Buying a UPS battery backup

Ecological issues around computing. This is an experimental forum.

Moderators: Ralf Hutter, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
arknet
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:19 am

Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by arknet » Sat Jun 13, 2020 3:40 am

Does anyone use a UPS been looking at getting an APC. But not sure if they are power hungry to leave on all the time. Any advice?

CA_Steve
Moderator
Posts: 7650
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Jun 13, 2020 7:29 am

UPS' have an Energy Star spec as of Aug. 2012. It boils down to requiring ~97% efficiency. So, look for the energy Star label if you are a US consumer. I have a couple of the APC Back-UPS from several years ago. Upside is they are fanless. It looks like the new models got rid of what was an awesome feature - master/slave switching. I have my PC in the master outlet and secondary peripherals (like my external audio amp) in the slave outlet, so it turns on/off with the PC sleeping/waking up.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by Abula » Sat Jun 13, 2020 8:08 am

I have had very good exprience with 4x CyberPower Intelligent LCD CP1500AVRLCD Uninterrupted Power Supply, APC is also a very good brand, only own one but been great also.

arknet
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:19 am

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by arknet » Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:11 pm

Thinking of getting the APC Back-UPS Pro 550. Didn't realise they were quite that efficient. :D

BillyBuerger
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 857
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2002 1:49 pm
Location: Somerset, WI - USA
Contact:

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by BillyBuerger » Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:10 am

This is anecdotal but I haven't had good luck with the cheaper APC units like the Back-UPS Pro 1500VA. We had a couple of these around the offices to keep some important PCs running in case of power outages. We had more issues with the UPS than with the power. I feel like one of them would randomly reboot the PC and I think another just died. Not the battery but the system itself. We have a couple of the larger rack-mount APC units and those have been running great for many years. We also have an old Smart-UPS 2200 that has probably been in service for 15 years now and is still rock solid.

I've been very happy with my CyberPower that I run at home. I used to have it on my PC but I've found that mostly unnecessary so it's protecting my server and internet equipment which is more important in the case of any power issues.

Olle P
Posts: 711
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:03 am
Location: Sweden

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by Olle P » Wed Jun 17, 2020 12:21 am

BillyBuerger wrote:
Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:10 am
... I haven't had good luck with the cheaper...
... one of them would randomly reboot the PC and I think another just died.
There are a couple of factors to consider:
1. What's the output waveform from the UPS?
Many UPS deliver a saw-tooth instead of pure sine. That's good for efficiency and production cost, but some PSUs can't handle it well.

2. How does the UPS operate?
There are two main types of operation:
a) (Most common.) While the main power is okay it's delivered straight to the output, after some filtering.
The batteries are kept charged, but not used to feed the output until needed.
When the UPS switch from mains to battery operation there's some disturbance on the output that must be handled by the PSU.
b) Mains feed the batteries, battery power always feed the output. Less efficient and more expensive, but also most stable output. Also need more cooling.

My own experience with UPS (from work, since I don't need it at home) is that most/all have noisy cooling fans running constantly...

arknet
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 4:19 am

Re: Buying a UPS battery backup

Post by arknet » Thu Jun 18, 2020 11:56 am

Thanks for the advice, will probably purchase online so the fan noise which is a concern as it will be under my desk will be guess work. Not sure what is considered to be quiet. Most of the ones I have been looking at say they have mains filtering built in.

Post Reply