Many years ago, when I migrated to the United States, I set up home in Florida’s Brevard County. One of my first purchases was a TV. The friendly salesman at the store in Orlando recommended that I buy, of all things, lightning insurance for my new TV. Since my arrival, I was already burdened with health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance, professional liability insurance, life insurance, renter’s insurance, auto insurance, and umbrella insurance. But lightning insurance came as a total shock to me — no pun intended.
Looking at my incredulous expression, the salesman explained that power surges due to lightning strikes are very common in the area — Brevard County is known as the "Lightning Capital" of the world — and protecting my TV with a lightning insurance policy would be in my good interest. I managed to pull myself together and told him that I did not need it because I had a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). It was his turn to be incredulous.
For many years, I have lived in various places across the globe where power outages are common. Naturally, plugging a computer or any electronic gadget, for that matter, directly into the wall has never crossed my mind. But clients give me the same incredulous look as that of the TV salesman when I suggest that they buy a UPS for their computer equipment.
"I don’t remember my computer ever shutting off because of a power outage", they say. "Do I really need one"? In my opinion, everyone does. Even those who don’t live in Brevard County.
Most people notice power fluctuations only when light bulbs flicker or when there is a complete blackout. But power supply is rarely without glitches. From time to time there are surges, spikes, and brownouts — extended periods of low voltage — that people don’t even notice. For electronic equipment even such minor aberrations can be fatal. As far as computer equipment goes, disk drives are among the most susceptible to power supply problems. With a drive goes your data. Therefore, UPS can be one of the smartest investments you can make.
What does a UPS actually do? It performs four functions:
- It absorbs surges and spikes and provides uniform power to your computer equipment
- It provides backup battery power to your computer equipment for a short while in case of short blackouts
- It shuts down your computer gracefully with the help of software in case of extended blackouts
- It suppresses surges on your phone line and cable
UPSes are rated in VA (volt-amperes). A UPS rated at 1000 VA can support equipment that draws up to a combined 1000 VA of apparent power. If your computer draws a current of 6 amperes from a 120 volt outlet, it draws 6 x 120 = 720 VA of power. You probably know about the 120 volt outlet. But how do you decide how many amperes of current does your computer draw? It is tough to decide without actual measurements.
Most people I know, including myself, don’t know how to measure current drawn by a gadget. So the UPS manufacturers make our life easy by mentioning what equipment a UPS can support. The box might say, for example, that a 500VA UPS will support only a computer, a 650VA UPS will support a computer and a monitor, and so on. All you have to do is figure out what equipment you want to connect to the UPS, and match it with the details on the box. But it is often better to buy a UPS with a higher rating than recommended because the figures on the box are only approximate. The higher the rating, the better off you are.
The second parameter mentioned on the UPS’s box is the backup time. 5 minutes of backup time means that your equipment can run for 5 minutes after the power goes off. These figures are often quite optimistic and you should take them with a grain of salt. If you buy a higher rated UPS, you will automatically get longer backup time. This is another reason to go in for a higher-rated UPS.
A UPS is connected to your computer by means of a USB cable. When a blackout lasts longer than the backup time, the UPS communicates with your computer by means of software installed on your computer and shuts it down gracefully. This is one of the most important features of the UPS. And yet, I often find people not using it. They simply connect the power cable to the UPS. This is somewhat like installing an Internet Security Suite and not turning on the firewall. Don’t do it.
UPSes are sturdy beasts. The need little in the way of maintenance. Once in a while they need to be reset by pressing a button, and every few years, their battery needs to be replaced. Changing a battery is quite easy. Doing so instead of buying a new UPS saves you the trouble on installing and configuring new software. Besides, buying a battery is a lot cheaper than buying a new UPS.
By the way, there is one piece of equipment that you should NOT connect to a UPS — a laser printer. Laser printers can draw tremendous amounts of power that may exceed the rating of common SOHO UPSes. But if you are paranoid, or live in an area where power problems are common, you can buy a UPS that is specifically designed for laser printers.
A UPS should be an integral part of your disaster prevention plan. If you already own one, make sure you are using the automatic shutdown feature. If you don’t have one, go out (run, don’t walk) and buy the biggest one you can afford.
