July 8, 2012

1500va, 2200va, and 3000va .... LIES, LIES, LIES

As we have discussed before, 1500va is 1500 volt-amps.
Volt amps are an absolute real technical value... however in the UPS world volt amps is a nominal or descriptive term.

As an example... APC's 1500va unit is actually a 1440va unit and APC's 2200va is a 1920va unit 
Why the mis-naming?

2 Reasons:

  • Marketing - bigger numbers sound better
  • Technical - with modifications you can achieve the full VA rating.
I'll pass on the Marketing reason for now and focus on the technical

Look at the following picture from the back of an APC SUA2200.  It shows the Max Output for 2200 and 3000 va UPS based on the Input Plug


As you can see, if you buy a SUA2200 with its standard 520P 20A plug, it will only provide 1920va worth of power.   If you put a 30amp plug on the unit, it will give you the full 2200va rating.  If you put a 15amp plug, you get a 1440va unit.

All of this is because a 20amp electrical circuit cant really give you 20amps. National electrical codes and guidelines suggest a maximum 80% rating for a circuit.   That means your 1500 (15a) is a 1440va and your 3000 (30a) is only a 2880va.  

So thats one of the reasons why you will see our 2200va units including the SUA2200 (200b) get a L530P plug.  Its not that we are smarter than APC, but just a bit more honest.


July 1, 2012

3 Choices now for Symmetra LX Systems

As the leading provider of refurbished Symmetra systems, we have released 2 new versions of our popular Symmetra LX Models

The GOLD version offers our customers FREE assembly and onsite startup plus a battery upgrade.
The PLATINUM version offers of customers assembly, startup, high rate batteries PLUS includes 2 new never used Power Modules and 2 year warranty.


These offerings allow us to meet the needs of customers that want a Symmetra they can depend on... instead of buying those used, hand-me-down that proliferate the web.

Learn more at these 12kva models:  sylx12G  & sylx12P