PC Peripherals Home UPS as backup for PC

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ashis_lakra

ashis_lakra

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Hi folks,

Does the Home-UPS like (APC Home UPS, 1KVA) Sine wave output can provide power to a computer without any restart while switching to battery mode like General UPS?

Does Luminous Sine wave UPS ( 1.4KVA) also work same as General UPS without any delay like Inverters ?

These 2 are entirely different from Inverters.. right ?

Inverters take some time to switch back to battery mode and hence computer restarts.
Does these UPS which requires external battery give same problem ?

Any suggesstions ? Help me clear the doubts.

Real owners are welcomed to give their feedback, since i need to decide before going to buy one of these.
 
Re: Power Backup for PC

^^ Yes, both are ok....IMO
As the name suggests...Its Un-interrupted Power Supply.
So theoretically they both should...I know the APC does....not sure about Luminous...but it should.
My entire work place is on APC UPS..thought not Home UPS...but i should add nice choice even m looking into
the same product for my entire room though...
 
Re: Power Backup for PC

If you have a decent mains voltage, then yes, it will work fine

but, if your mains voltage > 260 or 270v regularly, UPS mode will not work

Also, switching on something like a big CRT or motor may lead to PC restart

above based on my Sukam 1400VA sine wave home UPS/Inverter
 
Re: Power Backup for PC

If you have a decent mains voltage, then yes, it will work fine

but, if your mains voltage > 260 or 270v regularly, UPS mode will not work

Also, switching on something like a big CRT or motor may lead to PC restart

above based on my Sukam 1400VA sine wave home UPS/Inverter
 
Re: Power Backup for PC

It means , even 1.4KVa Home UPS is insufficient when a big CRT monitor is switched on..

mehrotra.akash said:
If you have a decent mains voltage, then yes, it will work fine

but, if your mains voltage > 260 or 270v regularly, UPS mode will not work

Also, switching on something like a big CRT or motor may lead to PC restart

above based on my Sukam 1400VA sine wave home UPS/Inverter
Click to expand...
 
Re: Power Backup for PC

@ashis, sorry for the thread hijack.

Having the same problem here. Planning to use the APC home UPS 850Sine wave model as ups for comp. Tired of the current Backups ES650 which has sealed battery which does not run longer than 1yr due to everyday blackouts. Plan is to use the 850sine with tubular battery (maybe of 80-100AH) and run comp on that. It is costly, but I do not want a ups that runs on sealed batteries. Dont feel like spending 800 bucks every year. too troublesome.

Went through APC's lineup and all their UPS - Smart ups or normal ones run on sealed batteries.

If this move of mine feels stupid, can you suggest me a computer ups of APC or anyone in 1000VA range that runs on tubular battery? The lowest tubular battery available is of 60AH i think.

Edit: I changed the thread title to better match contents of first post (and mine too). :D
 
Well i run a APC SMART ups SUA1000UXI which runs on a pair of 40AH tubular batteries.

The advantage of this vs a inverter like the 850sine is that the smart ups has built in AVR and can be programmed for low/high voltage AVR function apart from the usual UPS functions.

If you buy a 850va inverter it doesn't do AVR which means you will have to invest in a stabilizer of 1500va to be safe.This inverter is also less efficient at .59 PF where as the UPS 1000UXI is .80 PF.

What you can't do with the 1000UXI UPS is at no point can you connect a load higher then 800watt resistive load or( even lesser load if its inductive)irrespective of whether its runs on mains or battery.It however switches faster and appears to be better built at the same time cost twice as more.

With the 850 sine inverter you can run any load when its running one mains just below the rating of the fuse in the inverter,but when you switch to back up mode you are limited to 500watt.The inverter is also better suited for cold start application such as CRT tvs,refrigerator where as the UPS will trip.
 
^ the 1000uxi smart ups seems costly at 11k. does it come with battery in 11k or without? and can a tubular battery be used with it?

was thinking of getting home ups since i could run the fan and lights in my room of it too. any way of increasing the pf of inverter? (just asking :ashamed:)

tomemmanuel said:
I am using a luminous 800VA Quasi sinewave inverter as a computer UPS for more than 2 years without any problems
Click to expand...

which model is that?
 
6pack said:
^ the 1000uxi smart ups seems costly at 11k. does it come with battery in 11k or without? and can a tubular battery be used with it?

was thinking of getting home ups since i could run the fan and lights in my room of it too. any way of increasing the pf of inverter? (just asking :ashamed:)
Click to expand...

Yes it is costly and is a international model,where as the inverter is only made for india.11k is without batteries,like i said you can use tubular batteries ,people in this forum are using upto a pair of 150AH batteries.
I use my ups for fans,lights,lcd tv basically make sure its not connected to heating circuit of your house.

You cannot increase the PF of the inverter.
 
So what do you recommend? I need to run home lighting, fan, comp on it. No fridge or crt tv. i will make separate line for fridge in coming days once i finalize this.

can the whole house wiring be routed through this?

i mean from mains -> ups -> home wiring?

I use only 1 fan + 2 * 15w cfl + 150w comp at night. no other usage. i have a washing machine of 600w though. will ups trip if i run this even when power is on in mains? i wont be running it if there is no power in mains though.
 
