APC Smart-UPS 1000VA UPS Battery Backup with Pure Sine Wave Output (SMT1000)

APC Smart-UPS SMT1000 1000VA 120V LCD UPS System I've only had the unit for one day, but I'd like to note that the fan noise problem mentioned by some reviewers is no longer present. Because of the past reviews, I thought perhaps the fan wasn't working properly since I heard absolutely nothing. I had to place my hand near the vent and feel the air flow in order to verify that the fan was indeed operating. The model I have was manufactured in April 2011, so it would seem that APC has rectified the fan noise problem. Set up was quick and easy. I gave the unit four stars mainy on the strength of my experience with four other APC units I've owned - they've all worked as advertised, so I don't anticipate any problems with this one. I hope my faith is borne out. I purchased all the other units directly from APC, but I bought this one from Amazon because it was less expensive than the price on the APC website, and I got free shipping to boot. November 23 2011 updated to five stars. The unit is still working perfectly (and silently). APC Smart-UPS SMT1000 1000VA 120V LCD UPS System

I have 5 uninterruptible power supplies, all by APC. I have two of the previous generation of SmartUPS; one is a 1500 VA and the other is a 1000 VA model. Other than the cost of battery replacements, I have been generally satisfied with APC products. The new SMT versions of these products is supposed to be a major redesign that offers: * Increased intelligence that makes management and monitoring easier * Increased efficiency that saves on utility costs * Increased control with ability to configure locally or via software and switched receptacle groups * Increased resilience with better diagnostic capabilities and improved warranty PROS OF THE NEW DESIGN: This new version is clearly very different and does appear to represent a total redesign. This is apparent from the time you plug it in for the first time, as the bright and clear blue LCD readout that APC has added lights up and guides you through installation. When you first install it you are taken through an extensive menu that allows you to tailor the UPS for your application. However, the unit is still easy to install, as you can't access most of these settings UNTIL you switch over to the advanced menu. This is a good balance, I think, between ease of use and the ability to offer features for advanced users. Good call, APC! Why is a mere display important? Well, it gives you accurate and up-to-date info regarding both incoming and outgoing power quality, the power consumption of the devices you have plugged in, how long the unit will power those devices, the efficiency of the unit, the battery state of charge, the battery replacement date -- and more. CONS OF THE NEW DESIGN: Why do I only give it four stars, instead of five? Well, in improving the unit APC decided to install a cooling fan. Though this is probably a good idea that will extend the life of the unit AND its batteries, it is not particularly quiet. I have a MacPro with the quad-core processor, an optional video card and four 1TB drives. The APC UPS is FAR louder than my computer even though it's placed further away. You do NOT want one of these sitting on or near your desk. There are a couple of obvious solutions to this problem. First, APC needs to install a better fan that will move air more quietly. Second, the device is smart and cycles the fan based on load. If I add a second unit and split my overall load between two UPS units, the load will be halved and the fan will run less often. That is an expensive and unnecessary expense, since all of my items together only take the UPS to 85% of its' rated capacity. However, the real culprit here is that the cooling fan appears to be a single-speed unit. This is a significant mistake by APC, as a variable speed fan would allow the fan to run unnoticed, at lower speeds, instead of switching on and off at a high (read: excessively noisy) setting. So, instead of charging [...] more for a unit with a proper fan, APC has produced a superb unit with one very serious design flaw. FINAL OPINION: Despite a great overall design, this unit is ONLY recommended if you can deal with the noise problem! DATA FROM THE MANUFACTURER: New Smart-UPS Models with LCD Interface: Frequently Asked Questions Summary In November 2009 new Smart-UPS models were introduced in North America. New Smart-UPS models are identified by there intuitive LCD interface (shown above). These models also have part numbers that start in the prefixes "SMX" and "SMT" and are distinguished by having an advanced feature set. What are the new part (or SKU) numbers? There are two (2) series of new Smart-UPS models; standard and extended run. The standard models start with the prefix `SMT' while the extended run models start with `SMX'. The new models in our initial release include the following: Existing >> New Model ----------------------- SUA750 >> SMT750 SUA1000 >> SMT1000 SUA1500 >> SMT1500 SUA2200 >> SMT2200 SUA3000 >> SMT3000 SUA750XL >> SMX750 SUA1000XL >> SMX1000 SU1400RMXLB3U >>SMX1500RM2UNC What are some of the key benefits of the new design over the old? There are many new features and benefits to the new Smart-UPS but the key ones to remember are: * Increased intelligence that makes management and monitoring easier * Increased efficiency that saves on utility costs * Increased control with ability to configure locally or via software and switched receptacle groups * Increased resilience with better diagnostic capabilities and improved warranty How does the `green' operating mode increase efficiency? APC's patent pending `green' mode bypass components that perform automatic voltage regulation (AVR) when not needed. AVR is typically handled in the line interactive design by solid state transformers. These transformers, while extremely reliable, do have some energy loss to remain energized. By using these transformers only when needed results in higher efficiencies across a wide range of load conditions. Do I sacrifice any protection by operating in `green' mode? Absolutely no power protection is sacrificed in `green' mode. In this mode the UPS is providing surge and noise filtering and can react to any change in power that requires voltage regulation or inverter operation in a matter of milliseconds. What is the typical energy savings with `green' mode? When compared to APC's very efficient existing line interactive models, the increase in efficiency ranges from 1-4%. For an average 1500VA UPS this may save $25-30 per year in utility costs. Where is the sensitivity switch and site wiring fault light? These features are now incorporated into the LCD front panel. If a site wiring fault is detected this message will be clearly displayed on the unit's display. Sensitivity can also be set and viewed directly through the display. How has battery management been improved in the new models? The battery management has been enhanced in several ways. First, the charging circuit has intermittent, temperature controlled charging capability that ensures that the proper amount of charge is applied to the battery at all times. With the high efficiency `green' mode the UPS runs cooler resulting in less degradation of the battery. In addition, the UPS can now proactively project a battery replacement date based on UPS's environment. How is the replace battery date determined and does it replace the bad battery LED? The battery replace date is determined by using battery manufacturer's data for typical battery life under different environmental conditions. The UPS actively monitors these conditions to dynamically project a suggested date when the battery should be replaced to maintain optimal performance. It does not replace the bad battery LED but rather augments that information. [...]

