I use a
desktop computer daily, and live in an area where we tend to lose power
occasionally. I have lost work too many times, when the power drops
unexpectedly. I’d like to invest in some sort of backup battery so that even
when the power goes out, my computer doesn’t immediately shut down. Can you
help?
We both
know the pain of intermittent power outages, and we both have generators in
place for just this purpose; even with an automated transfer switch, there’s
still always at least a short time where your home has no power before the
generator “kicks in.” Because we both
run desktop computers all day for various purposes, we’re strong proponents of
having and using a battery backup on every computer. In addition, we ensure
that our connections to the outside world (that is, Internet modems, network
switches and wireless routers) are all plugged into backup batteries as well.
To make it
clear: Not only do backup batteries provide a handy means of ensuring that your
equipment can stay running (albeit for a limited time) when the power is out,
all the commercially available backup batteries that we’ve seen also act as
excellent surge suppressors, as well. Therefore, using a backup battery not
only provides juice when the power is out, they provide the security that comes
with serious protection from electrical surges.
How do you
determine the best backup battery for you? Keep in mind that the more power
your devices need, the larger the battery you’ll need. High-power devices, like
printers, should really never be plugged into a battery backup. Modems, network
switches, and other infrastructure devices use very little power; monitors use
a lot more. Most desktop computers fall somewhere in-between. The size of the
battery backup you purchase needs to reflect the number of devices you want to
keep powered, and the length of time you need them to run when the power goes
out. If your goal is to keep the power up long enough to save your current work
and shut down, you won’t need more than a few minutes of power.
You can do
the math, calculating how much power all your devices draw, and then match the
size of the backup battery to your needs exactly, or you can use an online tool
to help you, like the one provided by the popular vendor, APC: http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm. Our suggestion: Spend a little more, and get a
little more power than you think you might need. That way, should you add a new
device to your setup, you won’t overload the backup battery.
It’s worth
noting a few more details about backup batteries. Although you technically
don’t need a backup battery to supply power to a laptop (which has its own
battery), plugging a laptop into a backup battery will, at least, provide
excellent surge protection. You could, in the case of a power outage, continue
to charge the laptop from the power stored in the backup battery. Some backup
battery devices include a USB connector so that you can connect the device to
your computer. Given this connection, you can install software on the computer
that will cleanly and safely shut down your computer in case of an unattended
power outage.
We both
favor backup batteries from APC (http://www.apc.com) but CyberPower (http://www.cyberpower.com) is also an excellent vendor. For more
information (probably more than you would ever want) on selecting a backup
battery, check out this article: http://www.howtogeek.com/161479/how-to-select-a-battery-backup-for-your-computer/. Please don’t expect that any backup battery
will keep you computing for hours, but a reasonably priced battery can keep you
working until the power comes back on. It’s a tool that every home computer
user should own and use.
http://www.howtogeek.com/183102/how-to-gracefully-shutdown-your-pc-with-a-ups-unit-and-why-you-should/
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