APC UPS power useage question

cyber69 · 18 Jan 2011 at 11:34

I have aquired a good APC 1000 model UPS which has a nice USB connection and is very heavy and I would like to know if possible how much electricity it might use if I plugged it in and started using it as a standby power source?

Does it use much electricity to keep the battery charged up?

I've not found much information out scanning the web on this.

AtaRo · 18 Jan 2011 at 13:58

Power consumption depends on the effeciency of the unit so it varies from brands to brands.
My cheap 1000VA UPS draws around 22watts of power when idle and nothing is plug in
according to my power meter.Remember that its power draw will increase if you plug additional
items to it even though they are in standby.The only way to know the power draw of your
unit is to plug it in a power meter.You can get one from a high street ele'x store right now
for an offer price of £6.99.

pcAnywhere · 18 Jan 2011 at 14:03

From the spec sheet, the UPS puts out 100.00 BTU/hr thermal dissipation when online, as heat is not a desired output, this is a measure of the inefficiency of the system.

100 BTU/Hr ~ 28 watts/hr

Assuming most of the other electrical power is going where it's supposed to (and there are no large fans, lots of flashing lights etc) then I would guess around 30 to 40 watts/hr.

So, a very dull light bulb is the energy equiv.

MikeHiow · 18 Jan 2011 at 14:07

40 Watts is shocking - I have computers that idle at less.

pcAnywhere · 18 Jan 2011 at 14:08

It's a very rough guess-estimate. But that 100 BTU has to come from somewhere, right?

MuttsNutts · 18 Jan 2011 at 14:13

I guess this is the one you have?

http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SUA1000I&total_watts=50

I have the same one... running in my living room..... I run loads through it
My Samsung 40" LCD TV
Xbox 360
PS3
Wii
Sky HD Box
Bluray Player
DVD/Home Ciniema Sound System

of course not all on at the same time, but I've not noticed any increase in my electric bill
plus acts as a good power surge protector as it regulates power down to 230V rather than the 240V going into it.
So in theory less but not enough to reduce bills by £ but more like pence per year LOL

westom · 18 Jan 2011 at 23:34

cyber69 said:
... how much electricity it might use if I plugged it in and started using it as a standby power source?

A UPS not powering an appliance only consumed trivial power to trickle charge its battery. How little current? Well, the battery takes 8 to 12 hours just to charge. When its battery is charged, then a UPS consumes even less.

A ballpark number for power consumption. Assume its battery is charged by a supply equivalent to a wall wart style power brick. Maybe a 10 watt supply that consumes even less power to keep a charged battery charged.

By reading specs for that UPS, then one would never claim it does effective surge protection. Read the specs. It does near zero surge protection so that those educated by advertising will claim it is 100% protection.