INTRODUCTION

   Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) may have been around for decades in homes, offices, businesses and even industrial complexes but strangely enough noone seems to pay any serious attention to them. Now i do see consumers ask for reviews all the time but that being said i never seem to see any so i decided to reach out to all the leading UPS manufacturers out there to see if i can at least provide some insight into which models are the best ones. I did do a quick "review" of a rackmount unit by Cyberpower a long time ago but it wasn't really detailed so i'll be doing my best to provide more measurements from this point and on. So today I'm testing two of the most popular mid-range models where i live, the BX1400U-GR by APC (Schneider Electric) and the Keor SP 1500VA by Legrand.

   As a global specialist in energy management and automation with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Non-residential & Residential Buildings, Industries & Machines Manufacturers, Utilities & Infrastructure and Data Centres & Networks. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company's 170,000 employees achieved revenues of 30 billion US dollars in 2014, through an active commitment to help individuals and organisations make the most of their energy.

   Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Legrand’s purpose is to improve life by transforming spaces where people live, work and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative and sustainable. Every day, some 39,000 Legrand employees work hard to enhance electrical and digital building infrastructures and help develop connected buildings around the world.

   Both the APC BX1400U-GR and the Legrand Keor SP 1500VA are line-interactive models primarily aimed for home and office use which basically means that instead of pure sinewave these produce simulated (or modified) sinewave. Of course even though simulated sinewave produces a less stable output waveform compared to pure sinewave (which results in less electrical efficiency and performance) during a power failure it's more than enough for everyday use at home and/or at the office (for more sensitive equipment things of course change) and certainly a lot better than not having your devices connected to a UPS at all. So it really goes without saying that if you plan on using a UPS with very expensive equipment and you can afford a pure/real sinewave model you should go with that instead. With that detail out of the way in terms of features the APC BX1400U-GR has a maximum output capacity of 1400VA/700W (2x12V 7AH batteries), operating temperature of up to 40 degrees Celsius and offers a total of 4 schuko plugs, two RJ11 connectors (for modem/fax protection), USB host port (PC connection) and 2 activity LEDs (red/green). On the other hand, the Legrand Keor SP does have a maximum output capacity of 1500VA/900W (2x12V 9AH batteries), the same operating temperature of up to 40 degrees Celsius and offers two schuko plugs, two IEC ports, 1A USB port, USB host port (PC connection) and an LED activity bar (green/orange/red). In terms of available electrical protections, the Keor SP by Legrand seems to be taking the lead (based on the official spec sheets) since it offers overload, short-circuit, discharge, overcharge and surge electrical protections (thermal protection is also present) as opposed to the short-circuit and surge protections of the BX1400U-GR by APC. Finally, both units are covered by a 2-year limited warranty inside the EU (APC also offers replacement of devices worth up to 100.000Euro if their unit fails to protect them during the warranty period).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

APC BX1400U-GR

APC ships the BX1400U-GR inside a white and green box that has a product picture at the front right over the main product features and beneath the company logo (both UPS were tested prior to getting here so their boxes are not in the best shape).

The technical specifications of the BX1400U-GR in 6 languages can be seen on both sides of the box.

Another product picture is located at the rear of the box and is used to showcase its main features (yes this box arrived quite damaged, good thing the UPS inside didn't have a scratch on it).

Along with the APC BX1400U-GR you'll also get a warranty information paper and a safety and general information paper.

The 12Kg heavy model by APC measures 336mm in length, 215mm in height and 130mm in width.

To have a better understanding about its size i placed it next to one of the UPS models i use in the office, the CP1500EPFCLCD by Cyberpower.

At the front we see the 2 activity LEDs and the on/off power button.

The enclosure is partially perforated on both sides.

Moving at the rear we find the 4 schuko plugs, circuit breaker, RJ11 connectors, USB host port, power cord and the battery connector.

By default, this connector is raised but since this unit was tested prior to getting here it was lowered.

LEGRAND KEOR SP 1500VA

A partial product picture along with the available models, company logo and a few pictures showcasing where you could use the Keor SP are all the things you'll see at the front of the box.

The technical specifications are printed on both side in 4 languages.

All available product versions along with the included selection can be seen at the rear of the box.

The Keor SP is bundled with a power cord (detachable, unlike the one of the BX1400U-GR), USB cable, warranty information paper, electrical warning paper and the user manual.

At 380mm in length, 173mm in height and 148mm in width the enclosure of the Keor SP is slightly longer yet shorter compared to that of the APC BX1400U-GR.

