On-line UPS review, Powerman Online 1000

In the Powerman product range, the On-Line UPS series is presented in two types, the usual "Online" with batteries installed in the case and "Online Plus", which do not have built-in batteries and are designed for long-term autonomous operation from external high-capacity batteries. Online Plus is widely used, for example, for autonomous power supply of control electronics for heating boilers. Today we will test a conventional 1000VA Online UPS, which belongs to the budget class. UPSs like these are installed to protect high-value standalone equipment such as ATMs, medical devices, and various telecommunications systems.

Today, double conversion UPSs offer the highest protection and output signal quality compared to other types of such devices, and if you want the highest level of electrical safety, but you do not need a hot replacement of batteries, no segmentation of outlets, but low cost of equipment is important, most likely you will choose something like Powerman Online 1000 for yourself.

The first impression of the Powerman Online 1000 comes before you open the factory packaging: the device is very light, only 11 kilograms. The size of the UPS is comparable with home models for personal computers: only 140x368x215 mm. Most often, this compactness is achieved by reducing the battery compartment and installing batteries without hot-swap capability - this is our case.

If the connected equipment allows short-term disconnection (average battery life is about 5 years), you can replace batteries in the UPS without any special electrical skills: disassemble the case, remove the old battery and put in a new one. Any technician in the organization can complete this process in 15-20 minutes, so as not to mix up the wires.

Powerman Online 1000 has two Euro sockets for connecting loads, power distribution units (PDUs) or simple extension cords. There is no programmed disconnection of outlets (segmentation) here, which is quite natural for an entry-level UPS.

But there is a slot for installing an SNMP card or a "dry contact" card. A USB or RS232 port is used to connect to a computer, and the manufacturer's website provides software for Windows for centralized management of the Powerman UPS fleet, which we will discuss separately.

The UPS has two lead-acid batteries with VRLA technology of our own production with a capacity of 9 Ah each. You can replace them yourself, although it is better to do this after the warranty expires.

One fan is used for cooling, which constantly blows through the inverter. Some users who buy Powerman Online 1000 for home complain about the high noise level, but it should be understood that the On-line UPS inverter runs constantly and requires cooling, this is an `` inevitable fee '' for the high quality of power supply to the load. The scope of these models is professional equipment installed in non-residential premises.

The PowerMan Online 1000 control panel is a successful combination of LCD display and LCD screen with bright white backlighting. Initially, it all looks very convenient and understandable, but when you start setting up the UPS, you understand that you still can't do without instructions.

With the LED indication of the device status, everything is clear: power supply, battery charging, bypass and overload glow in different colors so that you can see from afar in what mode the device is operating. Well, then the riddles begin.

Settings

To begin with, the UPS is switched on and off by pressing two buttons, not one. The power of the connected load is indicated by strange squares, and the battery charge level is indicated by horizontal bars. There are also numbers familiar to the look - the screen displays the voltage and frequency at the input and output, as well as the voltage and battery charge level. Why it was necessary to bring unnecessary beauty and add incomprehensible characters to the screen is not clear.

Setting up the UPS is very simple: you have access to high efficiency mode with indication of the voltage range in which it operates, bypass function and use a 50/60 Hz constant frequency generator. Frequency deviations in the electrical network are extremely rare, therefore the frequency generator is disabled by default. But the frequency stabilization mode becomes necessary if you get electricity using an autonomous generator.

The output voltage is set to 240, 230, 220 or 208 Volts, and keep in mind that voltage conversion directly affects the efficiency of any UPS, so if you have 227 Volts in your outlet, then it is better to set the output 230 Volts.

The first impression of the device is the following: yes, the manufacturer wanted to simplify it as much as possible, and it succeeded: Euro sockets, minimum settings, clear indication, but you will have to make friends with the control panel and in no case throw it away the instructions that came with the UPS.

Soft

If your organization uses centralized management of uninterruptible power supplies, download the UPSILON 2000 software from powerman.com the UPSILON 2000 software (v 5.3 ), consisting of the client and server parts. The first is installed on the system administrator's computer, the second on each PC connected to the PowerMan UPS.

Through a single window of the web interface, you can control all the company's Powerman UPS, configure automatic program termination, monitor the parameters of the mains supply and load, as well as plan the replacement of batteries or end-of-life devices.

Testing

For testing, we used the same methodology that we used in our an output voltage of 230 V was selected and the frequency generator was switched off.

PowerMan Online 1000 - the first model in our entire testing history, which turned out to be sensitive to phasing , which made us worried: during normal operation, the uninterruptible power supply emitted a short squeak once in two minutes, and Online was flashing on the screen. The instructions say that in this way the device reacts to a phase and zero mismatch, and you just need to unplug the power plug from the outlet, turn it over and insert it back, after which the UPS will work in normal mode.

The fact is that these UPSs are also recommended for use with gas boilers, whose electronics are sensitive to the phase and zero position, and can turn off the burner in case of phase mismatch. In some On-Line UPSs, this only happens when using high efficiency modes, when at the rated input voltage, the bypass circuit is operating. For server and telecommunication equipment, this moment does not matter, but sound indication will still force the UPS to be connected correctly.

First of all, we check the output sine wave using an oscilloscope, and as you can see, it is perfect. The output frequency parameters are reference 50 Hz and do not change over time. Comparing with the waveform, voltage and frequency from the outlet, we state the fact: Powerman Online 1000 provides power better than Mosenergosbyt.

Own power consumption, Wt

The second most important test is the efficiency of its own energy consumption, and here we see that ECO mode does not provide tangible benefits, but this is a typical situation for a double conversion UPS - not every, even more expensive uninterruptible power supply power supply in this test shows that ECO mode provides good energy savings.

The next test is the hysteresis of transition to accumulators at undervoltage. The UPS should switch from double conversion to standby mode as low as possible, and return back to Online when the voltage rises by at least 10 V. This will maximize the operating time of the load in low voltage conditions and extend the life of the power switch in the device circuits.

Battery transfer voltage

When the voltage drops to 110 V, Powerman Online 1000 switches to batteries, when it returns to 130 V, it returns to double conversion and battery charging.

High power tests:

• cold start with connected load 880 VA (616 W) - passed
• overload trip threshold - 1200 VA

Three tests were used to measure the battery life: a synthetic resistive load with a power of 400 W, a synthetic load of 670 W (850 VA), which is 90% of the rated power of the UPS, and a real-world load: two IBM servers X3550 with 8 virtual machines on board. The power consumption of a pair of servers constantly floated from 480 to 520 W, (490-550 VA).

Battery lifetime (minutes:seconds)

Conclusions

Powerman Online 1000 is one of the most affordable double conversion UPS on the Russian market. At such a low cost, it already competes in price with line-interactive sources, which have a fundamentally different design, and as a result - a different level of protection. Of course, you should understand that in this case you pay for a constant reference sinusoid and output frequency, plus for software that makes it easier to monitor the fleet of equipment at the enterprise.

For a relative price per minute of battery life, the PowerMan 1000 boasts very high ratios and this should be considered if you plan to power very weak but sensitive electronics such as outdoor networking equipment. access control systems or gas heating boilers.

Mikhail Degtyarev (aka LIKE OFF)
01/04/2018