SIEL UPS in Kenya: Greenpoint, Safepower S and Evo HF Explained

Electricity customers in Kenya averaged 8.39 hours of outages a month in EPRA’s latest biannual statistics, against a target of 1.5 hours, as reported by People Daily. For a server room, a hospital ward, a banking hall or a production line, every one of those hours is a risk to data, equipment and customers.

That is the job SIEL UPS systems are built for. SIEL is an Italian manufacturer of online UPS systems, and Encom Digital is the only place in Kenya and East Africa where you can buy them. This guide walks through the three SIEL ranges we supply, what sets them apart, and how to pick the right one for your site.

Who SIEL is

SIEL S.p.A. is based in Trezzano Rosa, just outside Milan, and has more than 40 years of operating history. The company makes UPS systems and solar inverters, and it shows both product lines at Intersolar Europe, one of the largest energy trade fairs in the world. Its emergency power systems have long served finance, telecoms, healthcare, large retail and data centres, the same kinds of sites that need protection most in Kenya.

Every SIEL unit we sell is supplied on order and set up for your load. That means you get the configuration your site needs, including the battery runtime, rather than whatever happens to be on a shelf.

What “online double conversion” means, and why it matters here

All three SIEL ranges are online double conversion UPS systems. The incoming mains is turned into DC and then rebuilt into clean AC by the inverter, all the time, so your equipment never runs directly off the grid. Online UPS systems protect against sags, surges, spikes, noise, harmonics, frequency variation and outages, with no break when the mains fails. An offline UPS, by comparison, has a brief break of a few milliseconds while it switches to battery, and it does nothing about the voltage swings in between.

SIEL rates every range VFI-SS-111 under IEC EN 62040-3. In plain terms, VFI means the output does not depend on the mains voltage or frequency, SS means a clean sine wave output, and 111 is the top score for how steady the output stays when the UPS changes mode or the load suddenly jumps. VFI-SS-111 is the highest classification a UPS can carry.

All three ranges also run at an output power factor of 1, so the kVA and kW ratings are the same. A 10 kVA SIEL UPS can carry a full 10 kW of load, which is not true of many UPS systems rated at 0.8 or 0.9.

The three SIEL ranges at a glance

SIEL Greenpoint: single-phase, 1 to 10 kVA

Greenpoint is the range for single-phase sites: a server cabinet, a network rack, a clinic system, a bank branch back office or a small data room. Each unit converts between rack and tower mounting and takes 2U of rack space. It accepts input from 110 to 300 V, which matters on long rural lines where voltage sags well below 230 V, and SIEL lists it as generator compatible.

• Pure sine wave output, with a selectable output of 208, 220, 230 or 240 V
• RS232, USB, relay and SNMP communication as standard, so you can monitor it over your network
• Hot-swappable external battery boxes, up to four per UPS, for longer runtime
• An optional lithium (LiFePO4) battery on the 6K and 10K models
• ECO mode for energy saving when the mains is clean

The range in Kenya: Greenpoint 1K, Greenpoint 2K, Greenpoint 3K, Greenpoint 6K and Greenpoint 10K. The 1K to 3K models suit one to a few servers or a network cabinet. The 6K and 10K models cover a full rack or a small server room. Our guide to the 6kVA UPS shows what one can carry.

SIEL Safepower S: three-phase, 10 to 200 kVA

Safepower S is a three-phase online UPS for loads that cannot stop: a data room, a hospital wing, a factory line or an office building’s IT. It reaches up to 96.5% efficiency in online mode and up to 99% in ECO mode, and its transformer-free design keeps the footprint compact. The 10K to 60K models share a cabinet just 250 mm wide. For factories and plants, see our industrial UPS sizing guide.

• A 7 inch graphic touchscreen for status and settings
• Up to four units in parallel, for more capacity or for redundancy
• Internal battery space on the 10K, 20K and 30K models
• RS232, RS485, LAN, Modbus, dry contacts, a remote emergency power off input and a diesel mode input
• A wide input range of 208 to 478 V and 40 to 70 Hz
• Handles a fully unbalanced load across the three phases
• A UL version on request

SIEL Safepower Evo HF: three-phase, 10 to 200 kVA, built to scale

Safepower Evo HF covers the same 10 to 200 kVA span but goes further on growth and batteries. Up to eight units can run in parallel, so a site can start with what it needs today and add capacity later. Standard VRLA batteries come as default, with lithium (LiFePO4) as an option for longer battery life and a smaller footprint.

• Up to 96.6% efficiency online on the 10K to 60K models, up to 96.2% on 80K to 200K, and up to 99% in ECO mode
• Input current distortion (THDi) of 3% or less, which keeps it friendly to generators and the grid
• Internal space for up to three battery strings on the 10K to 60K models
• SNMP, RS232 and RS485 Modbus monitoring
• Cold start, so it can power up from batteries during an outage

Safepower S and Safepower Evo HF are available on order through our SIEL UPS range.

How to choose the right SIEL UPS

Four questions settle most decisions:

• What supply do you have? Single-phase sites, which covers most offices, branches and small server rooms, point to Greenpoint. Three-phase sites, or loads above 10 kW, point to Safepower S or Evo HF.
• How much load are you protecting? Add up the real running power of everything on the UPS in kW, then leave headroom of about 20 to 30% for growth. With a power factor of 1, the kW figure maps straight onto the kVA rating.
• How long must it run on battery? If a generator takes over within a minute or two, a short runtime is fine. If there is no generator, plan external battery boxes or cabinets for the runtime you need.
• Will you grow, or do you need redundancy? If yes, the parallel capability of Safepower S (up to 4 units) or Evo HF (up to 8 units) lets you add units later or run N+1 so one unit can fail without dropping the load.

All three ranges are also EN 50171 compliant. EN 50171 covers central power supply systems for emergency escape lighting and other safety equipment, which is useful for hospitals, malls and public buildings that need a certified backup for life safety circuits.

If outages are already costing you work, our earlier piece on what to do when stima imeenda covers backup for smaller setups.

Getting a SIEL UPS from Encom

Because every SIEL unit is configured to your site, pricing is by quote. Send us your load list or the kW you need to protect, your supply type (single or three-phase), the runtime you want and whether you have a generator. We will come back with the right model and battery setup. Request a quote on WhatsApp on +254 714 962 072, or Email us and we will take it from there. You can also visit us at Rehema House, 4th Floor, Standard Street, Nairobi.

Frequently asked questions