How to choose an uninterruptible power supply

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS or UPS) not only help protect important documents from a sudden power outage, but also indirectly act as a stabilizer.

Content

1. How to choose an uninterruptible power supply for the computer
   
2. Type of UPS
3. Power ups
4. Battery life
5. Availability of management software
6. Availability of additional sockets
   
7. Presence of indicators
8. Battery replacement capability
9. Summary

How to choose an uninterruptible power supply for the computer: characteristics that need to be considered

When choosing an uninterruptible power supply, you need to pay attention to the following characteristics:

1. Type of UPS (backup, line-interactive, online);

2. Power;

3. Battery life;

4. Availability of control software;

5. The presence of additional outlets, including telephone line and local area network;

6. Presence of indicators;

7. The ability to replace batteries.

Type of UPS

The type of UPS depends on how it will react to a voltage drop in the network - and how often the device’s battery will have to be changed. Uninterruptible power supplies are divided into:

1. Reserve;

2. Line interactive;

3. Online.

Backup UPSs, also called offline, are the simplest and cheapest. They work according to the following principle - if there is no voltage in the external network for 10 ms or its value is too low, the battery takes over. However, it lacks a stabilizer. And so the low price turns into problems that arise when voltage surges are often observed at home or in the office — the battery wears out and needs to be changed.

Line-interactive UPSs are equipped with a built-in stabilizer that equalizes the mains voltage, raising or lowering it if necessary. And if it falls too much - then switch the power to the battery. Therefore, they are great for protection or office equipment.

Online UPS are the most expensive. However, due to the fact that they constantly generate a direct current and feed them to a connected computer, they provide the most rigid voltage fixation (within plus or minus 1%) and zero response time. However, to use such expensive equipment to protect your home or office is impractical.

Choosing a UPS for power

Power means how many devices can power a UPS without a voltage drop. The higher it is, the more computers, monitors and printers can be connected to it. However, UPSs of really high power are very expensive.

Power must be calculated as follows - sum up the power of the devices that are planned to be connected to the UPS, and add to this a 20-30% "in reserve". So, in the end, for a regular home or office PC with an LCD monitor, 350-500 watts will suffice. A gaming computer with a monitor will require 500-1500 watts. But the laser printer, even 1500 watts is not enough, but it is necessary to determine - whether to use it in a blackout?

Battery life

Unfortunately, to obtain specific information about the capacity of the batteries installed in the UPS is almost impossible. But you can calculate it indirectly. The average power supply time of a computer with 200 W from a source is 5-7 minutes.

Accordingly, if the source power is 800 W, then such a computer will work from it for about 20 minutes. But this is a very rough estimate.

However, if the closing and preservation of all important documents is enough for 5-7 minutes, then you can buy a UPS with a capacity that is equal to or slightly exceeds the power of the computer. If this time is not enough, the power of the UPS should significantly exceed the capacity of the computer.

Availability of management software

Many UPS models come complete with special data protection software. It not only allows you to analyze the status of the source, but also starts the automatic saving of files in open applications, if the electricity is turned off for a long time. This will further protect the information from loss.

Therefore, the presence of control software is an important advantage of the UPS over other models.

Availability of additional sockets

The UPS can be used to power not only the computer, but also various peripheral devices - office equipment, multimedia, mobile electronics, etc. But, if we talk about the office, it is desirable that it also provides a local network with electric current. And many UPS models are equipped with special sockets for telephone line and Ethernet cable.

Such sockets are used not only to power, but also to stabilize the current in the network, whose drops can be caused, for example, by the formation of excess voltage in street wires during a thunderstorm.

Presence of indicators

If we are talking about a UPS with a built-in stabilizer, it is very important to receive information about the input and output voltages in real time. In addition, indicators that show the remaining battery capacity when powered by it and the need to replace it will not interfere.

Therefore it is worth buying a UPS, which is equipped with a good indicator system. For example, LCD display, in real time displaying information about the parameters of the device.

The ability to replace the battery and connect an additional battery

Replacing the battery is cheaper than buying a new UPS. Therefore, if you plan a long-term use of the device, you should purchase a model that supports self-replacement of batteries.

In addition, many UPS models support scaling by connecting new batteries. Such devices are recommended for creating backup power in offices.

Summary

Choosing a UPS for a home or small office, should be guided by the principle of "reasonable sufficiency". The source must support the work of the required number of devices for a period of time that is sufficient to store important documents.

The best solution would be to buy a linear-interactive or online UPS, since a stabilizer is already built into it, so that the device will be able to independently level the voltage in the network.

If the voltage in the network is usually constant, and the disconnection is extremely rare, there will be enough backup (offline) UPS.

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Attention! This material is the subjective opinion of the authors of the project and is not a guide to purchase.