The Eaton 5SC500 UPS is part of the company’s 5SC line of smaller tower form factor UPS. While small is relative with tech gear, the 5SC500 can fit on a desk or under it making a good backup for smaller gear such as notebook/PCs and NAS, or a specific use case pointed out by Eaton is for Kiosks that have cash and ticket machines. Best of all, the 5SC500 is designed to be quiet as it works so there is no loud disruptive fan noise in the background of calls or while employees try to work.
The Eaton 5SC500 UPS is part of the company’s 5SC line of smaller tower form factor UPS. While small is relative with tech gear, the 5SC500 can fit on a desk or under it making a good backup for smaller gear such as notebook/PCs and NAS, or a specific use case pointed out by Eaton is for Kiosks that have cash and ticket machines. Best of all, the 5SC500 is designed to be quiet as it works so there is no loud disruptive fan noise in the background of calls or while employees try to work.
This little UPS can work with Eaton Intelligent Power Manger (IPM) for those that really need to have up to date monitoring or automated shutdown. The nice things about the Eaton 5SC500 UPS is that there is no real need to have advanced management either. One can just plug in their device and know that they will have stable and reliable power in the case of an outage. Equipment can be fickle and not love signal variations. The 5SC series provides a high-quality output signal in battery mode (with pure sine output) and can correct a wide range of input voltage variations through continuous regulation, even when not using the battery.
The Eaton 5SC500 UPS comes with a 2-year warranty (can be extended to 5) and retails for $305.
Eaton 5SC500 UPS Specifications
| Battery | Sealed, lead-acid |
| Battery Management | ABM technology (3-stage charging extends battery service life by 50% and provides advance warning for battery replacement) |
| Electrical Output | |
| Receptacle | 4 x 5-15R |
| Output Nominal Voltage | 100/110/120V |
| VA Rating | 500 VA |
| Wattage | 350 W |
| Topology | Line-interactive |
| Electrical Input | |
| Input Connection | 5-15P |
| Input Nominal Voltage | 120V |
| Input Cord Length | 6ft |
| Input Voltage Range | 96-144 Vac |
| Input Frequency Range | 45-55 Hz (50 Hz system), 55-65 Hz (60 Hz system) |
| Communications | |
| Communication | RS-232 (RJ45) port; USB port as standard (HID). 6-foot RS-232 and USB cables included |
| Software Compatibility | Eaton Intelligent Power Manager |
| Environmental | |
| Noise Level | <40 dB at 1 meter |
| Temperature Range | 0° to 40°C (32° to 104°F) |
| Relative Humidity | 0-95% non-condensing |
| Dimensions | 8.2 x 5.9 x 9.4 in |
| Weight | 15.2lb |
Design and Build
The Eaton 5SC500 UPS is a tower UPS a littler larger than the average NAS. The device has a black metal coating with ventilation on all sides except the back. The front of the UPS has an LCD interface as well as a power button, LCD scroll button (up or down), and an alarm silence button. If a user needs to swap out the battery, they will do so through the front.
The rear of the device has four output receptacles as well a USB port and an RS-232 port. No fan on this guy, as users need this to be quiet.
Eaton 5SC500 UPS Usability
The Eaton 5SC500 UPS is super easy to use. In our case we used it as a backup for our live streams and podcasts (that you should really subscribe to, link at the bottom). The UPS is quiet so our guests don’t have to talk louder. If there is a blip (around here there are plenty) we can continue to record without a hitch. Also, we keep it under our table for our recordings as it is small enough to stay out of the way.
When it is time for a battery replacement, pop the front off, unplug the old battery, and slide the new one in. It isn’t hot-swappable, so power it down first and make sure the equipment that is normally hooked up is backed up elsewhere or off and not being used at the time.
Conclusion
Power loss on any device can be bad. While it can be extreme detrimental on servers and storage arrays, having one’s PC or small NAS go out mid workflow is no picnic either. While there are lots of UPS options out there, who wants a big, loud, and heavy block on their desk? Eaton comes to the rescue with its 5SC line, in particular we looked at the Eaton 5SC500 UPS. This little tower form factor guy fits under a desk and is very quiet. It keeps our live stream gear going and can be used for many different use cases, the most interesting being a kiosk that needs battery power for cash or ticket machines.
For about $300, users can rest assured that their work won’t be interrupted by an outage (sorry, Eaton can’t do much about your coworkers). The UPS is quiet too, allowing for few distractions as well as the ability to record audio and video without a hitch.
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