Best APC product for low power consumption devices?

[Anonymous user]

Hi:

I'm wondering which APC UPS products from the standard or Pro line will give me the best performance (backup time) for low power draw devices (total power draw is between 10W-30W)? The product specs seem to go down to about 50W (and the website specs seem to differ from what's on the package). I'm using these to provide backup power to remotely installed wireless radios and routers. I have been using some BE550Gs and BR1000G. Also, can the BR1000G be installed so it's laying on it's side or will that be a problem for cooling, etc?

thanks.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Efficiency goes up with load percentage, so for a small load you want a small power capacity.

Back-UPS 350 may be a good choice.

http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BK350

Under "Batteries & Runtime" the Back-UPS 350 runtime curve starts over two hours with low load.

For what it's worth, I have an older 500 VA model supporting a small load and it will run for 6 hours easily with a fresh battery. It doesn't add up to much in terms of watt hours, but it lasts long enough for my purposes.