Keeping your computer in business
Dear PropellerHeads: We recently moved to a rural area and have been struck by frequent power outages. Can you provide some pointers on what UPS to get for my computer?
A: What an interesting and well-informed question. Most homeowners wouldn't think to have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) protecting their computer. If you're like me and your computer is basically your life, you probably will want one. Kudos to you sir!
A UPS for a home user is a bit of a luxury. But in cases like yours where the power is unreliable, having one makes a whole lot of sense. Manage your expectations though. A UPS isn't going to let you to play Call of Duty for days on end. A UPS is nothing more than a glorified battery and as we all know from our cell phones; batteries don't last nearly as long as we think they should.
The first thing you'll want to consider is surge rating. This is how much of a surge the UPS can absorb before it fails. Naturally, the higher this rating the better, so don't skimp here. Get something with at least 400 joules of protection, but 700 joules of protection is preferred.
The next metric in the surge protection category is the clamping let-through voltage. This indicates how well the UPS will hold its ground. Ha! Get it? Ground! Oh never mind. It indicates at what voltage the protector will pass electricity to ground. With this, the lower the rating the better. Anything under 400 volts should be fine.
Just how fast does that UPS need to kick in to be truly called uninterruptible? The response time you are looking for is 10 nanoseconds or less. In 10 nanoseconds light travels about only 10 feet. Think about that for a moment. It boggles the imagination.
The capacity essentially tells you how much you can safely plug into the UPS. Its unit of measure is the volt amp (VA) and it will vary greatly between all the different models you are looking for. The UPS manufacturer web sites have the best calculators to determine your needs. A decent rule of thumb is to have 500 VA per computer system you want to protect. However, if you start plugging in external hard drives, modems, and routers, you should bump this up.
As mentioned earlier, a UPS is a glorified battery and batteries have a limited time that they will function. Therefore, get a UPS with as long of a run time as possible. Ensure you know if the UPS you are interested in has that run time rating at full or half load. If at half load, cut their time in half to start comparing apples to apples. Unsurprisingly, the less you plug into your UPS, the longer the battery will last.
What duration you need is really a function of what you expect from your UPS. If it is just allowing you to shut down your computer safely, you only need about ten minutes. However, in your particular case you might look into something that will last an hour or two.
Naturally, the number of outlets the UPS has is important, but more important than the number is the spacing between the outlets, especially if you have a lot of those large, annoying, brick-style AC adaptors you need to plug in. Will somebody answer why they make those? Please! Those things need space and not all UPSs come properly equipped.
A good UPS will protect your electrical, dial-up or DSL modem and cable modem connections as well. A better UPS will supply both powered electrical receptacles for your computer and surge-only receptacles for your peripherals like your printer so those won't kill your battery as quickly. The best UPS will also come with software that will turn off your computer when its battery gets low and you are not around to do it yourself. In your case, you might want to seriously getting that feature.
When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to [email protected] or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.