Ippon Simple 650€ UPS Review

Although uninterruptible power supplies are typically associated with high-performance desktop or server equipment, in any home or office there are lower-power devices that can sometimes perform the same demanding tasks. This means a UPS with suitable characteristics is required. In the past few years, cheap solutions with offline topology were most often used, but today they have been replaced by linear interactive models with step voltage regulators. The protagonist of today’s review belongs to the latter.

⇡#Technical features, price

Ippon’s Simple range consists of only two devices – with a total power of 650 VA and 850 VA – of which we will consider the younger model. It’s designed for 360 W of active power, which should be enough for a typical office computer, not to mention mini PCs and small network gear. The only lead-acid battery with a capacity of 7 Ah is designed to operate at half rated load for 5 minutes and at maximum power consumption for only 30 seconds. Therefore, the main task of Ippon Simple 650 Euro is to ensure that consumers can be safely switched off, rather than waiting for a blackout.

The target voltage output by the UPS is equal to the standard 230V of the Russian power grid. If the input deviates significantly from this value, the stepper AVR is triggered. Among other features, the protagonist of this review has short-circuit protection and surge voltage protection.

At the time of writing, the Ippon Simple 650 Euro is available on the Russian market for just over 4,000 rubles.

⇡#Appearance, delivery package

The UPS is housed in a compact plastic housing with two European sockets for connecting the protected equipment. The input wire here is not detachable and a fuse that is not accessible from the outside prevents the consequences of a short circuit.

There is only one control on the case – the power button and the blue LED indicator. The latter is used in conjunction with a buzzer to signal events requiring attention – loss of external power supply, overload and faults. The Ippon Simple 650 Euro has no software control function and no LAN protected connector.

⇡#internal structure

According to the specifications of the Ippon Simple 650 Euro, the battery is maintenance-free but can be easily removed by unscrewing four screws.

The device’s battery and all electronics are passively cooled through narrow vents on the sides of the case. As a result, the UPS operates virtually silently, but it is recommended to at least provide it with some airflow rather than hiding it in a closet or deep alcove.

⇡#Test results

When the input voltage drops to 198V, the step AVR starts and produces a 230V output. The step-down winding is activated with an input voltage of 254 V and then converted to 211 V. Finally, input voltages of 164 V and below are considered open circuit and the consumer receives 230 V from the inverter.

The load test power is about 305W, and the transient process takes 8.6ms, which is a good result for an online interactive UPS. The waveform is almost a square wave, and the battery is discharged 36 s after turning off the external power supply.

⇡#in conclusion

Budget UPS are rarely interested in publications that have the tools to comprehensively test such equipment, although they are the least confident due to their simplified design and small effective power reserve. But for the Ippon Simple 650 Euro we can already say “checked, no mines”. Even under load close to the nominal load, the review hero was able to quickly switch to offline mode, and that’s what matters most. However, in practice we recommend leaving sufficient power to allow time to properly shut down the protected device, as the Simple 650 Euro does not have a software control and monitoring interface. For passive cooling, this can be seen as either an advantage or a disadvantage of the device, depending on the operating conditions.