Has a UPS saved your skin?

I'm thinking of spending AU$150-$200 on a UPS - uninterrupted power supply - for our home computers. My wife thinks it's unnecessary.

We rarely lose power, maybe only a couple of times a year during storm season. And if there's a storm around, we just switch off anyway. But every now and then the power just cuts out without warning (a distant storm, or a car into a power pole). I'd like to be safe.

Does anybody have a UPS in place? Has it ever saved you?

SPEND AS MUCH AS YOU NEED ON A GOOD UPS!!!!

I can't tell you how many times I've had or seen a UPS save projects, hours upon hours of work, and once, even a theatrical production. (The lighting board was plugged into a UPS)

The best kind to get are the ones that will communicate with your computer and shut it down if needed through USB.


P.S. I have an APC Back-Ups RS 1300, and the LCD is really useful. I have my Mac Pro, 30" ACD, Cable Modem and Router, Vonage, cordless phone and speakers plugged into it. Everything is running at full, I have Photoshop, PTGui, iTunes, and some other stuff open, Music Playing, and I just unplugged it. I got a message on my computer that said "Warning, your computer is now running on UPS Backup" and I looked down and it would have kept running like that for almost 15 minutes. I have it set to shut my computer down when there is only 3 minutes left on the battery. BELIEVE ME, its worth it!

I have one for my computer because where I live, the power spikes and dips without any warning. I have one that "conditions" the power (powered by the battery). I spoke with the utility company (PG & E) and they said that the power is "normal" for a residential area. . .

Ok, thanks.

Yes, I saw one advertised with USB, and I didn't know what that meant. Can you tell me a bit more about it?

Yes, a UPS is a worthwhile investment, although I'm not sure you need to spend $200 to get a decent one. Usually more money means longer runtime/more powered plugs. compare specs and get what best suits your situation. Even if you do not lose power often they are worth it because the UPS will condition your power since it draws from the battery instead of directly from the outlet.

I love my UPS. It's saved me plenty of times. Another thing I use it for is if the weather gets hairy all of a sudden, I just yank the plug out of the wall and then shut down normally. I've never lost anything to lightening, but I know plenty of people who have.

Hmmmm. I haven't come across these before but this seems like quite a good idea - we lose power a couple of times every few months to storms and Dad had his mobo fried not long ago...

Get one. It's not even so much for power outages, which are bad, but for surges and dips which can damage components, which is really bad.

Bruce_B wrote in post #4960903
I love my UPS. It's saved me plenty of times. Another thing I use it for is if the weather gets hairy all of a sudden, I just yank the plug out of the wall and then shut down normally. I've never lost anything to lightening, but I know plenty of people who have.

Good idea. A UPS will likely NOT protect you from a lightening strike.

mson wrote in post #4960935
Good idea. A UPS will likely NOT protect you from a lightening strike.

I don't trust anything to protect from lightening. In a really bad storm I've been known to unplug everything in the house

For my PC's I also pull the phone and cat 5 cables out of the wall. I don't want them connected to anything else when lightening is popping.

Every piece of electronic equipment in my house is on UPS's. It is worth every penny.

Bruce_B wrote in post #4961040
I don't trust anything to protect from lightening. In a really bad storm I've been known to unplug everything in the house

For my PC's I also pull the phone and cat 5 cables out of the wall. I don't want them connected to anything else when lightening is popping.

This is certainly the best idea.

Although I did meet someone who had lightning strike the transformer directly outside his house. His APC power strip literally melted into the carpeting, but his computer was alright, amazingly enough. Still, not sure I would want to rely on that, and the need for new carpeting alone is worth unplugging everything in a storm. As aditional lightning protection, most UPS companies insure all connected equipment against damage from bad power (lightning included) up to $50,000-$200,000 or even more, depending on the model. The down time while waiting for them to replace your stuff would still suck, however.

On the original topic, I have had a UPS save my *ss repeatedly. One with USB that is capable if saving open documents and shutting down for you when absent is wonderful. Also some UPSes have the capability to correct for low voltage without drawing on the battery (to a point) which is another extremely useful feature, especially if your area is prone to brown-outs. APC calls this feature AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) but most other UPS companies offer models with a similar feature, if under another name.

mson wrote in post #4960935
Good idea. A UPS will likely NOT protect you from a lightening strike.

I'm 4 for 4 on close strikes with clients using APC Smart-ups on servers. The UPS was toast but the servers have been fine.
I am 0 for 2 on other brands when clients didnt listen too me and got cheap.

The worst one took out all the workstations and rendering machines which were on belkin surge strips.
It even melted the wire coming into the building.
It blew the sump pump and some of the fluorescent light ballasts and the entire phone system which was on a communications grade UPS.
The UPS itself was toast but the server and several hundred gigs of data was safe.

Thanks for all the info, everyone. I'll definitely look into it.

If you are a professional, and make money from your work, then without a doubt, get a UPS. You have no idea to the potential money savings you can have from a UPS.