Protection from brownouts, what do I need?

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Gawd
Joined
Aug 24, 2014
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Belkin and APC aren't exactly clear, APC only mentions two products specifically for brownouts, but they do nothing else. Then, on their cheapest UPS, where there's no mention in the description, the documentation PDF mentions that the battery will protect against brownouts.

So do I need a battery or not? Trying to spend as little as possible, and definitely don't *need* 60+ minutes of battery backup.

Thanks in advance <3
 
I think APC's PowerUPs (or however it's called) 500 only switches over at 106v or so, so if you're fine with that... I guess it works, but be aware that your PC power supply will not operate as efficiently at that voltage and may not operate at the same peak load, and may cause damage to your power supply or components if it's a poorly made power supply or the kind that only works at 110/220 (which are already horribly inefficient compared to active PFC supplies).
 
Typically a standard UPS would be good enough with a low voltage switch over.

If you really want more protection you could go with a double conversion online UPS (ex: APC Smart-UPS).
Those units contain a charger circuit connected to a battery and power inverter. So when the power goes out the charger stops working but the power continues to be fed from the battery - no output dip and zero transfer time.
They are much more expensive through. At a previous job we used them to protect our MTS FlexTest boxes since each one had a replacement value over $50k.
 
Thanks, guys! Most of that was Greek to me but I have enough to make a purchase.
 
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