If your home or office suffers from poor quality power or regular power cuts you may want to invest in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your computer or server.
A UPS not only acts as a battery backup – it also ensures that clean power is being supplied to your machine. When connected to your computer, the computer will start to get its power from the battery rather than the mains, the battery is then continuously trickle charged by the mains. If a power cut or under voltage occurs then the battery automatically kicks in before your computer cuts off or restarts. When the power is off for long periods of time (using software provided with the UPS) your computer is automatically and safely shutdown or put in to hibernation to prevent data loss.
Things to consider when purchasing a UPS
Enough Power
The size of a UPS is measured in Voltage Amps (VA). A good UPS will know when it’s overloaded and will either warn you or break the circuit. Obviously the higher powered UPSs come at a higher price, so you will need to work out a balance between power and price.
Run Time
One of the main considerations when buying a UPS is the battery capacity. Desktop UPSs are generally good for ten to forty five minutes of power depending on the size if the battery.
Outlets
You need to make sure the UPS comes with the right amount of outputs for the amount of equipment you wish to power. Some UPSs also come with standard three pin sockets, meaning that you can connect other devices such as routers or telephone systems.