Uninterruptable power supplies (UPS)?

Fuiosg

I've only just learned of these, basically a kind of surge protector with a battery attached to it, and I'm thinking it's probably a no brainer. My power seems to go out at random times, such as today (clear skies) and it got me thinking about blackouts/surges and the possibility for data loss. Of course cloud backup is essential, but protecting your hardware and drives isn't a bad idea.

Any recommendations from those who use them?

monster

At work everyone has one this model: APC - Back-UPS 1080VA UPS - Black

They work great. It has a little LCD screen telling you the time remaining. Power went out durring a storm, and I lasted about an hour with two 30 inch monitors. The power came back before it was out. They are pretty large, but it's laying down under a shelf.

The only thing to watch out for is that only half the plugs are battery powered. The other side is surge protection only.

Eric Chadwick

I have one for the PC at home, it's also an APC, the model's about 6 yrs old. Saved me from shutdowns a few times, well worth it.

Don't get a used one though, I hear the batteries lose their charge after 5 or more years. Though mine's a handmedown, and works fine, I only use it to shut down gracefully rather than to keep working.

throttlekitty

Highly recommended and well worth the money. Aside from not losing power, they also have better surge protection than a typical surge protector does. I lost an entire computer years ago to a surge during a winter lightning storm while I was out of town for a week. Plus the box was powered off but plugged in, not the kind of loss I ever want to repeat. I have a CyberPower LXsomethingunderandbetweentwodesks, the batteries are replaceable.

ZacD

Definitely worth it. it's annoying when one starts failing, because it will go off a lot. And like others said, they don't last forever. They do offer warrantees too, which is nice if you are worried about something expensive getting fried, but your home or renters insurance might also cover it.

Daf57

We use these on our workstations - https://www.amazon.com/APC-BE550G-Back-UPS-8-outlet-Uninterruptible/dp/B0019804U8  - they are for graceful shutdowns mostly - you can get about 10-15 minutes. Good price for that function. Batteries are replaceable.

kolayamit

I use APC BR1000G-IN 1000 VA and another APC 600VA. The 600VA for monitors and 1KVA for the CPU. Sometimes there are frequent power cuts and power spikes in my area, without UPS i don't think my computer would have survived.

westom

Fuiosg said:

 My power seems to go out at random times, such as today (clear skies) and it got me thinking about blackouts/surges and the possibility for data loss. Of course cloud backup is essential, but protecting your hardware and drives isn't a bad idea.

No UPS claims to protect hardware.  UPS provides temporary and 'dirty' power so that unsaved data can be saved (and so one need not wait for a reboot).  Blackouts are voltage dropping to zero.  Blackouts never damage properly designed electronics.  An international design standard that existed long before PCs existed.

Blackout (zero volts) is not a surge.  A surge protector does absolutely nothing until a surge well exceeds its let through voltage - typically 330 volts.  How often is your 120 volts well exceeding 330 volts?   What protects all household appliances?  That one UPS?

An adjacent protector must either 'block' or 'absorb' a surge.  How does its 2 cm protector part 'block' what three miles of sky could not?  It doesn't.  How does its hundreds of joules 'absorb' a surge that is hundreds of thousands of joules?  It doesn't.  If you ignore numbers, then they can claim anything they want.  That is completely legal.

UPS is temporary and 'dirty' power.  This UPS is so 'dirty' as to output 200 volts square waves with a spike of up to 270 volts.  Due to existing robust internal protection, this 'dirty' UPS is also ideal power for electronics.  Did others also forget to mention that?  A computer typically converts hundreds joules surges into rock stable, low voltage DC to safety power its semiconductors.  So what is that UPS protecting from?  Best protection is already inside electronics.

A UPS is only temporary and 'dirty' power so that unsaved data can be saved.  Nothing more.  Surge protection, even 100 years ago, was always done by something completely different and located at the service entrance.  With numbers that even claim to protect from direct lightning strikes. Then protection already inside every appliance is not overwhelmed.  For homeowners, that typically costs about $1 per protected appliance.  Best surge protection is also least expensive.  Even needed to protect that UPS from the other and destructive surges.