UPS Shut off output with 64% battery remaining

[Shadow351_apc]

Hello, I have an APC Back-UPS NS 700MC (700VA) with 1 PC, a cable modem, and wireless router plugged into it. I have the USB cable attched to the PC and the PowerChute software installed on the PC and setup to put the PC into Hibernation after 5 minutes on battery. I have it setup this way because the PC isn't necessary and I wanted the modem and wireless router to run as long as possible on battery.

Today, while I was at work, we had a power outage (11:29 AM). My sister (who lives a couple streets over from me) called me at 11:48 to ask if my power was out, so I tried to log in to my PC from work and was unable so I informed her it probably was, I then tried to check the temperature of my place (nest thermostat should have be online, but wasn't). At about 12:45 my nest still wasn't responding so I called my sister back to see if power was on yet and it wasn't, so I went home to try and get the heat back on (temperature was in the single digits) and when I got home I saw the UPS and all attached devices seemed to be off. Power came back on a little after 3:00 for a total downtime of 3:36 according to the Powerchute software on start up and the APC immediately reported it's charge as 64% remaining with an estimated battery time of 309 minutes. System Logs showed the PC entered hibernation at 11:34 as expected.

If the battery had 64% remaining, why did the UPS power down my modem and router? How do I fix it to ensure my modem and router run as long as possible?

Thanks

-Brad

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The reason the UPS powered down is because PowerChute told it to. When PowerChute commands the OS down it sends a signal to the UPS to power down. The UPS will wait 2 minutes to allow the OS to power down and then cut output to the battery outlets. When power is restored the UPS will return power to the outlets. The reason for this is to allow the computer to restart without user intervention. Within the computers BIOS there is a setting that if configured tells the system to restart when AC is restored. To accommodate this the UPS must cut AC and then restore it. 

If you do not want the Back-UPS to power down you must uninstall PowerChute. To protect the computer from power failures you should configure the power options in the control panel. See Schneider electric FAQ FA159653. Another option is to install APCUPSD and not configure Kill power.