KnowUPS - Eco Mode

Today everything needs to be "Green."  And suppliers, vendors (we are GreenlightUPS after all), manufacturers, and customers all want to be part of it.  

The problem is that not all Green things are great.  (Pond scum in my pool for one)

One potentially bad Green thing on UPSes is the optional "Eco Mode" found on many new units.  Eco Mode is a sexy marketing term to essentially mean Line Interactive operation.  Since UPSes that operate as Line Interactive only switch over to battery during an outage (allbeit after 0.005 seconds) the UPS does not use up energy when there are no problems.   Online UPS are always online... always using energy.

The rub is that Eco Mode is found on those expensive Online UPS units.   So you pay double the price for a UPS for it to be online and then you downgrade it (um.. upgrade it)  to operate it in Eco Mode.

Kinda stupid.... especially when Eco Mode saves 3.3% or 10$ a year per 1000watts.  Learn more from APC's greenpaper

Random Part of the Month XII - SY500K500DL-PD

If you do the product search feature on Google with the term "APC," the most expensive item available "off the shelf" at a major retailer is the SY500K500DL-PD.

Its a Symmetra PX 3phase unit rated for 500kW.   It weighs a staggering 20,858 pounds!  The electrical requirements of 745 amps of 480volt power will dim the lights of your neighbors when you start this sucker up.

Its on "Super Sale" at RestockIT for $365,843.94... and they claim to have 200 in stock!

And if you have 1 really important server you want to run on this puppy... you only get 30:34hours of runtime. But if you are looking to warm your offices this winter, this sucker will put out a jaw-dropping 62515 BTUs. That more than a giant Jobsite kerosene heater.  Get the s'mores... and someone else's credit card.

New Product - A 3phase Unit that fits in your hand.

As an early proponent of APC's Symmetra PX's class of 3phase UPS units, its rare for us to recommend any other style, let alone brand.   But when we find a 3phase unit that meets such an obvious need AND offers so many great specs and features ... its deserves our attention.

The Gamatronic PowerPlus SA3, is a 10kva 120/208 3phase Unit that is just a bit bigger than a CPU tower.  While it doesnt fit in the palm of your hand, its much smaller than the 42U cabinets, that the APC Symmetra PX and VT units.

The Gamatronics unit offers many of the same power conditioning and online topology found in the other makers, but at a great price point and small footprint.

We got our first SA3 from a distributor liquidating some old stock.  It was never used, but couldnt be sold as new anymore.

So take a peek at the GAS10....

.

Rumble in the Rack IV: APC 1.5k versus Liebert 1.5k

Its On... Can the very popular and best selling SUA1500RM2U ever meets its match?
Today, the Liebert GXT2 1500 enters the ring.. for Rumble in the Rack IV..

The APC SUA1500RM2U is frequently requested by people needing a 120volt UPS for small telcom loads.  Its a 2U unit, priced at about $300.  The Liebert is also a 2U, but a bit more money.

 v. 

After they Rumble... this what we found...

APC Smart UPS 1500  StoreLink (402b)

• Is Cheaper
• has 6 output (versus 4 for Liebert)

Liebert GXT2 1500 StoreLink  (lg412)

• More VA at 1500va  (versus 1440va for APC)
• More Watts 1050 (versus 980watts for APC)
• Online Double Conversion Mode for allways On protection  (APC is line interactive)
• Expandable Runtime  (no expandable capability for APC)
• Lighter at 51lbs (versus 63lbs for APC)
• 200% Overload ability for 8 cycles  (versus 100% limit for APC)

Both Units have

• Similar batteries & run-time (13mins at half load)
• Similar control options (USB and NetCard Option)
• Minimal TVSS and EMI/RFI Filers

WINNER and its a lopsided win at that

Liebert GXT2 1500

Buy It Here

This Blog is getting bloated

Here are some of our popular blog series links

• Random Part of the Month  --- the best and worst from APC's product catalogue
• Know UPS  --- briefings about UPS technical features
• Rumble in the Rack  -- head to head comparisons between UPS units
• UPS University  --- talks about UPS design, terms, data center applications, and operation
• U People aSked it   --- sort of actual questions and answers about the UPS world

U. P. aSked (You people asked): Most Important Specs

Hello,

I visited your site and am overwhelmed on what type of UPS to choose.  My IT adviser recommended me getting an APC SUA3000RM2U, but there seems to many other choices that look better?   Why is so special about the SUA3000RM2U unit?

-RW

Rich,

I am glad to help demystify choosing a UPS.  Essentially your IT tech is recommending a 3kva line interactive UPS. The SUA3000RM2U (302b) is very popular unit, but has some drawbacks. 