I've been running this unit for 2 years with no issues. This product should be viewed more as a commercial/pro UPS rather than a consumer level UPS. Yes it is louder than fanless models (obvious reasons), however you will probably get higher reliability and life out of this one. For example I have two APC Backup RS 1300va models that died in less than 2 years, same with two other well know consumer UPS makers... build quality is clearly different. Consumer models tend to be plastic, with less features. This model is built like a tank, all steel, far more monitoring options, just heavy duty all around. If you need a UPS that won't die on you this is the way to go.

We were having problems with our Dell Studio XPS 435 that we were powering through a BackUPS RS800 UPS. Every time the UPS would switch to battery mode (power outage or even just a glitch on the power lines) the computer would restart. Clearly the UPS was making our system less reliable rather than more! By searching various support sites we learned that the XPS 435, like many newer computers, came with a power supply that had built in power factor correction (PFC). Apparently supplies with PFC do not do well when powered by UPSs that supply stepped sine power. You need to use a UPS that has a true sinewave output for these systems. The forums suggested using APC SUA line of UPSs for this purpose. When I went to purchase a UPS (in late March of 2010) APC had discontinued the SUA750 that I wanted to purchase. This series of supplies (SMT) was listed as a replacement for the SUA series so I purchased one [larger than needed to prepare for possible future growth]. I am happy to report that our XPS 435 no longer resets when the UPS switches to battery mode and our computer is now protected from power outages. Bottom line: The SMT1000 works as expected. The SmartUPS line is more expensive than the BackUPS line of supplies but maybe they will come down now that the computer manufactures are selling systems that require a sinewave-type UPS.

