UPS APC 3000 - lighting, roller shutters and surveillance connection

After thinking about the matter and listening to your opinions, I have come to the conclusion that there is no point in plugging in the whole installation. Therefore, looking at the installation, I would like to plug in the house lighting, roller shutter control and monitoring. I would like to install a 3000VA UPS, preferably APC, as I have heard that the rest are some kind of pretend UPS. Is such a solution worth using anymore. I would connect additional battery packs to the UPS to extend the back-up time. I'm just wondering how long the UPS will charge them because I can't find anything out from the manufacturer's website.

What is the best choice for this APC 3000VA model? Because I see that there are different types of them.

The charging time will be the same after increasing the capacity of the batteries.
In the software, you have so-called visibility of the number of batteries connected.
If you increase the number of batteries and adjust this in the software, the charging current will be
charging current will be higher and it will take longer to discharge the battery before it reaches the critical
critical level.

So you still need a communication card to set this up in the APC. I would like to start with 4 additional battery modules. I would then like the APC to be able to work with a 3000 W Honda genset. Will the genset be able to handle this if I have more battery modules? The UPS itself is rated at 2100W.

I don't know if it will work with a genset? More likely with one that gives full sine wave. The UPS itself, on the other hand, gives full sine wave. I have never connected a UPS to a genset.

Added after 2 [minutes]:

For the APC I had the software on the board plus a cable for COMA .

Let me join the discussion. The idea to use a UPS is OK but some thought should be given to the choice of solution.

1. UPS power - you write 3000VA - are you sure about this? It's not worth overpaying for unused power, but you can't choose too small a UPS either. It is assumed that the load of the UPS should be at 70 - 80% of its nominal power.

2. Back-up time. Here too you need to approach this sensibly. Investing in large batteries is expensive. Remember that they have to be replaced every 4 years or so as they age, so there will be another cost. If you want to use a genset, it is better to use a UPS with a shorter back-up time (with fewer batteries) and in the event of a power failure the genset will start sooner.

3. Battery charging time. It is not true that connecting additional battery packs does not increase battery charging time. The charger on the UPS has limited capabilities. Connecting one pack probably has no effect on the charging time, but if there are several packs, the charging time will increase.

4. Configuring the UPS - entering the number of batteries connected to the UPS. You don't need a communication card for this, APC provides a simple configuration program. You don't write whether you want to buy a new UPS or maybe some used ones. The latest APC UPSs have nice displays and the whole configuration can be done from the UPS panel.

5. Cooperation with a genset. It is assumed that the genset should have a power of about 20 to 40% more than the UPS connected to it. But the bigger problem is the quality of the voltage generated by the genset. If it is not "clean" (sinusoidal distortion, frequency float, generally a high level of harmonics), the UPS will not accept this voltage and will not switch to power from the genset, but will continue to operate from the batteries until they are exhausted.
Generally small, cheap gensets have problems with the quality of the voltage generated and UPSs are reluctant to work with them. You may have a problem connecting a UPS to this genset. Of the APC family, the SURT (older) and SRT (current) series UPSs work best with gensets. It would be worth doing some testing to see if your chosen UPS will work with the genset before buying the equipment.

1. The maximum power I will need is 1500W for about 1 minute (closing or opening blinds). I prefer to buy a slightly more powerful one as if I were to run out later.

2. I want to maintain an average of 200-300W from 10-12 hours. It assumes that I will need 1-2 battery modules.

3. As for the charging time, I called APC twice and got two contradictory pieces of information, one claiming that 2 packs won't change the charging time the other claiming that they will but only one time longer. And it's hard to deduce anything from that. My calculations suggest that the total charging time should be a maximum of 10 hours.

4. It's good information that you don't have to buy anything extra. I am considering an APC Smart-UPS RT 3000VA SURTD3000XLI or SURT3000XL. I don't know what the difference between them really is? It seems to me that for this solution an online UPS will be a better solution?
I want to buy something used to start with. Battery packs can always be used for another model even a new one.

5. My genset is only 3500VA and 3000W it's a Honda they write that they do well with UPS so it should fit right in I also intend to buy the UPS first and see if it will work and then the battery modules (the modules themselves and I prefer to buy the batteries myself then I know what I have and when I put them in).

Well yes but the SRT series only has from 5000VA and that's already too much for me and certainly changing the genset right away comes out.

