Powerful UPS with AVR/Casing, PSU and Cooling

⇡#Specs, price

The Smart Power Pro II line is represented by devices with a total power of 1200, 1600 and 2200 V ·A or active power of 720, 960 and 1200 W, respectively. The key function of these UPSs is a stepped AVR, which, according to the passport data, turns on when the voltage in the network drops below 192 V or exceeds 242 V. In addition, Smart Power Pro II protects consumers (as well as the local network or telephone line) from impulse surges and electromagnetic interference.

A cold start, i.e. starting on batteries without external power supply, is possible. The batteries themselves are designed for a capacity of 7 or 9 Ah, depending on the power of the device. The offline waveform is a modified sine wave.

Each Smart Power Pro II model is equipped with Euro domestic sockets (Schuko CEE 7), as indicated by the word Euro in the title, or IEC 320 C13 sockets. At the same time, Euroversions are slightly more expensive than analogues. So, 1200 UPS VA during the period of work on the overhaul were available in the amount of 12.5 or 13.2 thousand rubles. respectively, and the best ones for 2200 V ·A – 17.8 or 18 thousand rubles.

⇡#Appearance, delivery set

The UPSs of this series are assembled in black plastic cases with a spartan design. The front panel has an indicator display with a bright blue backlight, which shows all the main parameters of the device: input and output voltage, power supply mode (direct, via AVR or standalone), load value (unfortunately, in fractional terms, not watts) and battery power. The transition to the state of AVR, battery charge or overload is accompanied by a loud beep, which can only be turned off from a computer using proprietary software.

The only mechanical control is the power button. There are also two USB Type-A charging ports with a voltage of 5V and a current of 1.8A (the high-speed charging protocols envisaged by the new USB specifications are not supported).

Smart Power Pro II products marked with Euro have Euro plugs and the others have compact IEC 320 C13 connectors. In the first case there are only four outputs for connecting the load and the power cable is not removable. Euro models also feature a reusable fuse rated at 10 or 15A at the input, depending on rating.

UPSs with C13 connectors have a pair of additional bypass outputs protected against surges and EMI and a detachable input cable. The same bypass is provided for RJ-45 connectors in all modifications of Smart Power Pro II. The primary means of communicating with a computer is a USB Type B port, but models with C13 sockets also have an added RS-232 port.

It is important that 1200 V devices ·And they make do with passive cooling and the only source of very quiet sound is the voltage regulator transformer. The interiors of the more serious models for 1600 and 2200 V ·A blows a loud 60mm exhaust fan which instantly kicks into AVR mode.

The UPS with C13 connectors includes two of these load cables, an input cable and a USB cable. There is no software disc in the box, you will need to download it from Ippon’s website.

⇡#Internal organization

Smart Power Pro II 2200 is easy to disassemble for maintenance or repairs: just remove five screws from the bottom and the upper part of the casing is completely removed together with the control panel.

The entire power section of the UPS electronics is on a single printed circuit board. To cool the inverter transistors there are huge aluminum blanks, devoid of additional fins. The electrolytic capacitors for the Smart Power Pro II 2200 are made by AiSHi, a solid second tier manufacturer.

The UPS is equipped with two 12V lead-acid batteries with a nominal capacity of 9Ah, connected in series.

There are no complaints about switching the socket block. With the aid of a varistor and a capacitor X, the outputs are protected against overvoltage and electromagnetic interference.

⇡#Software

To configure and control the parameters of the Ippon Smart Power Pro II series UPS, the Ippon WinPower utility is used, the capabilities of which we have already detailed. In addition to Windows, the software is compatible with a wide range of other operating systems: Linux, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP-UX, FreeBSD and macOS. However, it is not necessary to use WinPower to control the basic functions of the device. The UPS supports the USB Smart Battery standard, thanks to which the operating system itself detects an additional battery, allows you to monitor the charge level and perform a number of automated actions, such as shutdown, user notification, etc. And most importantly , using WinPower, you can turn off the loud beep, which makes the UPS offline, but for this the program must be constantly running.

⇡#Test methodology

We used a power supply load stand with a power supply connected to it via a UPS Chieftec Polaris 850W to create a clearly dosed load on the UPS. The FNEX TDGC2-2K LATR was used to measure the operating parameters of the AVR and the voltages at which the switch to battery power occurs, while the Aktakom ASK-3106 USB oscilloscope was used to measure the shape of the output signal wave.

⇡#Test results

Since the UPS Smart Power Pro II 2200 is equipped with a stepped AVR, the deviation of the input voltage within certain limits is compensated without switching to battery power. In our tests, the lower threshold of the AVR was 194V, and the upper one – 242V. The output voltage under such conditions is 230 and 205V, respectively. Accordingly, both the regulation range and the applied coefficients ( 1.18 for an increase and 0.85 for a decrease) quite accurately correspond to the passport data of the device.

The minimum voltage in the network at which the battery is activated is 162V and the output voltage in offline mode is 215V. We have not reached the upper threshold for the transition to autonomous power supply due to the LATR limitation (250V) .

In terms of waveform, the UPS outputs nearly a square wave with no load, but a rough approximation of a sine wave appears under a load of a few hundred watts. Note: the fluctuations in the increase and decrease of the signal are caused by the capacitance of the oscilloscope probe we use.

Waveform without load

High load waveform

⇡#hits

The key feature of the Ippon Smart Power Pro II 2200 is its solid power according to SOHO and home appliance standards – 2200V·A or 1200 watts. Together with the high capacity of the battery, it provides the autonomy necessary for a correct shutdown, even if a powerful PC or gaming workstation is connected to the UPS. And thanks to the Smart Battery standard, this process is easy to automate. We also note that the products of this series do not have any eco mode, which means that they continue to work even under very low load, for example from home network equipment.

Thanks to the AVR function, the device automatically adjusts the output voltage when the voltage in the outlet drops below 194V or exceeds 242V. The declared step adjustment factors are quite consistent with the actual parameters. The waveform is an approximate sine wave acceptable for modern switching power supplies.

All representatives of the Smart Power Pro II line are available in cases with Euro sockets (models marked with Euro) or compact IEC 320 C13 connectors. The latter option is more advanced, as it has a detachable power cord, a pair of additional bypass output connectors and an RS-232 port. At the same time, we note that all modifications are more powerful than 1200V·E (720W) require active cooling and as a result are loud in AVR mode.