide power.

AVR is the abbreviation of the automatic voltage regulator. It is an electronic device that protects your devices from voltage fluctuations. Simply, it decreases the input voltage when they are high and increases them when they are low. The Modern AVRs also have surge protectors in their circuits.

The purpose of surge protectors in the AVRs is to protect your devices, such as computers, monitors, mobile phones, etc., from voltage spikes. All electronic devices work on a certain voltage level, and more voltage can damage or burn out the devices. Hence, the AVRs provide constant power.

On the other hand, UPS (uninterrupted power supply) is an electronic device that provides emergency power to our devices, especially when the main power goes off. It does this in two steps. Firstly, it charges the batteries when the main power is available. Secondly, it uses its power when the power is off.

Simply put, the AVR stabilizes the voltage on a predefined level, such as 220 or 120 volts. Whereas the UPS is a power backup, it provides power when the main power is cut off in case of emergency or load shedding.

What are The Benefits of Using an AVR with a UPS/Inverter?

The UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is used for backup power when the main power is gone. The AVR (automatic voltage regulator) provides a constant output voltage to the devices without any rise or fall in power. There are UPS Inverters with AVR capabilities of AVRs:

• Automatic Voltage Regulation

You need an AVR for your power supply because it has an outstanding feature of automatic voltage regulation. That is why it is known as Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR). This feature is also called voltage stabilizing, and AVRs are built for this task. It is about keeping the output voltage constant.

An AVR uses solid-state electronic components for automatic voltage regulation. When the input voltage is low, it increases them; when they are high, it decreases them. Technically, these processes are also known as boosting and bucking. As a result, the device receives constant power for working.

The AVRs provide constant voltage to the load due to this behavior of automatic voltage regulation. By load, we mean the devices connected to the AVR, such as computers, display monitors, mobile phones, etc. Constant voltage increases the performance and life of an electronic device.

• Surge Protection

You need an AVR (automatic voltage regulator) for your power supply because the latest ones can surge protection. Surge is the sudden and fatal increase in the input power of your electronic devices. It can damage a device’s function or burn it out easily. Such devices cannot be repaired. 

Lightning is the worst case and the most powerful source of a power surge. Usually, the light strikes the pole wires and travels inside the house wiring. Then, it turns out all the devices connected to those wires within a fraction of a second. The only solution to protect your devices is a surge protector.

The surge protector detects an abnormal voltage level on the wires and cuts off the power supply to your precious and expensive electronic devices. As a result, the surge cannot reach the devices, and they become safe from burning out into ashes. AVRs have built-in surge protectors.

• Eliminates Flickering and Voltage Fluctuation

You need an AVR for your power supply because it eliminates flickering and voltage fluctuation. Voltage Fluctuations are rapid increases and decreases in voltage levels. These fluctuations cause flickering. The flickering electronic device does not run properly and remains unsteady.

An AVR (automatic voltage regulator) eliminates flickering by stabilizing the voltage levels. It does so by boosting the voltage when they are low and bucking them when they are high. As a result, the output voltage from the AVR remains constant for the devices connected to it.

The stable voltage is never fluctuating. And the power that is not continuously changing eliminates the flickering. Flickering can easily burn out an electronic device, but you do not need to bother about it when you have an AVR installed. It also increases the lifetime of your devices dramatically.

• BSOD Elimination

You need an AVR for your power supply because it will eliminate the BSODs (blue screens of death). Usually, the voltage drops cause the BSODs on your computer system. It is also a sign that one of your devices will burn out in the next few days. You must eliminate BSODs to keep your computer running.

Usually, you experience BSOD on your computer’s display screen when an error occurs with a sad face symbol on it, and your screen turns blue. And after collecting some stats, your computer system restarts. It isn’t very pleasant and affects the continuity of a very important task.

You can also lose your progress, especially when remembering to save your work. An iterative BSOD can ruin your entertainment when playing your favorite game. It can also make you lose your game when you are playing online, especially the FPS or other competitive games.

• High Input/Output Power and Frequency Range

You need an AVR (automatic voltage regulator) for your power supply because it has an extremely high input and output power range. The input power range of an AVR defines its minimum operating voltage of 119 volts, while the maximum input voltage can be more than 240 volts.

Similarly, the AVRs also have high-frequency ranges. They can easily operate on both popular power frequencies, 50 Hz and 60 Hz. It makes AVRs universal devices. But, you can use such an AVR from one continent to another continent, especially when you prefer a certain country’s products.

• Multiple Loads Bearing

You need an AVR for your power supply as it can connect more devices with a single AVR. But every AVR has a certain power range. The connected devices should not exceed an AVR’s maximum power range. In this case, the AVR will burn out immediately.

For example, if your AVR allows you to connect multiple devices, its power rating is 550 watts. You can connect multiple devices whose power sum up to about 550 watts. Even adding a single device that makes the sum of the total load more than 550 watts will cause the AVR to burn out.

This phenomenon is also known as overloading. But you can underload an AVR by using as few devices as possible. It will increase the lifetime of your automatic voltage regulator (AVR). Hence, a good AVR can bear multiple devices simultaneously without high-temperature issues.

Do I Still Need AVR If I Have UPS?

No, you do not need an AVR if you have a UPS that has all the functions of an AVR. Most of the latest UPS Inverters combine the capabilities of AVRs and the Inverter. That is why professionals do not install a separate AVR with them. Hence, it depends on your UPS/Inverter whether it serves well or not.

The first ability of an AVR you need to see in your UPS inverter is the automatic voltage regulation, such as from 119 to 240 volts. It will provide your devices’ content output power even when the input is high or low. Your new UPS inverter must not cause voltage fluctuation and flickering.

It would be better if your new UPS inverter had a surge protection mechanism. This feature will allow it to cut off the power to your devices when the input voltage is extremely high, especially when the light strikes the wiring. Its response time should also be better, and it should be cut off within nanoseconds.

A very important feature of your new UPS inverter is its frequency range. It must operate on 50 Hz and 60 Hz. The operating voltage of a UPS inverter also matters. They define the minimum and maximum operating voltage of a UPS inverter. Hopefully, the BSODs will also be eliminated after installing it.

Conclusion

You must use an AVR or the UPS inverter with the capabilities of an AVR for your power supply because it will provide your devices with the demanded power. It will not overload your devices, nor will it underload them. AVRs do this by using a method of bucking and boosting the voltage levels.

AVR makes automatic voltage regulation. It means they increase the voltage when there is low input and decrease it when the input is dangerously high. The latest AVRs also have the ability of surge protection. It allows them to reduce the power to save the devices when the power is high.

AVRs eliminate voltage fluctuation and flickering from electronic devices. Voltage fluctuations occur when there are sudden rises and falls in the voltage levels. It can cause the devices such as display monitors and LED lights to flicker. Hence, the devices go on and off rapidly and even burn out.

AVRs remove BSODs (blue screens of death) from your computer system, especially those that insufficient power causes. As a result, you keep your work progress, whether it is a game or your other important computer-based task. Powerful AVRs allow you to connect multiple devices to them.

The AVRs have a high I/O voltage range. It allows them to operate on abnormally low and high power levels, for example, from 119 to 240 volts. Similarly, the AVRs can also operate on 50 Hz and 60 Hz frequencies. It makes them universal devices used in different regions of the world.