looking to invest in a UPS

[timeless]

have been contemplating getting a UPS again, however lm slightly confused why they are rated VA rather than W like a PSU is.

now l have a basic understanding of what l need, however all the information lve been reading seems to suggest more than l need. suffice to say my system has a 550W PSU and most information lve googled wants me to get a 750W rated one when l only plan to connect my system to it (no monitors) as lm hoping to get a UPS that will shut down for me.

suffice to say would it be fine getting a UPS on the ideal that lm not providing overheads for extra peripherals since l only plan to connect one, as l remember a previous purchase that clicked all the time.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Timeless mate this is a quote from this What is the difference between Voltage-Amps (VA) and watts and how do I properly size my UPS? - Power Solutions

UPS manufacturers only publish the VA rating of the UPS. For small UPS designed for computer loads, which have only a VA rating, it is appropriate to assume that the Watt rating of the UPS is 60% of the published VA rating. For larger UPS systems, it is becoming common to focus on the Watt rating of the UPS, and to have equal Watt and VA ratings for the UPS, because the Watt and VA ratings of the typical loads are equal.

I don't know if this is what you are asking for. In any case I run a 850VA UPS and three machines plus monitors plus modem from it. I do that through surge boards too as I am a little "pedantic" when it comes to protecting my gear. Never had a problem with this set up except once I plugged in a blower heater without thinking straight and it immediately sent the UPS into panic mode

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I ended up with a APC 1500AV which is 865w
Don't ask me why other that it was on sell and I needed one

On another note I use it as a safe way to save and properly shut down when the power goes out for an extended amount of time
If power is not restored in 5 minutes I shut down.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Timeless mate this is a quote from this What is the difference between Voltage-Amps (VA) and watts and how do I properly size my UPS? - Power Solutions

UPS manufacturers only publish the VA rating of the UPS. For small UPS designed for computer loads, which have only a VA rating, it is appropriate to assume that the Watt rating of the UPS is 60% of the published VA rating. For larger UPS systems, it is becoming common to focus on the Watt rating of the UPS, and to have equal Watt and VA ratings for the UPS, because the Watt and VA ratings of the typical loads are equal.

I don't know if this is what you are asking for. In any case I run a 850VA UPS and three machines plus monitors plus modem from it. I do that through surge boards too as I am a little "pedantic" when it comes to protecting my gear. Never had a problem with this set up except once I plugged in a blower heater without thinking straight and it immediately sent the UPS into panic mode

I didn't bother to read the entire article you linked (it's WAY past my bedtime and my eyes are starting to cross) but the part you quoted is misleading.

Actually, most manufacturers list both the VA and the wattage of UPSes. First, some definitions. VA means volt/amp. It's used instead of wattage since the amount of usable wattage is often less because of something called Power Factor. In an ideal world, the current will always be in sync with the voltage, resulting in a Power Factor rating of 1.0, also call Unity. However, since we have to live in the real world, when inductive loads, such as large motors, are placed on the power line, they will cause the current to lag a bit behind which causes the amount of wattage the load can see to be less than the product of volts times amps. The causes the Power Factor to be less than Unity (btw, power companies switch big capacitor banks in and out to correct power factor) and the wattage seen by loads will be less than the product of volts and amps. By using VA instead of wattage, the true amount of voltage and current flow through a circuit is represented.

The input rating of an UPS has to reflect how much power it is going to draw from the mains. While Power Factor will reduce the amount of output wattage a little bit, the biggest cause for the difference between the input power and output power ratings is the UPS has parasitic loads necessary for its operation. The power regulating circuitry will use and lose some power and the battery recharging circuitry will use up even more. UPS manufacturers chose to use VA instead of wattage to ensure users will know the true amount of current draw being drawn from the mains when the UPS is running full tilt. Wattage is used to show the amount of usable power available to devices protected by the UPS.

On average, the wattage will be roughly 60% less than the VA but that figure will be lower for less efficient units and/or ones that recharge the batteries more quickly. UPSes that are more efficient and/or take more time to recharge the batteries will have a wattage rating that is a higher percentage of the VA. Keep in mind that a UPS with more battery capacity will require more charging time, no matter what the charging rate is.

Hopefully, that was a wee bit clearer than mud. It's time for me to become the filling of a sheet sandwich,

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Timeless mate this is a quote from this What is the difference between Voltage-Amps (VA) and watts and how do I properly size my UPS? - Power Solutions

UPS manufacturers only publish the VA rating of the UPS. For small UPS designed for computer loads, which have only a VA rating, it is appropriate to assume that the Watt rating of the UPS is 60% of the published VA rating. For larger UPS systems, it is becoming common to focus on the Watt rating of the UPS, and to have equal Watt and VA ratings for the UPS, because the Watt and VA ratings of the typical loads are equal.

I don't know if this is what you are asking for. In any case I run a 850VA UPS and three machines plus monitors plus modem from it. I do that through surge boards too as I am a little "pedantic" when it comes to protecting my gear. Never had a problem with this set up except once I plugged in a blower heater without thinking straight and it immediately sent the UPS into panic mode

I didn't bother to read the entire article you linked (it's WAY past my bedtime and my eyes are starting to cross) but the part you quoted is misleading.

