INTRODUCTION

   People who own PCs, consoles and even cars and bikes know all too well that due to its very high temperature levels (where i live they regularly surpass 40 degrees Celsius) summer is clearly the worst season for all of those things. High temperatures not only result in worse performance for most electronic devices, they are also the primary cause of electrical grid overload (which in turn result in blackouts) due to the overwhelming majority of people using fans and air conditioners to cope with them. As a matter of fact, out of the 7 local blackouts i recorded last year (of various time lengths/periods) 5 of them occurred during the summer so if you're planning on getting a new UPS for your PC and/or console this is the best time to do so. Being the leader in the UPS market APC has numerous high-end models available in the market and the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI is clearly among them.

   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.

   The BR1600SI is part of the same Back-UPS Pro line as the BR1500G-GR i reviewed a while back (review here), is available in just two capacities (1200/1600VA) and is based on the same line interactive topology (regulates voltage by increasing/decreasing utility voltage as needed prior to allowing it to pass to the protected load). Instead of using stepped approximation sinewave output waveform however the BR1600SI uses pure sinewave output waveform (AC to DC to AC conversion) which means it's ideal for use with PCs and electrical devices of all types, including very sensitive ones (SI models only - MI models feature stepped approximation sinewave). The Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI also sports a large LCD display (diagnostics/operation), IP20 certified housing, two quad columns of IEC C13 power connectors (6 are battery and surge protected while 2 are just surge protected), user replaceable and hot-swappable batteries (up to 5 years life expectancy), fast transfer times (8ms typical - 10ms maximum), RJ45 Gigabit network surge protection, RJ11 telephone line surge protection, 10A resettable circuit breaker and 2 USB charging ports (5V 3.0A / USB-C & USB-A). As for software features it packs everything demanding consumers and even professionals would like to see including automatic voltage regulation (AVR) with boost and trim support (corrects low and high voltages), user adjustable voltage sensitivity, green power saving mode, automatic self-test, audible alarms and temperature regulated battery charging (16W - ensures optimal battery charging). So, let's see if the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI has what it takes to keep all your electrical equipment safe at all times.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI gets shipped inside a colored box the front of which has the company logo, large product picture and the main product features.

Another product picture is located on the left side just over a sticker with warranty information.

On the right side we find the main product features just like at the front.

Several pictures located at the rear are used to showcase the main product features (in depth explanations are printed as well).

Two IEC C13 to C14 power cables, the ethernet to USB data cable, warranty information paper and the user manual are also placed inside the box.

THE BACK-UPS PRO BR1600SI

Measuring 368mm in length, 260mm in height and 100mm in width tne 12.1Kg heavy Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI is a medium sized tower UPS (once again APC has placed the quality control paper on the left side).

At the front we find the large LCD screen just over the menu, on/off and warning mute buttons and of course the USB-A and USB-C charging ports.

The battery compartment is located on the right side and as you can see APC has placed an sticker with detailed instructions on it.

Turning the BR1600SI around we find the RJ45 Gigabit surge protection ports, RJ11 telephone surge protection ports, ethernet data port, circuit breaker button, two IEC C13 columns (outputs) and the C14 power port (input).

Removing the plastic cover reveals the two 12V lead-acid batteries which as you can see are connected with each other.

You can always try to mod this and attach two 12V batteries together (don't recommend it though) but the sure proof solution is grabbing it from APC (Cartridge #163).

LCD SCREEN

Just like with the BR1500G-GR the LCD screen of the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI only lists basic information like battery capacity and load, incoming/outgoing voltage, electrical frequency, remaining battery time and battery load (needless to say fault codes are also indicated here).

POWERCHUTE PERSONAL

For more control over your APC UPS, you can download the PowerChute Personal software from the official product website.

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

Finally, from the help and support tab you can seek help by contacting APC and check the technical data (this time over the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI was recognized as Back-UPS RS 1600SI).

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

CONCLUSION

   Before i continue with my conclusion i have to address a question some of you have send my way lately in regards to surge energy rating. Unfortunately, even i until a couple of years thought that a good UPS was more than sufficient, not only as a battery backup but also as a surge protector and clearly i was wrong (to an extend anyways). Take for example the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI which I’m testing today and which is clearly a rather expensive unit. So, according to its technical specifications sheet this unit delivers a surge energy rating of 509 joules (in the brochure it says 557 which isn't far off - even 509 is a lot higher than most UPS models out there) which is not a high enough number to protect your devices, not if they get "hit" with a surge of let's say 1000 joules. This is why APC has dedicated surge protectors with surge energy ratings that even surpass 3000 joules. Now I’ve been using UPS devices for well over 15 years (testing them for roughly 10 years) and i never had any issues with surges, still that doesn't mean someone else will not and even though UPS manufacturers state that surge protection is a secondary UPS feature i don't agree, at least not when it comes to expensive models (which is why i hope they will eventually place far more weight on surge protection). With that out of the way the BR1600SI passed all my tests with flying colors during the almost 2 months I ended up using/testing it. I was actually surprised because out of the box it worked even better with my test rigs compared to the higher-end SMT1500IC unit (never had to change the level of sensitivity for example). Size is also important and even though this is by no means a small UPS model it’s still smaller than similar high-end units by both the competition and even APC themselves. As for battery life well, it doesn’t do quite as well as the SMT1500IC but it still takes second place. My sole concern with the Back-UPS Pro BR1600IC is that it lacks active cooling and again even though something like that makes it ideal for use even in your bedroom (0 dBA – no electrical noise either) it’s clearly not meant for hot places so always keep that in mind.

   The Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI by APC may not be available in the USA (a similar 1500VA model is available however) but it’s widely available in the EU for 526Euros (Amazon.de) a price tag which is just a tad more than what I was expecting. Still, I have no complaints from the BR1600SI since it delivers on everything that matters, it’s quite compact in size, battery life is very good, transfer time is all but excellent and it’s completely silent. Yes, the lack of active cooling could be an issue during the summer (if you place it in a hot place that is) but that aside everything else is more that sufficient for the Back-UPS Pro BR1600SI to receive the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Battery Life
- 8 IEC Plugs (6 Battery Powered)
- 1600VA/960W
- Zero Noise
- LCD Display
- PowerChute Personal Edition
- List of Features
- RJ45 & RJ11 Surge Protection
- Ethernet, Serial & USB Connectivity
- USB A & C Charging Ports
- 3 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Passive Cooling
- USA Availability