UPS, which one?

I'm needing to buy a new UPS, however, unsure knowin which is good for my PC. Is anyone able to let me know how I would caculate what I need. A couple have been recommended, but I think 1500VA is more than I need, but not sure.

TY in advance : )

If you can afford the better one even if it's an overkill it'll serve you for longer and when and if you need more power you won't have to upgrade. It's the same as buying a power supply that gives you way more than you need but one day you buy a better graphic card or 3 and then no need to upgrade the PSU

I use only APC 1500's and they are great. It allows me to continue for around 30 minutes on my massive full tower rig with two monitors and all accessories left on and then shut down in a controlled manner. All of my rigs are protected by a total of 4 1500va units and then two smaller 550va models for my modem/router and another for my range extender.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-419-_-Product

@shimshom,

what you say makes sense and I agree, however, I don't see upgrading anything in the future. With that said, do you know how I would find out the information needed to pick the correct VA?

@linnemeyerhere,

I have an older APC, it's not an UPS but I do want to stick to APC. I was told APC does not offer PFC or sinwave, I was it could caused your UPS to fail? I don't even know what they are.

TYVM both for getting back to me

If you want to be sure of the size you need, you'll need to make up a worksheet.

This page: UPS Sizing | Tripp Lite can get you started, they show 5 steps under "How to Size" that gives you an idea of what's involved, then they streamlined it into "Find the right UPS" calculator link on that page. Tripp-Lite suggests 15% over for future growth.

APC has their own calculator you start here: UPS Selector - Select your protection needs

Once you know the power requirements of your equipment, you can shop around for what suits your needs.

There's other considerations, check to see if the unit you want can handle the Common Power Problems associated with line power.

I will read those, I've tried that APC selector tool, don't I need to be more specific?

TY :)

Which selector were you using? Select by load or device?

By load, I would need the watts, VA or kVA.
By device it seems like it's assuming, almost like it's not asking for enough info.

My problem is, I don't know how to find out what watts, VA or kVA.

TY :)

A few facts to help you with your search...

The VA rating is similar to watts. Rather bore you with the details, The VA rating is the one that determines how much power you need available at the outlet the UPS is plugged into. Just divide the volts in to the VA rating to get the number of amps the UPS will pull at full load. For example, a UPS rated at 1500VA will draw 12.5A from the wall socket at 120v. I have a 2200VA UPS that has to have its own dedicated 20A 120v circuit.

The wattage rating is the amount of load the UPS can support. It is always less than the VA because the UPS uses some power to run it and more to charge the batteries. To determine the wattage needed, you will need to find out how much the devices you will plug into the UPS will actually use. The PSU in my desktop rig is rated at 750w but the most load I've ever had on my UPS is 250W—that includes the monitor I also have plugged into the UPS—but, normally, I'm drawing only 185W. A good way to determine how much wattage you are actually using is to get a power meter, such a Kill-a-Watt.

A UPS is also rated for runtime at the rated load. If you want a longer runtime after a power outage or protection from multiple outages in a short period of time, then you should up the size of the UPS

Many, if not most, modern PSUs will not run well on stepped (or simulated) sine wave and require a pure sine wave. Even if you have an older PSU or a newer one that can run on a stepped sine wave, it would be better to get a UPS that outputs a pure sine wave for future proofing. Keep in mind, the batteries in a UPS can be replaced and are usually a standard size so, even if your model is discontinued, you still can get replacements, meaning the UPS could last for years so it would be wise to ensure it will be compatible with newer technology down the road.

One useful feature to have on a UPS is the ability for it to hibernate your computer after a certain amount of time into a power outage. Most now use a USB cable to link between the computer and the UPS. Some can control more than one computer. Not all UPSes are able to do this so, if you want this feature, check to make sure the UPS you selct has this feature.

Normally, all one should run off a UPS is the computer and one or more monitors. other peripherals, such as external speakers, scanners and, especially, printers, do not need to be run off a UPS (any work being done on them can be redone) and shouldn't because they can dramatically increase the load on the UPS, requiring a much larger ones. A printer, especially a laser printer, can draw as much, or even more, than a computer and monitor combined.

I've had excellent luck with my Cyberpower UPS. It's been discontinued but has been chugging along for about two years now on the original batteries. Replacement batteries, once I do need them (so far, they've shown no signs of wearing out, despite several power outages), will cost about half of what I paid for the UPS (I got a smoking deal on it since it was being discontinued) and less than a quarter of what an equivalent replacement UPS would cost me.

I hope this helps.

This is from the tripp-lite page and used for load:

• Make a list of all the equipment that will be plugged into the UPS.

• Read the nameplate on each piece of equipment and write down the voltage and amperage. For each piece of equipment, multiply the voltage and the amperage to get the VA rating.

   Note

Note: If your equipment is rated in watts, simply convert it to VA by dividing the wattage rating by the equipment's power factor, which is typically 1.0 for blade servers and other networking equipment

• Add all the VA ratings together to get the total VA requirement for the equipment plugged into the UPS.

• To account for growth, you will need a UPS with greater VA capacity than the total VA requirement from step 3. Tripp Lite recommends assuming at least 15% growth over a five year period, though your actual plans for growth may require a larger allowance.

• Multiply the initial VA requirement by 1.15 (i.e., 1.0 to account for the initial VA requirement, and .15 to account for 15% growth).

• Note: Adjust this calculation for other rates of growth by changing the digits after the decimal (e.g., multiply by 1.1 for 10% growth, multiply by 1.25 for 25% growth).

So you have to go around and look at all the power consumption stickers on every piece of equipment you want to plug into your UPS and write them down. This would also be a good time to keep track of how many receptacles you'll need on that UPS for each piece of equipment.

For device, I saw that, I didn't like that way either.

Some converters to make life easier:

Watts - volts - amps - ohms conversion calculator

Amps (A) to kVA conversion calculator

Watts to amps (A) conversion calculator

Watts to VA conversion calculator

And you can find the list for different converters in the right panel of each converter page, if the calculation needs a power factor use "1"

The power factor can get values in the range from 0 to 1.
When all the power is reactive power with no real power (usually inductive load) - the power factor is 0.
When all the power is real power with no reactive power (resistive load) - the power factor is 1.

Source: Power Factor (PF)

Most residential computer equipment is of the resistive type therefore a power factor of 1.

The main thing is to get a figure on what you'll use in power, you don't want to pay for a lot more than you'll need, but you also don't want to be under-powered.

Ahh..I see Jennie stopped by she is good at this and has the experience. We'll have ya shopping by T-Day did you have any plans to buy online or at a big-box store?