A couple of questions about the ES550 and electricity usage

[dhsien_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/21/2007

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How much extra electricity does it take to use the ES550 or would it be just solely the devices that are plugged into it?(i.e. if I had a TV plugged into the ES550 would it just be what the TV would normally be plugged into the wall or would it be the TV plus an extra load)
Does the unit stop drawing energy as soon as the battery is charged or is it constantly drawing electricity?

[EZ_Button_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/22/2007

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The amount of power the unit draws on it's own w/ no load is minimal. The charger is only 3 watts in this unit, I wouldn't rate the unit at more than 7-10 watts max. That may even be pushing it. The load (i.e. TV, computer) is essentially the majority of power consumtion.

[Sgt._Slaughter_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/22/2007

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Hello,

The BackUPS ES 550 will draw, on its own with nothing plugged in, a max of 3 Watts to charge the battery and run internal components. Once the battery reaches about 90-93% of a full charge, that wattage will drop. This is minimal draw, but it will be continuous with no load to keep the internal components of the UPS online.
If a load is attached, the UPS will draw whatever necessary to power the load, plus the 3 Watts max to charge the battery and keep the unit online.

Hope this helps. Thanks.

[KVM4Life_apc]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/22/2007

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Hi,

I think that the battery charger draws less than 10 watts, and there are other components in the unit, like the relay switch, that probably use less than 10 watts as well. I would say, to be safe, the unit by itself, meaning plugged in, charging, and with no equipment, you're probably looking at a power draw of no more than 20-25 watts.

The unit itself can support a total of 330 watts worth of load. The VA rating is 550, but the actual wattage that you can plug into the unit is 330.

If anyone else has anything to add please do so.

[KVAr_apc · Accepted solution]

This was originally posted on APC forums on 8/23/2007

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The idle consumption on the simpler UPSs are only a few watts as others have said. Line-interactive types are however, a lot more power hungry. We've measured a Smart-UPS 1400 and found that unit to draw 20W after it's completely charged up.