UPS for home/small office
Discussion
Having moved to Philippines I now have to contend with frequent powercuts, and am thinking of getting a UPS to help allow me to shut down safely and save work.
Any recommendations on what type to get, have read various reviews and Line Interactive seem to be the favoured, but this is for a small office in my home with a max of two desktop computers, four monitors, printer and router all connected.
I'm not looking for full blown end of world disaster planning, just something to help protect the equipment, and maybe even allow me to run a small emergency led lamp for the times when the power goes out at night.
Budget would be up to max of 200 quid, but ideally a lot lower than that.
Any recommendations on what type to get, have read various reviews and Line Interactive seem to be the favoured, but this is for a small office in my home with a max of two desktop computers, four monitors, printer and router all connected.
I'm not looking for full blown end of world disaster planning, just something to help protect the equipment, and maybe even allow me to run a small emergency led lamp for the times when the power goes out at night.
Budget would be up to max of 200 quid, but ideally a lot lower than that.
I've always used APC: https://www.apc.com/uk/en/ with good results.
The APC ones are indeed good. Batteries on mine lasted six years. They were still healthy but unit was showing signs of getting warm so just taken it to the tip.
The slightly larger ones have a socket on the back for a USB lead, this plugs into the pooter, and PowerChute software lets you self test the batts, check the line volts, date of last interruption etc. It will also shut down the poot if needed. They auto-shut down many NAS boxes too.
UPS good in brown-outs which are a lot more frequent than you'd think (in Blighty).
The slightly larger ones have a socket on the back for a USB lead, this plugs into the pooter, and PowerChute software lets you self test the batts, check the line volts, date of last interruption etc. It will also shut down the poot if needed. They auto-shut down many NAS boxes too.
UPS good in brown-outs which are a lot more frequent than you'd think (in Blighty).
Markytop said:
Any recommendations on what type to get, have read various reviews and Line Interactive seem to be the favoured, but this is for a small office in my home with a max of two desktop computers, four monitors, printer and router all connected.
Something like the APC SC420 would probably be fine for your purposes, check what output you need, and consider leaving the printer on non-UPS. Replacement batteries (the only part that ever seems to fail) cost about £15 for Yuasa-brand ones, and you'll probably need a new one every 2-3 years.If you're on a tight budget, secondhand UPS, new battery. Probably less than £50.
Another APC fan here. I have an APC Smart UPS 2200.
Work out what you want to hold up and for how long, look how much power it consumes and away you go.
We used to have too frequent power cuts. Sized mine to hold up the internet router, network switch, telephone, printer and a couple of NAS units for a few hours. Can then manage what stays up depending on the length of power cut and/or shut down gracefully if necessary.
As a side benefit, the unit told me why the power had tripped, which helped identify incoming over voltage. Got in touch with the power company, they verified this with their own monitoring gear and sorted the problem (neighbour was gobsmacked I'd been able to get them out as he'd been trying for ages).
Work out what you want to hold up and for how long, look how much power it consumes and away you go.
We used to have too frequent power cuts. Sized mine to hold up the internet router, network switch, telephone, printer and a couple of NAS units for a few hours. Can then manage what stays up depending on the length of power cut and/or shut down gracefully if necessary.
As a side benefit, the unit told me why the power had tripped, which helped identify incoming over voltage. Got in touch with the power company, they verified this with their own monitoring gear and sorted the problem (neighbour was gobsmacked I'd been able to get them out as he'd been trying for ages).
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