UPS Question - 750VA?
 

Hi all. I'm just a bit confused about UPS ratings. For example, what would 750 VA mean exactly? Thanks!

simple answer:
750 watts
v * A = W

more info:

VA Versus Watts
An important distinction must be made between power (Watts) and VA. Power is a measure of work, and it is quite possible (common, actually) to have a situation where there is voltage and current, but little or no work. The product of voltage and current is Volts * Amps, or VA, and there is commonly a wide variance between VA and Watts

http://sound.westhost.com/power-supplies.htm#VA-vs-W

That's a bit much of an answer, I more simple answer is VA is Volt-Amps or Volts times Amps so if take the VA and divide it by either volts or amps you'll get the other value so for example take 750/120 (120 is voltage) you have 6.25 amps available to you. Depending on how fast you use the amps (or watts if you do it that way) determines how long the battery will last. Basically larger VA means the battery will run for longer amount of time. Alot of manufacturers will give time estimates but it depends on what you plug into it. But like flat5's post says, it does get more complicated because you start going into electrical theory where voltage and current are out of phase and yes the electric companies don't like buildings with only motors or fluorescent lights. In fact they will penalize you if you run a building like that without correcting the phase relation.

Thanks guys for the answers!