SmartUPS 2200 Not Visible to PowerChute Software

[Anonymous user]

Background:

We have a new genset and it's no load voltage is only 111 vac. Manufacturer won't do anything to correct it as it's within the 108-132 vac tolerance range they specify.

Our SmartUPS 2200 is going into AVR frequently. The relay switching is causing computers to reboot at random.

On a generator forum, I was told to download PowerChute and reprogram the thresholds for the UPS so it doesn't keep toggling AVR at the generator voltage.

I bought a special USB cable to do this, and put my Windows 7 laptop to the task. Initially, I installed PowerChute Business Edition, all three modules, but it could not find a UPS, despite Windows 7 installing drivers for a battery backup unit it found when I plugged the USB cable into the laptop.

After an hour of frustration, I rolled back the laptop to a prior restore point and downloaded PowerChute Personal Edition. I could not get through the installation because, like with the other version, even though Windows detected the UPS hardware and installed its own drivers, PowerChute did not detect a UPS.

90 minutes of online research and no successful solutions.

Failing at this, I'm planning to modify the generator so that it puts out 120 vac, as I can't seem to make this UPS happy at 111 vac.

[Anonymous user]

What is your Smart-UPS 2200's exact model number? There have been a few different models sold under that name.

If you haven't already, you could try adjusting the UPS's sensitivity setting. This requires no software to adjust. On a tower UPS model, there's a green LED and a small button (often grey in color) near the LED on the unit's back panel. The default, indicated by a dimly lit LED, is medium sensitivity. At low sensitivity, the LED turns off. And while it's supposed to be "bright" at high sensitivity, I've never found the LED to be terribly bright. In other words there isn't a whole lot of difference in the LED brightness between "medium" and "high" sensitivity.

I'm not sure if PowerChute Business Edition supports a USB connection.

In the case of an older Smart-UPS, one still using the UPSLink or "APC Smart" protocol, you could attach the UPS to a computer with a 940-0024 serial cable and use a terminal emulation program to directly program the unit. A reference to the commands that are supported and what they do is available for download. Other UPS management software (such as apcupsd) would be able to change these settings, as would the old APC PowerChute Plus software. (940-0024 cables with letter suffixes are all the same thing, they're just newer revisions.) Settings you program into the unit will be saved until (or if) they are changed again.

A newer MicroLink UPS should let you change the transfer voltage settings via its front panel LCD screen. No software should be required.

[Anonymous user]

I don't have access to the rear of the UPS, so I reached in with a mirror and flashlight and read (hopefully accurately) the sticker on the back. It says SUA2200R2X180.

I've tried both Business and Personal Editions. Neither one detected the UPS.

I also tried turning down the sensitivity. However, the relay cutover time increases to about 1/2 second and half the computers in the office rebooted when a line quality issue caused the UPS to kick in. So I set it back to normal/high sensitivity.

The problem isn't a power quality issue though. We have a clean sinewave of under 5% THD from the genset. The problem is low voltage causing the AVR Boost to keep toggling constantly.

What type of cable is a 940-0024 serial cable? It's it a straight serial cable or like a null modem crossover cable? It may be a moot point, as none of our current desktop computers have serial ports. Just USB. I have an older PC from 1998, but it issues a series of beeps when I turn it on and won't boot.

[BillP]

Mark,

When installing PowerChute Business Edition Agent is the UPS auto detected? In your original post you said that the drivers are loaded. Which drivers are loaded? You should see two American Power Conversion USB UPS under human interface devices and APC UPS under Batteries. If either are missing then they will need to be installed. If under Batteries you see HID UPS Battery you will need to switch that driver to APC UPS. We have knowledge base document FA164514 that explains how to update the driver.

BTW, Smart-UPS are not compatible with PowerChute Personal Edition. 

