Do I need a UPS? - MX Tech Consultancy

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Well, Do Need a UPS?

Do I need a UPS unit? That’s a fair question. Well, if your computer is vital for your business then the simple answer is yes.

So Why Do I Need to be Concerned about Power Supply?

Quite simply because a home office needs electronic devices and these devices depend on a reliable power supply.

Many of you have come from an office environment where your employer or the facilities management team invested a considerable sum to provide clean, reliable power to computer users.

Now you have to invest something to make sure your home office equipment is adequately powered and protected.

But Where I live the Utility Power Supply is Good?

That’s an interesting point. Please note, though, that in even the most modern cities in the best developed countries companies still invest in advanced power management systems. Why?

Dirty Power. There are 3 risks: Brownouts, Power Outages and Power Surges.

	Dirty Power: Electrical Power Supply Risks
Term	Definition	Effect
Brownouts (Sag)	An intentional or unintentional drop in voltage in an electrical power supply system.	Sensitive electronic equipment requiring reasonably precise voltages may not be able to function and long-term brownouts can cause premature wear in non-electronic devices.
Power Outage	A complete interruption of power in a given service area.	Computer systems and other electronic devices containing logic circuitry are susceptible to data loss or hardware damage that can be caused by the sudden loss of power. These can include data networking equipment, video projectors, alarm systems as well as computers.
Surge (Spike)	A power surge is a phenomenon that results when something causes a boost in the overall electrical charge at some point in power lines. This event increases the electrical potential energy in the lines and causes more power to be discharged from the wall socket and into appliances or a load. The most well-known cause of power surges is lightning.	Electronic devices can be damaged or destroyed
	Source: Wikipedia, www.techopedia.com

Table 1

So Why Do I Need a UPS? Why Not Just Buy A Good Surge Protector?

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) will protect against dirty power risks. A surge protector does not cover all the risks for computer equipment.

Even if your power supply is very reliable just one bad event could potentially destroy all your work: computers, data and data backups. So think of a UPS being like an insurance policy: even if you only use it just once you are glad you have it.

Remember too that for you as a home-worker loss of equipment and data means loss of business and income

OK, So How Much Will All That Cost Me?

It depends your risks and your budget. Considering risk, if your utility power supply is very reliable then you need less protection. So, when looking at your budget you need to think seriously about what equipment needs prioritizing. If, for example your budget is limited and your business depends on the internet then choose a smaller UPS unit to protect the low power modems and routers.

The recommended UPS units have been categorized as Starter and Professional.

Category	Features
Starter	Load 400-800va (250-450 Watts) Software Monitoring UPS protected ports Surge Protection only ports
Professional	Load 1000-1500va (550-900 Watts) Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) Software Monitoring LCD Display UPS protected ports Surge Protection only ports Coax line protection Data line protection (RJ45/RJ11)

Table 2

As you can probably guess the prices UPS units in these categories vary. Most of the Starter products cost below US$100 whereas the Professional ones can cost as much as US$300.

Starter UPS units