The UPS selection is OK. There are also SURT2000XLI available but I don't recommend these. The SURT3000 - 6000 series is very cool. The SURTD3000XLI is a junior edition of the SURT3000XLI. The main difference is a different serial port and a different transmission protocol. Both of these UPSs have a built-in management terminal. Once connected via RS, you can change the configuration, including the number of batteries connected.
I am sure that the charging time will increase as the number of batteries increases. I will try to find a paper on this.

Since you have a genset it might not be worth installing batteries for 10 - 12 hours. What's the point? A longer power outage then you fire up the genset and you're done.
Maybe instead of buying a UPS "blindly" you could borrow one for a test run, see if it works with your genset.

On the page in the UPS manuli and on the battery, I do not write anything about the charging time and even less about the current that is charged. And this is quite such important information.

I need such a time because recently it happened that I barely left for work from 5 a.m. and the electricity was turned off, I came back after 10 hours. The electricity was out for 19 hours but I turned the generator on when I got back. Wife and child with closed blinds and no light, it's a bit difficult to function. The genset weighs 40kg, so my wife simply can't pull it out. And winter is approaching and it's impossible to spend 2/3 of the day outside with a small child anymore.

When I manage to find someone I'll try to do it that way and see if it cooperates. I see that the hardest thing to get is battery pacs either there are big prices for second hand ones or I call and they tell the company they have disposed of it because they say it's probably not worth anything :/

In practice, I will see if this solution passes the test.
I am currently considering what batteries to buy for the UPS and battery pack. So far I have bad memories of the battery in the two UPS I had Yuasa and in each after 3,5 and 4 years the battery flew and the temperature inside was about 24 degrees so all normal. Yuasa are expensive batteries so I disregard it for bad memories. From the opinions of people it seems that CSB as they write so last 5 or 8 years but such CSB is the price of 90zł. I'm also considering Europower for 70zl or LEAFTRON LTX with a life span of 6-9 years for 65zl. Or maybe it is better to buy MW Power or Talvico for 35zł and replace them in 3 years.
Can anyone share their thoughts on batteries for UPS?

I was convinced that the genset has autostart, if not then there is indeed a problem.
But if power is only needed for a short while (opening blinds...etc) then you can use the Cold Start function - almost every UPS has it - it consists in that you can start the UPS without voltage on the mains. You start it up, open the shutters and whatever else you want to do and the UPS shuts down.
Regarding batteries. Of the ones you've mentioned, I recommend CSB, Yuasa and Europower are OK too. Forget about the others. All of these batteries have a lifespan of 3-5 years, which is unlikely to be exceeded, although there are cases of them living longer - a lot depends on the temperature at which they work, but also on the characteristics of the charger in the UPS (voltage and charging method) and the number of deep discharge cycles.
When it comes to battery packs, there are usually no electronics in them, so maybe it is better to put a small rack and the batteries on it (then you can use larger batteries instead of putting dozens of small ones). It will be cheaper and more convenient. The SURT/D3000XLI series UPS needs 16 pcs. 12V connected in series. Maybe connect 16 pcs. 24Ah it will be almost like UPS + 2 external SURT192XLBP cabinets. And, one more note, the SURT/D3000 has a charger power between 350W and 400W.

This means the UPS and two battery modules have a maximum charging time of 12.5 hours.
Am I calculating 16x12V in series correctly - this gives 192V, which is the voltage used by the APC? Quite an unusual voltage, I thought it would be 4x12V=48V x 4 sets (16 batteries in total)

In the SURT3000 / 6000 series UPS, there are 16 batteries connected in series, which gives 192VDC and the charging voltage is 218VDC. Each additional battery pack is connected in parallel. In the SU/SUA series UPSs, the DC operating voltage is as you write: 4 x 12V=48VDC, the charger operates at 55.2 VDC.

Thanks for all the explanations on Saturday I'll be able to check if my agreagates will fit the APC Surt3000 and then I'll know something already.

I already have a SURT3000XLI without a battery. And now I have a question how to solve the connection of the batteries. Because I assume to put on 16x26Ah batteries. The UPS without batteries will not start and now I am wondering if I have to connect them to the connector inside the UPS or to the external connector of the UPS. From the external connector I see that they are bridged and connected i.e. on one plug and the other on 216VDC. Whereas on the inside I see that they are separate ie I assume each plug is 108VDC. Where is the best place to connect the batteries. Would a 16x26Ah connection be a better solution or connect like the factory each 16x5Ah inside and outside 2x each 32x5Ah?
My genset doesn't work with the SURT3000XLI because it's Chinese junk I need to look for a good Honda.

rkangur wrote:

There are also SURT2000XLI available but I do not recommend these.

Can you elaborate and share what is wrong with this model?