How to Pick the Right UPS for Your Home or Business

Power outages and surges can disrupt the flow of your daily activities, whether at home or office. It can damage your essential electric equipment and cause sensitive data loss. So, what can you do to avoid these problems?

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) can be a lifesaver in such situations. As the name suggests, a UPS works like a power source during outages. It is a reliable tool to safeguard your devices and have a constant power supply.

So, how can you choose an ideal business/ home UPS? Follow this article to learn how to select the best UPS from the pool of available options in the market.

What are the Types of UPS?

To select the best UPS, you must have a clear idea about different types of UPS. There 3 main types of UPS in the market.

• Standby UPS (Offline UPS)
• Line-Interactive UPS
• Online UPS (Double-Conversion UPS)

Here is a table that will help you develop a clear idea of the UPS and their best usage.

If you are looking for a home or business UPS, you can explore the best home UPS price in BD from IPS Bazar.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a UPS

Buying a UPS is not just going to the market and getting one randomly from the shelf. You need to consider several crucial factors for optimal UPS performance. Here is the list:

1. Power Requirements

You need to find out how much power your devices need to operate during an outage.

• Identify the devices you want to connect to the UPS
• Check their power consumption ratings and sum them up to get the total required power
• You need to choose a UPS that can deliver at least 20% more than the power you need. It will ensure that the UPS can handle sudden loads during outages and operate properly.

Example: If your total need is 400 watts, look for a UPS with around 600 watts of capacity.

2. Battery Backup Time

Different UPS will provide you with different backup times. You must ensure that the UPS is capable of backing you up during worst case scenarios.

• Decide how much time you need your UPS to back you up during power outages. Do you want it for 5 minutes to shut down your devices safely? Or do you need longer backup time for further use?
• Larger UPS battery units will provide longer power backup times. But it will increase the cost of the UPS system.

Tip: Prioritize essential devices only if the system gets too expensive.

3. Number of Devices and Outlets

All the UPS doesn’t come with the same number of outlets to back up your devices.

• Make sure the UPS has enough outlets to back up your target devices. Also, keep in mind that some outlets may provide power backup, and some may provide surge protection.
• Check the outlets and ensure they can accommodate plugs of your devices like PC, servers, or other types of equipment.

4. Which Equipment to Protect?

Different devices have different importance, so their required protection levels differ.

• Expensive and expensive equipment like medical devices, servers, or workstations need high-level protection. Online UPS is the best option for these devices.
• For routers, PCs, modems, or other basic devices, a Line-Interactive or Standby UPS is enough.

5. Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR)

Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) is an essential feature to protect your devices from sudden surges of voltage. Here is why:

• AVR stabilizes voltage fluctuations without using the battery power. It is an essential need to secure your sensitive devices from brownouts and surges.
• It is an ideal feature for areas where the voltage is not stable.

6. Features and Connectivity

Some features will make the usage and maintenance of the UPS more easy and convenient. See if the UPS has the following features.

• LCD display to provide real-time data on battery status, load, and runtime.
• Remote control and monitoring software to handle the UPS from a long distance.
• USB/Network ports are a bonus; you can use these for alerts and power management.

7. Budget and Total Cost of Ownership

You need to select your UPS smartly to meet all your needs and fit into your budget. Standby budgets are more affordable, but you won’t get top-notch device security. On the other hand, online UPS is costly but comes with excellent device protection features.

Also, consider the initial purchase cost, installation cost, battery replacement cost, and maintenance cost. It will help you determine if the investment is worth the expense or not.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the ideal UPS depends on your needs and power usage. Most of the UPS nowadays come with smart features like LCD display and various ports. However, the most important factor is the capacity of the UPS. You must ensure the maximum capacity is higher than the total power needed for your devices.

Lastly, calculate the overall cost to make sure the UPS is a value-for-money deal. Remembering the factors provided here, you can easily get the right UPS for your home or business.

FAQ

What is the main difference between IPS and UPS?

The main difference between IPS and UPS lies in the speed of switching to the battery backup system. IPS takes around one second or more to switch to the power backup. On the other hand, UPS can do it in a fraction of a second.

What kind of UPS are the best for home usage?

For regular home equipment like refrigerators or PCs, a standby UPS is more than enough. These devices do not need robust protection and can function properly with an offline UPS.

Which UPS is ideal for sensitive business equipment?

For sensitive business equipment like servers or network devices, you need high-end device protection with the lowest switchover time. So, Online UPS (Double-Conversion) will be the best choice for you.