UPS with Communication Capability

Look up Network UPS Tools, or NUT. I run it on a raspberry pi for use with my APC Smart UPS and my Tripp Lite network connected UPS. There is a Hubitat integration for NUT, although I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for reminding me!

I'm not aware of any UPSs that have these built-in. For consumer grade, USB and ethernet are the general choices. There are also a few serial port UPSs still running around, but I wouldn't buy one (USB makes much more sense).

As @a.mcdear suggests, your best bet is a NUT server running on a general purpose host. NUT runs on pretty much any unix derived system, plus Windows, Mac, etc., and if you don't already have a general purpose host, a Raspberry Pi will suffice. Once you have a NUT server, there is a NUT upsmon (client) driver for Hubitat available here:

I disagree. Your best bet is an apc smart ups with network card.

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Yeah I love my older APC Smart UPS, but it's accessible thru serial only, which was what ultimately led me to NUT. I'm going to try the Hubitat integration now actually. Something has to get me away from this silly radar thing I've been playing with all afternoon..

If there's anything else plugged into the same UPS, NUT is the way. The driver above works very well.

Full disclosure NUT is very full featured and can be intimidating to set up. The documentation is very good though.

my driver for smart ups with network cards works well via telnet and no extra servers are needed

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There is a world of difference between those approaches. An APC network card costs ~$250, and the uplift for a UPS that supports it is at least $100. A Pi is ~$50. The $300 difference matters to some, and the Pi has a lot of additional potential beyond just running NUT.

Also, my goal in monitoring the UPS from the Hubitat is to ensure a safe shutdown of the hub prior to the UPS cutting power. Even with a network card, I would still recommend using NUT (which I do) as the simple telnet approach does not provide a shutdown interlock.

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Seems like there could be a more simple solution with a low voltage disconnect on the battery terminals connected to a contact sensor with a rule to shut down.

A few problems with this come quickly to mind... First, opening the UPS, connecting wires to the battery, and having them trail outside the UPS is probably a very bad idea from a safety POV. Second, a voltage sensor won't know if the UPS is on battery or not. Third, when the UPS goes on battery there will be a significant temporary drop in measured voltage as the current ramps. Lastly, you really need to know the load level in order know remaining runtime--a tenth of a volt could be 30 seconds or 30 minutes remaining.

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You are incorrect i regularly get the network cards on ebay for around 25 dollars. And you can easily upgrade the firmware. 9631 or 9630 is.the recommended card. If you read the thread that is mentioned.

Yiu also.can get a used smt1500 for around 150 or so on ebay without batteries or 200 or so with batteries. But easier to get without as they are heavy and shipping is.less. nrw batteries non oem cost around 65 bucks.

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Yea, I guess we have very different views on the importance of a UPS. I would never use a UPS, and most especially batteries, from eBay. The prices I gave were for new units.

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i have about 10 of them from ebay scattered in 4 locations.. never an issue with an ups dieing.. just batteries every so often. no matter what betteries you get they last only 2-3 yrs.. in fact i have had better life with aftermarket batteries 1/2 of the price of the oem ones.

All of that is easy to overcome. I see very little risk in attaching leads to the battery. If that makes you uncomfortable that's probably something you shouldn't do... These batteries are low voltage. Be somewhat careful with 48v if you have a larger unit.

Lead acid batteries have a curve that helps predict runtime easier than Lifepo4 etc. I've designed Lifepo4 batteries for the aftermarket. If you test it a few times you can know where to set your cutoff.

LOL.

No, the electrical work wouldn't make me personally uncomfortable. And yes, I know how complicated a project it actually would be to do an acceptable job. And no, I would never recommend to anyone to undertake such a project except for pure entertainment value.

I'm so sorry if you were somehow personally offended. Posting that you are laughing at someone is a bit anti social. Perhaps you didn't mean it as such. We all have different comfort levels. If you are not comfortable that is OK, but lets not judge others for being creative and feeling comfortable with electronics and simple solutions. You really don't have to post if you don't like it. The thread has other solutions. We are pretty clear on your style at this point. Its ok. Its comfortable for you and it works for you. You do you.

Does your driver works with this model, or is it just for the network card versions?
https://a.co/d/huArTSY

The built-in ethernet is exclusively for use with APC/Schneider's Smart Connect on-line monitoring service. It does not work for local use. For local use (ssh/telnet/snmp), you need a network card. Unfortunate, but true.

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I took the chicken easy way out. :slight_smile:
I have a Smart UPS on the ol' serial cable.
I just ping my computer from the hub every 3 minutes, UPS is set to shutdown in 5.
If the piston ping fails that means the power is out and the computer has shutdown so I initiate a Hub shutdown via HUBInfo device.
In a perfect world the power returns, computer starts (BIOS set to boot on power) and the Hub comes back with the UPS at the same time.
Caveat: The world isn't perfect. Last time the hub died it was MS doing an uncontrolled auto update and shutdown of my PC. Hub scrammed on no Ping.

How would that ever work... if the computer is down isnt power already out?

Seems straightforward enough.

Hub and PC are powered by UPS. PC is connected to UPS with serial cable.

When power goes out and there’s 5 mins left of UPS battery, PC shuts down.

Ping from hub to PC fails, so then hub shuts down too, before the UPS battery dies.

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