What to look for in a UPS?

[emaja]

Long time lurker, but I finally registered. Great info here and now I have questions.

I have finally gotten to a point that I want to better protect my equipment. I have surge protectors, but I want to better manage the power cords and add emergency power so I can shut down my equipment properly in case of power failure, so long runtime is not a concern.

I have seen the HT specific units and I am not sure that I need all that power conditioning stuff that I am honestly not sure if it makes any difference in the sound, so I looked at computer UPSs instead.

They all have different outputs and some have "pure sinewave" and others have "adaptive sinewave" and I have no idea what any of that means and what it would do to the equipment or sound quality.

I was looking at CyberPower's OR1500LCDRM2U since it runs about $310 and has 8 outlets. I have a DLP TV, 3 game systems, a CD player, DVD player, receiver, AppleTV, TiVo and a subwoofer. Some of that can go into the surge protector and not into the UPS.

I am looking for something that does not have a negative impact on the sound. I want it to have no effect whatsoever.

Suggestions?

 

[TLS Guy]

Long time lurker, but I finally registered. Great info here and now I have questions.

I have finally gotten to a point that I want to better protect my equipment. I have surge protectors, but I want to better manage the power cords and add emergency power so I can shut down my equipment properly in case of power failure, so long runtime is not a concern.

I have seen the HT specific units and I am not sure that I need all that power conditioning stuff that I am honestly not sure if it makes any difference in the sound, so I looked at computer UPSs instead.

They all have different outputs and some have "pure sinewave" and others have "adaptive sinewave" and I have no idea what any of that means and what it would do to the equipment or sound quality.

I was looking at CyberPower's OR1500LCDRM2U since it runs about $310 and has 8 outlets. I have a DLP TV, 3 game systems, a CD player, DVD player, receiver, AppleTV, TiVo and a subwoofer. Some of that can go into the surge protector and not into the UPS.

I am looking for something that does not have a negative impact on the sound. I want it to have no effect whatsoever.

Suggestions?

First I would put in a whole house surge protector.

Then you need a UPS that will meet the load of all equipment in continuous power in watts and apparent power in VA. You should be able to get this information from the back of your devices and or the manuals. The unit should have a response time to the battery/inverter of 1 to 5 ms in the event of more than 10% increase or decrease in grid voltage.

That should give you good protection.

 

[emaja]

I forgot to mention that I live in an apartment, so the whole house thing won't work. That will be one of the first upgrades when I do get a house though.

So, as long as I get one that meets the load needs and has a response time between 1 to 5 ms, I am good? So there is no need to worry about the pure sinewave or adaptive sinewave stuff? Then just choose a runtime that works for me and go with it?

I did read that you use APC - 720XL if I recall. Any opinion on CyberPower?

Thanks - you were the one I hope would weigh in on this question!

 

[TLS Guy]

I forgot to mention that I live in an apartment, so the whole house thing won't work. That will be one of the first upgrades when I do get a house though.

So, as long as I get one that meets the load needs and has a response time between 1 to 5 ms, I am good? So there is no need to worry about the pure sinewave or adaptive sinewave stuff? Then just choose a runtime that works for me and go with it?

I did read that you use APC - 720XL if I recall. Any opinion on CyberPower?

Thanks - you were the one I hope would weigh in on this question!

No you will be fine with what I outlined. I'm not familiar with CyberPower, but generally APC refurbs are the best value for money.

 

[emaja]

Thanks!

I did an inventory of the power draw and it looks like 1318w. That sounds high to me, but what do I know. If I build in 25% for overages, that gets me to about 1650w. That sounds like it would protect me just fine.

Now to find one that fits in my entertainment center.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks!

I did an inventory of the power draw and it looks like 1318w. That sounds high to me, but what do I know. If I build in 25% for overages, that gets me to about 1650w. That sounds like it would protect me just fine.

Now to find one that fits in my entertainment center.

If you get one that is 1.4 KW and 2K VA that will do the trick, as it should meet the true and apparent power requirements. Don't forget you are dealing with an AC supply. Both true and apparent power needs must be met.

If your equipment does not quote both power in watts and VA rating, then as a rough rule of thumb if the power is quoted in VA then the actual power consumed will be about 30% less. If the power is quoted in Watts then the apparent power requirements will be about 30% greater.

You must meet both continuous and apparent power requirements. So if all of the equipment was rated in watts, then you need a 2KVA UPS.

Everything that has microprocessors should be powered from the UPS. Often times it is more cost effective and space saving to use multiple UPS devices, which is why I use three. Everything except power amps are connected to a UPS.

 

[emaja]

I only have about 8 inches of height clearance to work with, so I was looking at a rack mount that could also be setup as a tower if I wanted to do that later.

The model I was looking at is here - the CyberPower OR2200LCDRTXL2U - 2190va and 1650w.

I might get two smaller ones as the receiver itself draws 620w.

 

[TLS Guy]

I only have about 8 inches of height clearance to work with, so I was looking at a rack mount that could also be setup as a tower if I wanted to do that later.

The model I was looking at is here - the CyberPower OR2200LCDRTXL2U - 2190va and 1650w.

I might get two smaller ones as the receiver itself draws 620w.

I don't see specs for setting the voltage limits to trigger going to the inverter, not the response times quoted.

 

[emaja]

I don't see specs for setting the voltage limits to trigger going to the inverter, not the response times quoted.

Transfer time is shown as 4ms. I thought that was the response time.

It doesn't look like you can set it, but the "on battery voltage" listed as 120Vac +/- 10% and the "on battery frequency" is shows as 60Hz +/- 1%.

Sorry for all the silly questions. I know nothing about this and am trying to understand this best I can so I don't buy too much or too little protection.

Thanks!