Actually, most manufacturers list both the VA and the wattage of UPSes. First, some definitions. VA means volt/amp. It's used instead of wattage since the amount of usable wattage is often less because of something called Power Factor. In an ideal world, the current will always be in sync with the voltage, resulting in a Power Factor rating of 1.0, also call Unity. However, since we have to live in the real world, when inductive loads, such as large motors, are placed on the power line, they will cause the current to lag a bit behind which causes the amount of wattage the load can see to be less than the product of volts times amps. The causes the Power Factor to be less than Unity (btw, power companies switch big capacitor banks in and out to correct power factor) and the wattage seen by loads will be less than the product of volts and amps. By using VA instead of wattage, the true amount of voltage and current flow through a circuit is represented.

The input rating of an UPS has to reflect how much power it is going to draw from the mains. While Power Factor will reduce the amount of output wattage a little bit, the biggest cause for the difference between the input power and output power ratings is the UPS has parasitic loads necessary for its operation. The power regulating circuitry will use and lose some power and the battery recharging circuitry will use up even more. UPS manufacturers chose to use VA instead of wattage to ensure users will know the true amount of current draw being drawn from the mains when the UPS is running full tilt. Wattage is used to show the amount of usable power available to devices protected by the UPS.

On average, the wattage will be roughly 60% less than the VA but that figure will be lower for less efficient units and/or ones that recharge the batteries more quickly. UPSes that are more efficient and/or take more time to recharge the batteries will have a wattage rating that is a higher percentage of the VA. Keep in mind that a UPS with more battery capacity will require more charging time, no matter what the charging rate is.

Hopefully, that was a wee bit clearer than mud. It's time for me to become the filling of a sheet sandwich,

Yep Jeannie mate way past your bedtime and couldn't read that article and then write that screed out you must have got a second breath LOL!!

I quoted the relevant part and seems like everyone is just reiterating that in different ways. The relationship between volts, amp, resistance, and wattage are all covered by the Ohms Law and each one can be easily worked out using that Law

 

[GokAy]

My UPS thread from not long ago, maybe you will find something useful:

http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/376939-advice-needed-ups-setup.html

 

[timeless]

ebuyer just got back to me and recommended:
http://www.ebuyer.com/407855-cyberpo...alue-1000eilcd

as lm only going to use it to keep my system powered through power fluctuations and live near the centre of a town l doubt l will have all that many power cuts (touch wood) lve only experienced one power cut so far due to a storm (l tend to turn off on days they are expected) l just wanted to make sure l stay powered when things happen.

that said l want to make sure this will power all PSUs as lve heard some dont like certain UPSs.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

ebuyer just got back to me and recommended:
http://www.ebuyer.com/407855-cyberpo...alue-1000eilcd

as lm only going to use it to keep my system powered through power fluctuations and live near the centre of a town l doubt l will have all that many power cuts (touch wood) lve only experienced one power cut so far due to a storm (l tend to turn off on days they are expected) l just wanted to make sure l stay powered when things happen.

that said l want to make sure this will power all PSUs as lve heard some dont like certain UPSs.

That one may or may not work with some of the newer PSUs. You need a UPS that outputs pure sine wave, which that one does not. This one from ebuyer.com is the only one I found that is close to the one you selected that has a pure sine wave output.

 

[timeless]

someone linked me to a page on amazon saying they all worked saying the power walkers were good: Amazon.co.uk: powerwalker: Computers & Accessories

l came across this one that looked like it did what l wanted: PowerWalker VI 1000 LCD/UK 1000VA/600W UPS: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

only problem is l will have to look again in a week or two as l dont have the cash until the 25th or so and the above link maybe out of stock.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

someone linked me to a page on amazon saying they all worked saying the power walkers were good: Amazon.co.uk: powerwalker: Computers & Accessories

l came across this one that looked like it did what l wanted: PowerWalker VI 1000 LCD/UK 1000VA/600W UPS: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

only problem is l will have to look again in a week or two as l dont have the cash until the 25th or so and the above link maybe out of stock.

I looked up the specs on this one and it outputs a simulated sine wave. Simulated sine wave doesn't always play well with some newer PSUs. Many PSU manufacturers (and relabelers), such as Corsair, specify using only a pure sine wave UPS with their PSUs.

 

[timeless]

kinda makes me wonder why there is still a market for them considering newer PSUs dont like them.. lm definitely going to drop someone a line regarding UPS's but the annoyance is that my budget isnt all that great which is annoying.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The market for modified sine wave UPSes is still there because people still have older computers and computers aren't the only things protected by a UPS. Also, many newer PSUs will work with a modified sine wave (curiously enough, the cheaper ones) but it's a crap shoot whether they will or not; sometimes one model PSU will work while another of the same model will not.

As you said in the title of this thread, a PSU is an investment. While a pure sine wave UPS is going to cost significantly more, waiting until you can afford one is the wiser investment since you will be assured it will play well with any PSU you throw at it now or in the future. Keep in mind these can last a long time since you can always replace just the batteries when they start to fail.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

lm only going to use it to keep my system powered through power fluctuations and live near the centre of a town l doubt l will have all that many power cuts

Ok timeless don't forget that the UPS (if it has surge protection like mine) and surge boards will cover you from brown outs too - not just the power outs