CyberPower CP1500PFCRM2U UPS Review

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All Image Credit: CyberPower

For almost a decade my CyberPower OR700LCDRM1U has been in continual use 24/7 protecting first my BENQ W10000 projector and latterly my JVC RS640 projector. So I decided that as I was on my fourth battery replacement and that it seemed to be struggling to support my JVC during the latest power outage, it was time to replace it.

Rather than try to determine if it actually had an issue and mess with any type of repair (not cost effective) or play around with even more batteries I decided that after ten years of faithful operation it was time to replace it. Especially with new projector bulb assemblies costing $500!

The OR700 is a simulated sine wave (pulse width modulated (PWM)) UPS and I have never been a fan of that style of power generation as they are often not compatible with equipment that uses active Power Factor Correction (PFC) to support their power supplies and they tend to generate electrical noise when in operation.

What is Active Power Factor Correction?

Many modern power supplies use power factor correction to improve power efficiency, thereby reducing heat and running costs. These types of power supplies are sensitive to the type of waveform that drives them and are designed to work correctly with a pure sine wave source as found in residential and commercial buildings AC power. Supplying devices like computers and some home theater equipment with simulated sine wave power or PWM sine wave power, can cause damage to the devices power supply and/or cause the UPS to shut down.

Selection

So looking to the future, a pure sine wave output UPS it was to be, with a fast transfer between AC and battery to ensure that the bulb, electronics and its fans remained operational during loss and return of AC power. I also required some degree of surge protection, it had to be line active with automatic voltage regulation (AVR) in order to correct moderate line voltage changes without the UPS switching to battery use and it had to be totally silent when not on battery power.

My JVC projector has a maximum power draw of less than 400 watts and with CyberPower recommending that their UPS’s are not continually run at more than 80% of their rated wattage, this left me looking for a sine wave UPS with at least a 500 watt capacity. For my installation it needed to be rack mount, no more than 2RU high, no deeper than 12″ and it must be totally silent when not on line. I therefore chose the line active, AVR rated, CP1500PFCRM2U to give plenty of spare capacity (1000 watts) with a run time of 14 minutes at 400 watts and a transfer time of approximately 4ms. It is only 10.5″ deep, rack mountable (2RU) and the (quiet) fan is only active when the UPS is on line. The batteries are also front mounted so are easy to access for replacement without having to remove the UPS from the rack.

NOTE: There are several lower cost CyberPower options if you can use mini-towers. Beware of UPS fans that run all the time if it is within your HT room!

CP1500PFCRM2U Overview

“PFC Sinewave UPS systems from CyberPower, designed with line interactive topology, offer guaranteed power protection for individual work areas, home networking hardware and devices, entertainment electronics, department servers, networking and telecommunications hardware, and equipment (including high-end audio/visual equipment) requiring Active PFC power source compatibility. They provide sine wave output and correct minor power fluctuations without switching to battery, thereby extending battery life. Features include a multifunction LCD panel, Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), energy-saving GreenPower UPS™ design, data line protection, and management software to easily control and monitor your UPS.

The CP1500PFCRM2U is a PFC Sine wave rack mount UPS that provides battery backup (using sine wave output), surge protection, and EMI/RFI filtration for security systems, audio/visual equipment and networking equipment requiring active PFC power source compatibility.

The CP1500PFCRM2U features Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), which corrects minor power fluctuations without switching to battery power, and a multifunction control panel with a color LCD to quickly confirm status and alerts at-a-glance. Remote management and/or monitoring is available with optional purchase of a Remote Network Management Card or Cloud Monitoring Card. At only 10.5 inches in depth, the CP1500PFCRM2U fits comfortably in short-depth rack installations where space is at a premium.

The CP1500PFCRM2U comes with a three-year warranty (including coverage of batteries) and a $500,000 Connected Equipment Guarantee.

Product Features

• Battery Backup: Supplies power long enough for equipment to properly shut down when utility power fails. Minimizes the component stress caused by a hard shutdown.
• Surge Protection: Diverts excess voltage away from sensitive electronic equipment during an AC power surge or power spike to prevent damage.
• Sine Wave Output: Generates energy that is identical to, or cleaner than the utility company’s power grid. Benefits include low total harmonic distortion, minimal electrical noise, and optimal line clarity.
• Short Depth Rackmount: Fits comfortably in racks as small as 14 inches in depth, which is ideal for situations where space is at a premium.
• EMI/RFI Noise Filter: Maintains clean power for connected equipment by filtering out electromagnetic and radio frequency interference to improve picture and sound quality.
• Multifunction LCD Panel with Color Display: Displays immediate, detailed information on the UPS battery and power conditions. The color display quickly alerts users to potential problems before they can affect critical equipment and cause downtime.
• Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR): Conserves battery life by increasing the AC power and maintaining a safe voltage level without switching to battery mode.
• Data Line Protection: Prevents power surges that travel through Ethernet lines from causing damage to electronics.
• Widely Spaced Outlet(s): Accommodates transformer-sized plugs without blocking other outlets.
• Line Interactive Topology: Exists when a line interactive UPS has an autotransformer that regulates low voltages (e.g., brownouts) and over voltages (e.g., spikes) without having to switch to battery.
• ENERGY STAR: This model is an ENERGY STAR® certified Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system. ENERGY STAR is the trusted, government-backed symbol for energy-efficient products and practices that help save money and protect the environment.
• GreenPower UPS™ Bypass Design: A patented design that allows utility power to bypass the UPS transformer, when AC power is stable, which reduces energy consumption, noise, and heat buildup.
• Ultra Quiet Design: Minimizes noise during operation for a quieter work environment. Fan only operates when the UPS is on battery
• PowerPanel® Business Software: Provides IT professionals with tools for monitoring and managing the UPS and backup power. This software offers remote management functionality. Free software download available here.
• Three-Year Warranty: CyberPower will repair or replace a defective UPS system (including batteries) within three years of the purchase date. See warranty for details.
• Connected Equipment Guarantee: CyberPower will repair or replace properly connected equipment if it is damaged by a power surge.”

