You’re speccing a UPS for a rack that pulls 1 200 W at the power supply face, not 1 500 VA at some mythical 0.7 power factor. The game is real watts, not apparent power. Two double-conversion families sit on your shortlist: Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VS (three‑phase, 10–150 kW) and CyberPower UPS’s Smart App Online single‑phase line (1000–3000 VA class). On paper both are VFI, but the proportion of delivered watt to nameplate VA — and what that means for runtime, budget, and scalability — could send you in radically different directions.
1. Power Factor & Real‑Watts Proportion
The CyberPower OL1000RTXL2U is rated 1000 VA / 900 W, an output power factor (PF) of 0.9. The smallest Schneider Galaxy VS (10 kW at 208 V) also operates at a 1.0 PF design point in its class, but the key proportion is the ratio of delivered watts to the VA of the input protection. A CyberPower 1000 VA unit delivers 900 W continuous; a Schneider 10 kW unit delivers 10 000 W — but a Galaxy VS of that size requires three‑phase 208 V and a dedicated feeder, about 35 A at full load. The proportion here isn’t just the PF number: it’s the step‑change in scale. A typical single‑phase 2 U CyberPower OL2000RTXL2U (2000 VA / 1800 W) would need two units in parallel to cover a 3 kW load, while a Schneider Galaxy VS 10 kW covers it with headroom to spare. Worked consequence: if you size by real watts, the CyberPower line forces you into parallel or a larger single‑phase unit above ~2 kW, whereas the Schneider UPS three‑phase family absorbs loads from 3 kW to 150 kW in a single frame. Reversal: if your load is under 1 800 W and you have only 120 V single‑phase, the CyberPower is proportionally cheaper — you’re not paying for a three‑phase panel upgrade.
2. Efficiency & Thermal Proportion at Part Load
CyberPower’s Smart App Online line claims a GreenPower ECO Mode efficiency >95%, and the unit is ENERGY STAR certified. In double‑conversion mode (the default for critical loads), efficiency typically falls to ~88–91% depending on load. Schneider’s Galaxy VS in double‑conversion is rated up to 97% at any load level, and in eConversion mode can hit 99%. The proportion that matters: at a 30% load (common in lightly‑loaded edge racks), a 10 kW Galaxy VS would draw ~3.1 kW input for 3 kW output (97% eff), while a 1 800 W CyberPower at 30% load (~540 W output) would draw ~613 W (88% eff). The waste heat proportion is 2.3 kW for the Schneider vs. 73 W for the CyberPower — but the Schneider is handling 5.6× more real power. Worked consequence: if you compute total heat rejection per watt delivered, the Schneider Galaxy VS dissipates 0.03 W waste per watt delivered (97% eff) vs. CyberPower’s ~0.12 W per watt delivered (88% eff) — a 4× difference in cooling cost per kW of protected load. Reversal: if your total load is under 1 kW and you don’t have precision cooling, the absolute heat of ~73 W is trivial; the CyberPower ECO mode also cuts that number further.
3. Runtime Proportionality & Battery Scalability
The CyberPower OL1000RTXL2U at full load (900 W) yields ~5.9 min, at half load ~15 min, using its internal sealed lead‑acid battery. Runtime scales roughly linearly with load — cut load in half, double runtime. But the proportion of battery volume to delivered watt‑hours is fixed: the internal battery is hot‑swappable but not expandable beyond the internal bay without an external pack. The Schneider Galaxy VS, being modular, can be equipped with up to 10 battery cabinets per module; a 10 kW Galaxy VS with a standard internal battery string provides ~5 min at full load, but you can add cabinets for hours. Worked consequence: if your site requires 30 min runtime at 5 kW load, a CyberPower solution would need a battery‑pack stack that occupies 8–12 U and separate chargers; the Schneider Galaxy VS with one additional battery cabinet fits in 6 U + 3 U, with integrated charging. The proportion of battery volume per watt‑hour is roughly equal (both use VRLA or Li‑ion options), but the integration proportion favours the modular Schneider for longer runtimes. Reversal: for a desk‑side 900 W load that only needs 5 min to save files, the CyberPower’s internal battery is perfectly matched — adding an external cabinet to a Galaxy VS would be absurd over‑proportion.
4. Input Voltage Window & Correction Proportion
CyberPower’s Smart App Online operates from 100–125 V input, and in AVR mode corrects sags/swells within that range. The proportional correction is ±10% from nominal. Schneider’s Galaxy VS (three‑phase 208 V/480 V) accepts a much wider input window (−30% to +20% without battery discharge) thanks to its active IGBT rectifier. The proportion of voltage correction capability is 50% total swing on the Schneider vs. 20% on the CyberPower. Worked consequence: in a facility with weak utility (brownout to 150 V on a 208 V phase), the Schneider Galaxy VS stays in double‑conversion without draining batteries; the CyberPower would transfer to battery at ~88 V input (below its 100 V floor). That’s a 12 % difference in voltage tolerance that directly affects battery cycling. Reversal: if your mains is stable utility within ±5%, the CyberPower window is sufficient and the extra cost of the Galaxy VS’s wide‑range rectifier buys nothing.
| Dimension | CyberPower Smart App Online (example OL1000RTXL2U) | Schneider Galaxy VS (example 10 kW) |
|---|---|---|
| Real‑watts / VA | 900 W from 1000 VA (0.9 PF) | 10 000 W from 10 kVA (1.0 PF) |
| Power density (kW/U) | ~0.45 kW/U (2 U) | ~1.67 kW/U (6 U for 10 kW, illustrative) |
| Efficiency at 30% load (double‑conversion) | ~88 % (estimated from typical online mode; not published exact) | 97 % at all load levels |
| Voltage window (proportional) | 100–125 V (~±11%) | −30% to +20% of nominal |
| Runtime at half load (internal) | ~15 min at 450 W (half load) | ~5–10 min at 5 kW (half load, standard battery, illustrative) |
Rules of Thumb
- If your real‑watts load is ≤1 800 W and you have single‑phase 120 V: CyberPower Smart App Online is proportionally sensible. You avoid three‑phase cost and the base hardware is inexpensive.
- If your real‑watts load is ≥3 kW, or you plan to grow: The Schneider Galaxy VS’s power‑density proportion (1.67 kW/U) and efficiency proportion (97% at any load) will save floor space and cooling cost per watt. The wide‑voltage window also reduces battery cycles.
- If you need >30 min runtime at >2 kW: The modular battery proportion of the Galaxy VS gives you a lower total battery volume per watt‑hour than stacking multiple CyberPower external packs (each 2 U).
Topology/standards per the cited standards; all product ratings are manufacturer-stated values from the cited datasheets, current to 2026-06; derived/illustrative figures are labelled as such. This is not an independent head-to-head test. Schneider Electric is a brand affiliated with this site; competitor names are used for identification only.