Discharge time by the Load Bar Graph

[Anonymous user]

I am so sure I have read this somewhere but for the life of me I cannot find out where, so I apologize if this is a documented question and if someone would point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.

I have an APC Smart UPS 1400 that is fronting the primary network components and the two systems my wife and I use daily. We work at home at times and the 1400 allows us to be able to ride-through the power failures which are regrettably fairly common here where we live.

I have a NAS that is currently NOT on the UPS and I wish to make it so. The ride-through time we have now seems more than adequate to close everything down comfortably, also we have VoIP and FIOS, this latter has its own UPS and with the 1400 and the FIOS we are able to maintain regular home phone operation for some time when the lights go out on our block and the internet does not.

I am wondering if I can estimate the ride-through time we shall get from the Load Bar Graph LEDs on the front panel if I place the NAS on the 1400. Does anyone know if this can be done or do I need to attempt the old arithmetical thing? It would be very nice to just be able to look at the bar graph when everything is cranking away and get a rough estimate of the time we will have when all goes dark. Currently with all cranking away I have 33% of the UPS capacity according to the leds, the bottom two are glowing.

Thanks,

Lawrence

[voidstar_apc · Accepted solution]

>
I am wondering if I can estimate the ride-through time we shall get from the Load Bar Graph LEDs on the front panel if I place the NAS on the 1400.
>

It's not straightforward. Runtime is a non-linear function of load, battery health, state of charge, and individual battery differences. APC's product pages show expected runtime vs load charts for our UPSes assuming a brand new battery, however I can't seem to see one for the 1400.

Fortunately the UPS estimates the expected runtime internally. You can stick the NAS on the UPS and then access this information using the free [PowerChute Business Edition Single Node Agent|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=125] or (my personal very biased favorite) the [Network Management Card|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=98].

In addition, our new line of SmartUPS' (model numbers start with SMX or SMT) have an LCD display that shows the runtime.

For additional accuracy, you can use any of these solution to perform a runtime calibration test. Don't do this more than once a month because each calibration discharge as with any discharge lowers the lifespan of the battery.