 

[TLS Guy]

Transfer time is shown as 4ms. I thought that was the response time.

It doesn't look like you can set it, but the "on battery voltage" listed as 120Vac +/- 10% and the "on battery frequency" is shows as 60Hz +/- 1%.

Sorry for all the silly questions. I know nothing about this and am trying to understand this best I can so I don't buy too much or too little protection.

Thanks!

I downloaded the manual and the voltage limits for transfer to the inverter are 90 volts and 140 volts. This is not adjustable. The response time to transfer is 4 ms.

The transfer time is satisfactory, but the limits are on the wide side, but hopefully your equipment will tolerate it. 98 and 132 volts would be more ideal parameters.

 

[emaja]

...the limits are on the wide side, but hopefully your equipment will tolerate it. 98 and 132 volts would be more ideal parameters.

Well, those limits are better than what I have now - nothing. Is there any way to verify that those are satisfactory for my equipment?

 

[majorloser]

I downloaded the manual and the voltage limits for transfer to the inverter are 90 volts and 140 volts. This is not adjustable. The response time to transfer is 4 ms.

The transfer time is satisfactory, but the limits are on the wide side, but hopefully your equipment will tolerate it. 98 and 132 volts would be more ideal parameters.

The UPS has automatic voltage regulation to handle the fluctuations in voltage by using the on-board transformer. I'm just not real "warm and fuzzy" with it being a "Green UPS". If the incoming power is good it bypasses the AVR transformer to save electricity. But that means it also has to switch back when it degrades, so there is potential lag involved.

 

[emaja]

I'm just not real "warm and fuzzy" with it being a "Green UPS". If the incoming power is good it bypasses the AVR transformer to save electricity. But that means it also has to switch back when it degrades, so there is potential lag involved.

Aren't all UPSs going to be green due to regulations?

 

[majorloser]

I guess my real issue with this UPS unit is where they state it's a "simulated sine wave". I wonder if this means it's a stepped or square waveform.

For the OP, here's a good whitepaper from APC to help you learn a little about what a UPS is supposed to be preventing:

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/VAVR-5WKLPK_R1_EN.pdf

 

[majorloser]

Aren't all UPSs going to be green due to regulations?

No, there are still applications where an "On-Line UPS" is preferred to a "Line Interactive UPS". These systems are always running off of the batteries and using an inverter to provide AC power. The batteries are continously being recharged by the incoming feed power. The advantages are no switching time, continous power feed and consistant power quality. The disadvantages are heat production, they are expensive, they use more electricity and battery replacement can get costly. The technology is very similar to solar power systems, just better quality inverters.

Here's another whitepaper:

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/JSII-5YQSBR_R1_EN.pdf

 

[emaja]

I guess I meant non-online since I was not looking at those due to cost.

I have seen other people here using APC's that we not online, so I thought that it was not necessary to have an online UPS.

I am learning a lot here guys. Thanks a TON!

 

[TLS Guy]

I guess I meant non-online since I was not looking at those due to cost.

I have seen other people here using APC's that we not online, so I thought that it was not necessary to have an online UPS.

I am learning a lot here guys. Thanks a TON!

The type of UPS you have chosen is fine. The tighter voltage is regulated the better it is for all equipment. Hopefully those limits will be alright.

 

[majorloser]

I guess I meant non-online since I was not looking at those due to cost.

I have seen other people here using APC's that we not online, so I thought that it was not necessary to have an online UPS.

I am learning a lot here guys. Thanks a TON!

I'm using three of the APC Smart-UPS 1000VA units. I found it easier to use multiple smaller units. One is dedicated to the projector.

I prefer the Smart-UPS units over some of the lesser unit due to their tighter 0.3% IEEE surge let-through versus some of the other units like the Back-UPS (and other brands) which have a 5% IEEE surge let-through. Even APC's AV product line don't come close to the Smart-UPS specs. And you can pick up rack mounted Smart-UPS units for cheaper than the AV products.

You don't need an "on-line unit". It's really for large data centers and industrial processes where any fluctations are critical.

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm using three of the APC Smart-UPS 1000VA units. I found it easier to use multiple smaller units. One is dedicated to the projector.

I prefer the Smart-UPS units over some of the lesser unit due to their tighter 0.3% IEEE surge let-through versus some of the other units like the Back-UPS (and other brands) which have a 5% IEEE surge let-through. Even APC's AV product line don't come close to the Smart-UPS specs. And you can pick up rack mounted Smart-UPS units for cheaper than the AV products.

You don't need an "on-line unit". It's really for large data centers and industrial processes where any fluctations are critical.

Exactly, that is what I have been explaining to the OP. I would go with an APC Smart UPS and do. I own four of them, and installed one for a friend. They are just what is required.

 

[ntrain42]

Long time lurker, but I finally registered. Great info here and now I have questions.

I have finally gotten to a point that I want to better protect my equipment. I have surge protectors, but I want to better manage the power cords and add emergency power so I can shut down my equipment properly in case of power failure, so long runtime is not a concern.

I have seen the HT specific units and I am not sure that I need all that power conditioning stuff that I am honestly not sure if it makes any difference in the sound, so I looked at computer UPSs instead.

They all have different outputs and some have "pure sinewave" and others have "adaptive sinewave" and I have no idea what any of that means and what it would do to the equipment or sound quality.

I was looking at CyberPower's OR1500LCDRM2U since it runs about $310 and has 8 outlets. I have a DLP TV, 3 game systems, a CD player, DVD player, receiver, AppleTV, TiVo and a subwoofer. Some of that can go into the surge protector and not into the UPS.

I am looking for something that does not have a negative impact on the sound. I want it to have no effect whatsoever.

Suggestions?

Make sure it can "deliver" power on time! AHAHAHA! LOL! I kill me!