UPS in your home

[speedog]

Just curious how many people are running one or UPS's in their home?

We've got to CyberPower 1000VA UPS's in our home - one has the TV and other A/C gear in the area connected to it, the other has our main desktop computer, monitor and TELUS modem connected to it. Both are there as protection more than anything as extended power outages of even anything more then a blip haven't been seen in our home for quite a few years.

[ExtraSlow]

Not running anything more than a quality surge protector. Have made it this far in life without needing one, and like you, never have actual outages anymore. Has the electrical grid gotten that much more reliable? I remember as a kid getting outages all the time, although that was a different location.

[taemo]

have 2 UPS in our home, one for my NAS in the basement and the other one for my main PC.
considering that these are running 24/7, it reduce the chance for any hardware failure.

[spikerS]

I am seriously considering getting one as backup, but honestly, our grid has gotten way more reliable over the years...I personally haven't experienced more than a 10 second outage in years...

[The_Penguin]

I have 2, one runs the servers/router/cable modem and VOIP in the basement the other keeps my desktop PC running. Anything more than 5 minutes of no power results in a graceful shutdown of servers/router desktop.

[ZenOps]

Two. One APC for main system and one Cyberpower for accessories.

Both have Trim/boost for voltage fluctuations, which trips maybe twice a year.

Laser printer not hooked up, as you shouldn't hookup a laser printer to a UPS.

[eblend]

Got a couple, one for the server downstairs, and another smaller one for the network rack. Mainly for power fluctuation control, running 22 spinning disks, I want to make sure they get clean power.

[rage2]

All my network gear (including wifi) and TV gear (TV, receivers, gaming systems, DVRs) are all UPS'd across the house. We don't get many outages these days, last one was probably 2 years ago, but it's nice that when it does happen my shit doesn't go down.

[Swank]

One for the main PC, probably have a couple of little power blips a year, I should probably set it up to do graceful shut down in the event of extended power loss.

[Xtrema]

Rule of thumb for me is that if there is over $3K of hardware attached to it (or networking involved), there is going to be UPS involved.

I have lost too many shit to brownouts in the past. As NDP screws with the grid, I expect brownouts will be back from lack of investments.


Also, when you buy UPS now, make sure you can get by with the cheaper AVR UPS. A lot of new PC, especially high end power supply required PFC UPS.

Also surge protectors ages and lose effectiveness over time and eventually become just a power bar. Having a UPS instead does give you some active warning when you have a power issue where surge protector (especially cheap ones) will only tell you after the fact when your electronics is already fried.

[speedog]

Most do not know what brownouts are and how bad they can potentially be - surge bars do nothing for brownouts.

[schocker]

I have one for my desktop PC/Nas/Networking and have a second for when I move the networking stuff into the basement. My area gets blips once and a while so I just wanted to be safe.

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
Most do not know what brownouts are and how bad they can potentially be - surge bars do nothing for brownouts.
This. Downtown power is probably the worse in the city for brownouts, so every major storm we'd have desktop power supplies fail. A lot of consumer grade UPS's aren't that great for brownouts either though.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by rage2

This. Downtown power is probably the worse in the city for brownouts, so every major storm we'd have desktop power supplies fail. A lot of consumer grade UPS's aren't that great for brownouts either though.

Rather lose a $300 UPS than a $3000 TV or PC.

[rage2]

What I mean was those UPSs don't react to a brownout fast enough. You'll get a bit of low voltage, and when it switches its not smooth and often throws a small power spike. The cheap APCs are notorious for this.

[revelations]

My home office laser printer triggers the office UPS every time it prints.

No issues after 4 years and its a cheaper APC model :dunno: (sample group of 1)

[ExtraSlow]

OK, I`ll ask this over here, since it seems to fit better than in my `cheapo desktop` thread.

I`m not actually concerned with being able to operate during a power outage, but I want `clean`power so my shit stops breaking. What am I looking for:confused: :confused:

power conditioner:confused: :confused:

[revelations]

Youll want a UPS device that protects against brownouts and hard shutdowns for PCs. Everything else is just window dressing.

Around the 130$ gets you something reasonable - although I am more particular to (more expensive) APC devices as they seem to last longer (might have something to do with their batteries arriving disconnected from the factory).

edit - having said all this, with all the smart and expensive PCB devices around our homes now (fridges, thermostats, furnaces) a home might be good with a Class II whole house surge suppressor in addition. The last summers' storms was a good wake up call and I picked up a Eaton unit - about 150$ for the parts but it involves adding 2 more CBs onto to the main panel.

[Mitsu3000gt]

PC & related hardware is on a Cyberpower pure sine wave UPS, but that's it.

The other area you might want a UPS is if you have a projector - if power dies, the fan can't cool it, and the super hot bulb can cause damage.

[ExtraSlow]

So what's a guy need to know? Pure sine wave important?

[killramos]

After I lost my tv to a seeming power supply issue last summer I had a whole home suppressor put in, just in case that's what caused the issue. Cost about as much as a single unit to put in behind the new tv.

Can't comment on if it actually works. But it's still there and hasn't sacrificed itself yet.

Mines a Siemens unit.

Also can't comment on UPS's and I have never used them. Just plain old surge protectors wherever my equipment is. No broken computers or failed hard drives etc. Even when I lived on the 60% uptime Nova Scotia power grid.

:dunno:

[revelations]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
So what's a guy need to know? Pure sine wave important?

PSW is a good thing as its easier on the connected equipment rather than a square wave.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
So what's a guy need to know? Pure sine wave important?

Some CPUs require it, and it's generally better for attached equipment. Only applies during a battery backup event though, not during normal operation.

[legendboy]

Got have an APC1200 on my nas and a panel mount Tripp Lite 350 for my Hitron router

My wife hates the APC. It was in my crawl space for the longest time with dead batteries. One time she was down there and knocked it over on her big toe and broke it :D