6pack said:
So what do you recommend? I need to run home lighting, fan, comp on it. No fridge or crt tv. i will make separate line for fridge in coming days once i finalize this.
can the whole house wiring be routed through this?

i mean from mains -> ups -> home wiring?
I use only 1 fan + 2 * 15w cfl + 150w comp at night. no other usage. i have a washing machine of 600w though. will ups trip if i run this even when power is on in mains? i wont be running it if there is no power in mains though.
Click to expand...

Well during the spin cycle there might be a brief surge in consumption ,i wouldn't recommend connecting a washing machine if other device are running like your PC and a strict no if your turn on heating function in a washing machine.

If you have 2 circuits one for heating and lighting ,then you can just connect the UPS output to the lighting connection.

If you have just one circuit then you must switch off all the power hungry devices like water heater,fridge ,kitchen appliances and then using a 2 pole transfer switch you can either wish to run it in mains or via UPS output.
 
ok. wm does not have any heater function, nor do i have an electricity based water heater or microwave. no power hungry devices in my house. max wattage used is by an electric iron of 1000w. so maybe i should plan for a separate power socket in each room which is not run on ups i guess.

so where can i find a 2 pole transfer switch? and what does it cost?
 
6pack said:
ok. wm does not have any heater function, nor do i have an electricity based water heater or microwave. no power hungry devices in my house. max wattage used is by an electric iron of 1000w. so maybe i should plan for a separate power socket in each room which is not run on ups i guess.
so where can i find a 2 pole transfer switch? and what does it cost?
Click to expand...

There is one from anchor costs around Rs300 or so,i bought a Havells DP MCB which i just connected to main MCB distribuation board costs around Rs 800.You will find this mcb DP setup in most apartments that have a generator back up where one transfers from mains to generator and vice versa.

BTW the correct name for that switch is Double Pole Change Over Switch. This is the one i have Double Pole Change Over Switch - Havells Double Pole Change Over Switch Prices,Buy Double Pole Change Over Switch with this it trips in case of short.
 
With the 850 sine inverter you can run any load when its running on mains just below the rating of the fuse in the inverter,but when you switch to back up mode you are limited to 500watt.The inverter is also better suited for cold start application such as CRT tvs,refrigerator where as the UPS will trip.
Click to expand...

Does this mean i cannot cold start any thing like comp or lcd tv on the ups? eg. if there is no power and i need to switch on my comp, can i do that or will ups trip?
 
I've been on an SuKam 1400VA PureSine Home UPS.

It's really good for both undervoltage and overvoltage regulation. It's primary usage was for powering 3 rooms. And there used to be a LOT of undervoltage and overvoltage problems before the power grid of Kharghar(NaviMumbai) was improved. It did it's job perfectly and I know this since every neighbor of mine has lost at least one PSU/AC-FAN/CRT/LCD/an entire rig :hap5: to unstable-voltages.

This thing used to power my PC along with a tube light and fan for 1hr:30min. Hell, it even ran a 0.8TON AC without any problems(~30mins). The quality of it's regulation is so good that I've never been to RMA for any of my PC components(lost the mobo-bios chip once due to static after I kept it in open for 2 weeks).

It's batteries lasted for 3 years and after 3 years the power grid has been vastly improved at my place with 'ZERO' power cuts. So I've disconnected it and kept it as it is. If anybody's interested in it, you can PM me.
 
6pack said:
Does this mean i cannot cold start any thing like comp or lcd tv on the ups? eg. if there is no power and i need to switch on my comp, can i do that or will ups trip?
Click to expand...

You can cold start a lcd and a computer ,but NOT a CRT tv.
 
Last few questions:

1. Can I start the smart ups when there is no power? Though i dont think i'll be doing this often.

2. I've seen that inverters draw a constant load from the mains. Ex. My uncle has a 850VA inverter and i saw his electric meter shows load of 550w even if no appliances are running in the house and when there is mains power.

Why is this? Does the load get passed to inverter first and then mains?

Shouldn't the dipole switch be such that all load should pass to mains when inverter is on but not producing power? :S

Is it cause inverter is constantly charging?

Asking cause a constant 800w load on mains will mean large bills cause electricity prices have gone up. My provider is charging Rs 4.75 something for above 101 units.
 
1 Yes,but if the load is more you better have some tough tubular batteries like Exide EL that can give the high amperes .

2 A UPS is always going to do AVR for the connected devices so it will draw some current in order for the UPS to function(led lights,internal fan etc).It will off course also be trickle charging the batteries which again uses power and when its charging after a power cut it uses quite a lot of power, also say a hypothetically lead acid battery of 100AH is discharged 100% it needs 15a of charge for 10hrs to charge it to full,so a lead acid batter needs 1.5x more power to charge 100%.
My Smart UPS consumes around 90watt to 110watt when its running(with some devices always connected like modem/wifi router and 2-line cordless phone)

A dipole switch has 2 inputs and one output (1 live and 1 neutral for main,1 live and 1 neutral from UPS and one output)So when there is power you can if push the switch down to give direct power,if the power goes you can change it to UPS by changing the switch position to top, when the power comes back you can continue to run as it is and say you want to switch on a high power consuming appliance you can turn it back to main direct power.
 
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