Basic Technical Specifications

• Capacity: 1500VA / 1000W
• Output Power factor: 0.7
• Topology: Line Interactive
• Waveform AC or DC Battery: Sine Wave
• Output on Battery: 120VAC ± 5%, 60Hz ± 1%
• Runtime (half/full load): 10.2 minutes / 3.1 minutes
• Transfer Time: Approx. 4mS
• Under/Over-Voltage Correction: +11%
• Surge Suppression (Joules): 1500J
• Plug type & cord: NEMA 5-15P, 6 ft. cord
• Outlets: 8 surge + battery backup
• Outlet types: 8 × NEMA 5-15R
• Communication: USB, SNMP
• Data line protection: Network
• Remote management: Yes, with optional RMCARD205
• Physical Dimensions – (WxHxD): 17×3.4×10.5 in

In Operation

I shall not go into the technical differences and operation of sine wave and none sine wave UPS’s as that was covered in this post.

Installation was a breeze. It came with rack ears attached so I simply swapped out my OR700 (1RU) for the CP1500 (2RU) moving items in my rack to create a 2RU space. After attaching the AC power input chord and projector AC power chord, turning it on showed that the batteries were 100% charged, but as per CyberPower’s recommendation I left it overnight to allow the battery to be fully charged.

LCD Screen & Controls

LCD Functions

Powering up the projector showed a power draw of 270 watts (low brightness) and 350 watts (high brightness) on the UPS LCD display, well within its 1000 watt capacity. After turning off the power to the UPS the projector continued to function normally with no significant glitches occurring to the projected image. The UPS now showing a run time of 25 minutes. The internal UPS fan was heard to spin up but was very low noise and in no way objectionable, while the UPS only emitted a very low level electrical hum as it generated the AC power.

Leaving the UPS active for 5 minutes with no ill-effects I applied power back to the UPS. It immediately switched to main AC power with no significant glitches occurring with the projected image.

The UPS LCD display shows the current status and health of the UPS and its batteries and is also used to configure various operational parameters. None of which are normally required to be altered by most users. They include:

• Utility Quality – The range of voltage that is allowed before the UPS switches to battery operation
• High Transfer Voltage – The maximum voltage that can be allowed before battery operation
• Low Transfer voltage – The lowest voltage that can be allowed before battery operation
• Sensitivity – How often the UPS will switch to battery mode
• Low Battery Warning – sets minimum battery run time before alarm sounds
• Battery Self Test – Tests battery condition
• LCD Test – Checks all LCD display functions
• Event Reset – Clears the count of UPS battery operations
• Default – Resets all parameters back to their factory defaults
• Return

Access to the different display modes and configurations are by using the three buttons to the RHS of the display. The most commonly used displays would be; input voltage, output voltage, runtime, load VA/wattage and battery capacity, all selected using the display button. Should the audible alarm be triggered it can be silenced by holding the mute button for more than 2 seconds. For those requiring local management using the USB, LAN or RS232 connections the free Power Panel Business 4 software is avilable for Windows, MAC, Linux and virtual machines. Remote management is avilable by purchasing the optional RMCARD205 plug in card. Again for most residential users Power Panel is not required unless you want a more detailed report and GUI of the UPS status and any errors.

A successful test so I can now relax when watching movies knowing that my projector is well cared for.

MSRP: US $379.95

RELIABILITY CONCERNS: Generally speaking CyberPower UPS’s seem to have a good reputation for reliability. However, it should be noted that my original OR700 became very “choosy” about the condition of the batteries after ten years, my original PR750LCDRM1U failed after 4 years and my replacement PR750LCDRM1U failed while in warranty after 4 months. CyberPower customer service did quickly initially replace the batteries and then the UPS under warranty, covering all shipping costs. Please keep all your packaging just in case you have to return any UPS.

In my system all this UPS hardware is conservatively rated, has its batteries replaced every three years and has only been active three or four times in last ten years when my HT was in use. When active it was only under load for several minutes while I turn off all my HT equipment. Both UPS’s are activated several times a year when the HT is not in use and therefore ONLY support a few watts of the devices standby power for up to typically an hour. If the house power is out for more than one hour I turn both UPS’s off until the power returns. None of this is very demanding for a well designed UPS or the batteries.

I just hope that the new CP1500PFCRM2U and the replacement PR750LCDRM1U last another ten years. If they do not you will see a post!!

For more information on CyberPower visit their website.

For more information on the range of CyberPower PFC Sinewave UPS systems visit their web site.

Cyber Power UPS’s are available at lower prices at the Amazon CyberPower Store and through various CyberPower authorized sellers.

Related Posts:

• Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) – An Introduction
• CyberPower PR750LCDRM1U – UPS Review