There was a time when professionally I was buying APC products for under the desk or for large scale data center activities was part of my bread and butter activities. This was at company that was located in an industrial park that had almost daily brown outs and almost weekly short duration black outs. The short term black outs really made you aware of where one is missing emergency lights. :-) At that time, the market was slowly getting into "insured" power strips and other retail UPS solutions. There was some complicated concerns such as feedback harmonics and for my career status concerns that I didn't want to ever use the insurance excuse as a way out of a bad situation. I needed in this hostile competitive environment for things to solidly work or solidly fail. I have over the last several years gotten more undisciplined about my home stuff. I have fallen into the habit of "yea, I need to do it but later...". When a purchase of a system came with a mistakenly bundled poor quality power supply that blew badly popping a circuit breaker, I decided given other higher end resources it was time to re-evaluate the market and beef up my home UPS protection. I expected that APC like other vendors from the past would be suffering from some sort of company death spiral and that a new vendor would be part of my solution. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn't the outcome. For retail and small office space, APC seems to still compete well on value. For my particular application where I needed an integrated graceful shutdown solution for a file service box (not a computer but a NAS solution), I could have gone lower cost solution. Alas, I wanted to address power for other things like network elements. Quick summary thinking: * In the land of cutting costs, a UPS that generates higher quality power is important. Cheap power supplies expect what normally comes in from the power company. Crappy power causes more heat and more failures. One should get a "pure sine wave" not other things like square waves. * The SMC series was very appealing for a lower price point but I wanted "smarter" longer run time. * The SMT series running under 100% which for me is probably 30% and when I shut more things off is smarter and runs longer I suspect I could have save $$$ by searching retail stores in my area. I also ended up purchasing a higher KVA solution since I wanted it sooner and my original purchase had a much longer or unspecified delivery delay (lead time).

The first one arrived DOA. Customer Service (apparently not in the USA) seems to have no clue about this product until I was connected to a "dedicated" (aka 'knowledgeable') service rep. Troubleshooting was going nowhere because APC made me download an incompatible version of the power chute software (the included software was wrong, too). The service rep also (erroneously) insisted that only a serial cable and not the supplied USB cable will diagnose the unit. Of course; that is not true, the wrong software was the problem. How many computers still have serial ports...? After spending hours on the phone, I received a replacement unit. This one worked. But here is the problem: The unit is horribly loud with cooling fans constantly switching on/off on a repetitive schedule and not actual load. That is true even without any load connected and normal room temperature. The service rep said this behavior is "normal" (!) as the ups "tries to maintain an internal temperature of 60°F". Where does APC think I use the ups? In a meat locker? In a quite office this unit is unbearable. APC is aware of the problem but apparently unwilling to fix the faulty firmware. However, if you do use this product in a meat locker or outdoors in Antarctica and can stand the noisy fans, it may be a fine unit.

I had read a bunch of the reviews here before I purchased this item and I was a little worried about the noise from the fan. It looks like the problem has been fixed because my fan hardly makes any noise at all, even when under stress. I am used to the noise of computer fans, so it may make a little noise, but it does not bother me. I run a small computer and two NAS devices off of this backup battery and the estimated run time is over an hour. I have used it offline for 30 minutes without any problems. The set up was pretty simple once I got the hang of it, it was nice to be able to use the screen on the battery to set everything up. I have the diagnostic cable hooked in to my NAS, so I can't comment on the software that this device comes with, although I have used it before. I like APC and I usually only buy my backup batteries from them. I am thinking about buying another one of these for my other computer since it is working pretty well.

My first unit failed after 3 months, requiring a lengthy troubleshooting process with APC. THe unit detected a power failure every 10 seconds, presenting rapid clicking noises, and eventually full failure. APC eventually replaced the item, but I was required to pay to return ship the defective unit - poor customer service! Otherwise, a well-performing unit from a trusted company.

Also was a great price that makes buying it a no brainer. Worth doing your homework on what you need however.