To see exactly what i mean i placed both the APC BX1400U-GR and the Cyberpower CP1500EPFCLCD next to the Legrand Keor SP.

Taking a look at the fascia we find the on/off power button, alarm silence button and an activity LED bar.

Turning the unit around we find an 60mm exhaust fan, 2 schuko plugs, 2 IEC plugs, 1A USB-A port, USB host port and the power port with the replaceable fuse compartment.

APC POWERCHUTE SOFTWARE

If you'd like to have more control over your APC UPS you can download the Powerchute software from their official website.

From the monitor system tab, you can check the performance of the UPS, current status, perform a self-test and check for energy savings.

Inside the configuration tab you have the ability to enable/disable notifications, send power quality information back to APC, set the UPS running time for your system, change the sensitivity of the UPS (i do recommend setting this to high if the electrical grid is not the best) and finally you can set the voltage range manually.

LEGRAND UPS COMMUNICATOR SOFTWARE

Likewise with the Legrand Keor SP you can download the UPS communicator software from their website for more control over the unit.

Unlike the Powerchute software the UPS communicator is not very new so you will need to choose which UPS model you own prior to using it.

After that you can open the monitor tab to check the current load of the UPS, the total autonomy and any detected anomalies.

Of course, this software also allows you to run a unit self-test and check the current input/output voltage data.

TESTING METHODOLOGY

    I decided to test all UPS models that make it here in real world scenarios so what better way to do that than to use one of my TV sets and one of my test rigs? So, to check battery life I’m using a 55-inch SONY 4K TV paired with the HD Dune Pro 4K II player (4K MVK playback) and the X79 test rig (while playing several game titles). Needless to say, power draw is not 100% fixed but I did measure the minimum and maximum numbers during all tests which don’t exceed 10W for the first and 20W for the latter (so do keep this in mind).

    To simulate real power outages, I will be turning the corresponding power switch in the lab a total of 5 times (5 for each test), 3 of which I will pushing it back on immediately and 2 which I will allow a couple of minutes to pass. If any of the UPS models I test fail to protect the connected equipment (or fail to keep it running) I will be sure to mention it at the end of the review.

    As for noise levels I’ll be using the ExTech HD600 decibel meter placed 5cm away from each UPS model (i will not however be recording beeping sounds coming from their internal speakers).

TEST RESULTS

As you can all clearly tell I added more UPS models in the charts, namely the Cyberpower units I have in the lab and the AEG and BlueWalker models I used to use in the lab. Needless to say, to be completely fair I used brand new batteries on both Cyberpower units and the AEG and BlueWalker units since their batteries were at least 3 years old.

CONCLUSION

   I’ve been using both the APC BX1400U-GR and the Legrand Keor SP 1500VA for almost a month now with no problems at all during my tests. The APC unit did fail to perform 1 out of the 5 self-tests I ran during that time but since the returned error was nothing to worry about (inability to run self-test at this time) it doesn’t really matter. As for performance it’s clear as day that both units perform roughly the same in terms of battery life but when it comes to noise levels the active (60mm fan) of the Legrand Keor SP is clearly a lot noisier when the unit runs on battery power (most UPS models in these charts are passively cooled and just produce a buzzing noise when running on battery power). When it comes to available connectors, I honestly prefer the 4 schuko ones of the APC model over the 2 schuko and 2 IEC ones of the Legrand model primarily because you need to have IEC power cables in order to use them (and those are not available for most devices). Now if would like to see a USB port with the APC unit as well so I do hope this happens in upcoming models. Electrical protections however also matter and here’s where the Legrand Keor SP takes the lead and even though I didn’t notice any difference in performance these 3+ weeks the specifications sheets clearly place it in front of the APC unit.

   Currently the BX1400U-GR by APC retails for roughly USD180 inside the USA and for 159.90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) whereas the Keor SP 1500VA by Legrand seems to be currently for sale inside the EU for just 92.42Euros (Amazon.de – unless the price is wrong). At the end of the day both models are very good at what they are designed to do but even though APC is clearly the better name in this specific industry the Legrand Keor SP doesn’t just cost almost 45% less but it offers almost the same set of features and produces the same performance which is why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Performance
- 4 Schuko Plugs (BX1400U-GR)
- Low Noise Levels (BX1400U-GR)
- 1500VA/900W (Keor SP)
- 1A USB Charging Port (Keor SP)
- 3 Color LED Bar (Keor SP)
- Electrical Protections (Keor SP)
- Price (Keor SP)

CONS

- Availability
- Noise Levels (Keor SP)
- Electrical Protections? (BX1400-GR)