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