Since changing the sensitivity did not help you may need to change the transfer voltage along with the sensitivity. NOTE: if the systems are crashing when the UPS switches to battery output changing the sensitivity and or transfer voltage may not be enough. When there is a power failure and the UPS switches to battery the systems will still fail while the genset ramps up. You may need to swap the SUA model for an on line model Smart-UPS which does not have transfer times.  

On 7/21/2016 11:47 AM, Mark said:

What type of cable is a 940-0024 serial cable? It's it a straight serial cable or like a null modem crossover cable? It may be a moot point, as none of our current desktop computers have serial ports. Just USB. I have an older PC from 1998, but it issues a series of beeps when I turn it on and won't boot.

The cable 940-0024 is a 9 pin male to 9 pin female serial cable. It is not a null modem / straight pass through cable. Schneider Electric does not offer the pinouts for the cable but if you search the web for 940-0024 you may find them 😉 

[Anonymous user]

940-0024 is a custom wired serial cable, male on one end, female at the other. If you can get a USB to RS-232 serial adapter, that ought to work fine with the 940-0024. The UPS's USB port can't be used to adjust the unit's settings. Communication parameters for a terminal emulator are 2400 bits per second, no parity, eight bits, one stop bit and no flow control. Or you can just use one of the management programs previously noted to adjust the settings.

Once you are connected to the UPS, you can reprogram the low and high voltage transfer points to better meet your needs. (On a 110/120 volt model, the lowest allowable voltage is 97 volts AC and the highest is 136.)

These settings can also be changed with an APC Network Management Card. An AP9617 or later would work fine. Sometimes you can find these on the secondhand market.

A power outage might still cause problems with the attached load powering off. As Bill pointed out, you may need a double-conversion (or "online") UPS for satisfactory results. This isn't a problem I've ever run into with a Smart-UPS.

[Anonymous user]

What I mean by the drivers loaded is that when I plugged in the USB cable to the UPS, the Windows O/S alerts me that it has found hardware and is installing drivers. Driver install successful, HID UPS Battery, or some similar message appears in the sidebar.

An online UPS is out of the question because they are available in >5kVA sizes and:

Wear on the power components reduces reliability over other designs and the energy consumed by the electrical power inefficiency is a significant part of the life-cycle cost of the UPS. Also, the input power drawn by the large battery charger is often non-linear and can interfere with building power wiring or cause problems with standby generators.

In the Delta Conversion On-Line design, the Delta Converter acts with dual purposes. The first is to control the input power characteristics. This active front end draws power in a sinusoidal manner, minimizing harmonics reflected onto the utility. This ensures optimal conditions for utility lines and generator systems and reduces heating and system wear in the power distribution system. The second function of the Delta Converter is to charge the battery of the UPS by drawing power and converting it to the appropriate DC charging voltage.

Noise is another factor. Double-conversion units issue a loud hum from the chassis. Heat, power consumption, etc are all negative attributes.

So the cable has an unusual pinout. Thanks for explaining.

I managed to update the driver from HID UPS Battery to APC UPS and now the software install detects my UPS. However, I am stuck at Device List Configuration in the Console. I clicked on Add New and when I type in a name such as "UPS 2200" and apply, it comes back with "could not resolve address UPS 2200". I don't understand.. is the device a name or an IP address? If the latter, what is the IP address or how do I discover it?

[BillP]

Hi,

The IP address is the address of the system PowerChute is running on. You can access the PowerChute Agent web interface to make the adjustment by opening a web browser on the system the Agent is installed on and in the address field enter https://127.0.0.1:6547 The Web Agent will launch and you can adjust the UPS via the Configuration page.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Thanks for that info.

I was able to find the link that launches the web interface, but I get some error about a 'bad security certificate' so Internet Explorer refuses to open it anymore. However, the first time, I was presented two choices and I chose "ignore warning" and got to the web interface one time.

There. I found out my AVR Boost cut in voltage was 107, so I changed it to 103. Hopefully this will stop the constant relay toggling while on generator power.

BTW, is there a way to adjust UPS settings from PowerChute itself, not the web interface? I can't find anything but status monitoring in PowerChute.