1. The SUA unit does NOT offer extended runtimes.  If you want more than 15mins of backup time in the future, this unit is not for you.  You will need to upgrade to the SUA3000RMXL3U (313b) to have this feature.
2. The SUA is over $500, but the older 3U version SU3000RM3U (303) is about $100 less and offers more runtime.
3. The SUA does not include a Network management card.  You'll need to spend another $75 for your IT tech to control the unit.   Consider the Liebert 3000va 2U (lp312) unit which has the network card included.  Look at my blog for a good in depth comparison.

Sincerely,

Bob

ReBlog... APC's Currents Magazine

APC's quasi monthly Newsletter, Currents,  is out and had some interesting tidbits to talk about

• TV Protection
• Realistic Small Server Room Cooling Techniques

TV Protection.

While not a focus for GreenlightUPS, many of customers have requested protection for their high end TVs and Audio systems.  We still recommend a Panel Mount surge suppression system as a first line of defense.  APC has launched its J Type Power Conditioners to protect, backup, and filter this type of equipment.  While the J-Type is indeed a good looking unit, there is nothing wrong with using  less expensive Smart UPS 1000va unit (100b) for your digital AV equipment.

As mentioned in Electronic House Magazine, UPSes work best for Media Servers, Streaming Boxes,  DVRs, Satellite & Cable Boxes, DLP Screens, and Projectors.  Dont use them on Amps as the demands for peak audio wattage could be viewed as a surge and clamped.

Small Server Room Cooling Approaches

All the major makers of UPS units, have large Cooling divisions in their companies.  I tend to find the whole Cool and Hot row religion a bit idealistic to implement in a growing business, but many people eat that shit up.  APC however, reminds us that the first priority is not Cooling, but heat removal.   

Simply put, put a fan at the top of the closet that draws heat out.  Then put a grille lower, to let the cool air in.

Random Part of the Month XI - EPW9

Like other Random Parts of the Month, here is another stupid part from APC.... a $1200 switch... the EPO InfraStruXure Box.

The EPW9 is an emergency power off push button that turns off the UPS in the event of a problem.   APC explains...


APC’s Emergency Power Off (EPO) System consists of one or more wall-mounted, push-button EPO
boxes. Each EPO box provides a single point of equipment shutdown for up to eight APC InfraStruXure
devices and one third-party device (such as an upstream breaker), using Normally Open (NO) contact
closure connections. You can cascade an EPO box with other EPO boxes to support multiple points of
equipment shutdown.

While EPO is good and required thing...Why you would pay $1200, when this mushroom plunger switch does the same thing is beyond me.  But thats why APC makes billions of dollars and I still eat ramen noodles.

G3 versus G4

I really hate APC Part Numbers... probably because my job requires me to listen to people reading their part numbers out over the phone.  If I get 1 digit of the typical 12 alphanumeric part number wrong, it can be entirely different unit....

So, I have simple 3-6 digit part numbers located on every picture.  The APC SURTD5000RMXLT3U-1TF3 is simply 593g4k.

On the APC SmartUPS Online RT Series, I added "G3" at the end of the normal part number to originally designate it as the 3rd generation.  While I later learned this was incorrect, the G3 designation stuck.    So when APC tweaked the series,  I just changed the G3 to G4.

So what was the tweek?....   The only noticeable change is that they replaced the serial RS232 com type port with a Cat5 type RS232 type port.

Also, there are some minor changes such as thermal profile and different certifications, but all in all they are functionally the same.

But for me, its a big difference (sometimes over $250) because the

• The G3 is older (before 2009)
• The G4 is newer and comes with rails ($30), the AP9619 card ($159)

Financing Options

I sometimes joke to people that we offer Net negative 10 days... meaning your payment is past due before we ship it.

But, as businesses are struggling to grow and upgrade in this new normal economy, we have been getting many more requests for financing and terms.

To be honest, I swore never to get back into offering "Terms."  When we were mostly electricians and electrical contractors, this proved disastrous.  The one advantage of a online retail business is we get paid first.

But, we have been very successful recently and haven't got stuck with any bad debts, so maybe we will consider opening up the terms and financing arms...

The first rule of Terms Club is you dont talk about Terms Club.  The second rule of Terms Club is you DO NOT talk about Terms Club

But I am violating the Rules, because I want people to know that we will consider it.  Here are the real rules

1. We will give Net n,  where n is 30days minus your D&B Paydex score.  If D&B says you pay in 30 days, you get 30days.  If you pay in 35 days, its net 25, etc.
2. We need the email address and phone number for the AP person that writes the checks.  They must answer calls and respond to messages timely.
3. Net means payment must be received by that date.  1 day over and you will NEVER get terms again.
4. There is NO warranty on units until they have been paid.