How to Add Battery Backups to a Cordless Phone Base

Cordless telephones allow their users to make and receive telephone calls within a radius of a few hundred feet. However, these telephones cannot be used during a power outage, due to the phones' dependence on household electrical current to operate.

To allow a cordless telephone to operate during a power outage, a backup electrical system must be in place to power the cordless phone base. An uninterruptible power supply (also known as a UPS) can be used to provide AC power in the event of a power outage.

Things You'll Need

• Cordless telephone and base
• Uninterruptible power supply

Instructions

1. Unplug the cordless telephone base power plug from the wall electrical outlet. Plug the uninterruptible power supply into the wall electrical outlet, and turn the UPS switch on.

2. Plug the cordless telephone base power plug into one of the "Battery Backup" UPS outlets. Make a telephone call to test whether the UPS provides enough power to the cordless telephone base.

3. Test to see if the UPS works properly by unplugging the UPS power plug from the wall electrical outlet and subsequently making a telephone call. Once the call is finished, plug the UPS power plug back into the wall electrical outlet.

Tips & Warnings

• Uninterruptible power supplies have two types of outlets: Battery Backup and Surge Protection. The Battery Backup outlets provide electrical surge protection, and are used to power devices for a short time when a power outage occurs. The Surge Protection outlets provide surge protection only.

References

• Lazar's Power Electronics Guide website: Uninterruptible Power Supply