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AG AC ReGenerator FAQ

Description

Power Inspired’s AG series of AC ReGenerator are designed to provide a high quality, low impedance, AC source for sensitive applications without the noise typically associated with similar technologies.

The AG series comes in two flavours, the AG500 with 500W capacity and the AG1500 with a 1500W capacity. The input voltage can be anything from as low as 120V to as high as 275V. The AG series will always provide a very high quality 230V 50Hz pure sine wave power waveform.

In addition to complete power conditioning, the AG series AC ReGenerators can provide Uninterrupted Power supplied via battery power. The AG500 contains internal batteries and can also have additional battery packs added. The AG1500 contains no internal batteries and requires at least one additional battery cabinet to function as a UPS System.

UPDATE:

There have been a number of operational changes on the AG1500 AC ReGenerator. Active on all systems shipped from Dec 1st 2012, these are:

  1. The unit buzzer only sounds in the event of a fault or low battery alarm. It no longer sounds on power on.
  2. The check battery flashing LED has been disabled as common use is not to have a battery connected.
  3. The BYP LED is not illuminated as the bypass has been disabled.

AC Regenerator – FAQ

Why does the AG500 have internal batteries but the AG1500 does not?
It is all to do with size and weight. Batteries are heavy and relatively large. If the AG1500 were to contain internal batteries it would have to be around twice it’s current size and would weigh in the region of 30Kg. We believe this is just too heavy for a single box.

Does the AG1500 have to have a battery pack?
Actually no it does not. It will generate a warning however which will result in the “battery” LED flashing, but will not stop operation of the unit.

What runtime do I get with each battery pack?

# Packs AG500 AG1500
Full Load Half Load Full Load Half Load
0 10 30 0 0
1 30 1hr 22 12 26
2 1hr 22 2hrs 26 50
3 2hrs 2hrs 44 50 1hr 49
4 2hrs 44 3hrs 25 1hr 49 2hrs 25

Runtime in minutes unless stated
Runtimes are calculated and may vary due to temperature, load and battery ageing

Can I add as many battery packs as I want?
Technically yes, but recharge time increases and there will become a point where recharge time is nonsensical. We suggest no more than 4 packs.

Are the battery packs the same for the AG500 & AG1500?
No they are not and you must ensure that you use the correct battery pack or damage could result. The AG500 requires a 36V battery string and the AG1500 requires a 96V battery string.

Is my load protected from power problems at all times?
Yes it is, unlike UPS systems the bypass in the AG Series is disabled by default. This means that only inverter power is ever used to power the load.

Does having the bypass disabled cause any disadvantages?
In the event of a fault with the AC ReGenerator or an overload, the unit cannot revert to bypass operation and therefore will drop power to the load.

Isn’t the AG series just a UPS with quiet fans?
Absolutely not. Although technology wise it is sensibly built upon tried and tested online double conversion UPS technology, we have made several key changes to the design in order to minimse audible noise. Not only through careful selection of fans but also removing electrostriction and magnetostriction effects.

How quiet is the AG Series?
Apart from alarms, the only noise is the fans. On the AG500 this is a whisper quiet 15dBA and on the AG1500 / AG500PWM variable speed, noise is between 10dBA and 25dBA.

Is the fan speed adjustable?
On the AG500 no, the fan speed is fixed. On the AG1500, the base IEC output model is fixed, but on the country specific outlet versions a POT adjustment has been provided to change the fan speed (and hence audible noise) from minimum to maximum. The AG1500 and AG500P have adjustable fan speeds. The standard AG500 does not but this will be phased out during 2015.

Does reducing the fan speed have any consequences?
Yes of course, cooling performance is reduced. However, the reason it is available is that if you operate the unit at low power for much of the time and only need the odd burst of peak power it is quite reasonable to operate the unit at lowest fan speed. If you require constant higher power then the fan speed should be at maximum.

What if I set fan speed to minimum and run at full load?
Nothing for several minutes, but the internal components will start to heat up. If this gets to an unacceptable level the UPS will alarm and remove power from the load until the system has cooled down. It will then start up automagically again.

My AG unit is working normally but I keep getting a beep every few minutes, why?
The AG series has reverse polarity detection and this indicates that the Live and Neutral are reversed. This is common with Schuko outlets where the plug can be reversed. Simply invert the plug in your wall socket.

The AG1500 sometimes beeps and resets – why is this?
The AG1500 will detect out of tolerance AC events, and switch to battery mode, If no batteries are connected the AG1500 will switch off, even if the mains power returns to normal, since the AG1500 will revert to battery operation and requires at least 10 seconds of stable power before reverting to normal operation. This is a problem with the utility supply and adding a battery pack to the AG1500 will solve this.

What are the dimensions of the AG500 & AG1500?
Both units (and any attached battery) are of the same physical size.

AG Dimension Detail

 

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