Question of intended usage for APC Smart UPS XL 1000 KVA w/ battery pack

[Anonymous user]

Greetings!

Client wants to use this model at a remote site to power a 300 VA I.T. server, the site is under generator power during the day while manned, and at night the site is unmanned and the generator must be shut off for about 10-14 hours.

Client is hoping the UPS can supply the load during this time, while generator is off. The following day, the operator arrives, starts the generator, and the the UPS starts the charging cycle for the next 10-14 hours.

I calculated the Amp.hours and there is enough capacity in the UPS to support the load during this time, however I have two concerns:

1. Are these batteries designed to cycle almost fully every day? How long will they last under this scenario?

2. Will the batteries fully charge the next day while the UPS is powered by the generator, and supplying the load at the same time?

Please let me know, thanks!

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi Micheal, 

I can't say exactly how long the batteries would last but this is not really the intended use for a UPS. UPS batteries are generally lead acid or VLRA which tend to degrade with use, there is lithium-ion UPSs but they are more expensive.

The really issue you'd have is that in general UPSs will only charge their batteries by about 10% of their capacity (not the same for all), so with a 1kva UPS it will only charge by 100va an hour which would be fine with just the internal batteries but you would need about 8-9 battery packs daisy changed to your UPS for the run time your looking for and there is no way that it would be able to charge them all that fast.

-Gavan