How Long Does a UPS Battery Last?
An uninterruptible power supply is a device that prevents a computer from turning off and losing unsaved work when a power interruption occurs. The UPS accomplishes this with a battery sufficient in size to power the computer and monitor long enough for you to save your work and shut down the operating system. Companies manufacture UPS units for home and business use.
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Battery Life
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Manufacturers measure UPS capacity in volt-amperes. The capacity of a UPS in watts is approximately 60 percent of that amount. If you select the correct UPS for your computer, you can run the computer on battery power for approximately 10 minutes before shutting it down.
Selecting the Correct UPS
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It is unwise to connect a UPS to a computer that draws nearly as much power as the UPS can deliver, because a typical UPS is designed to run at approximately half its maximum capacity. If you exceed this limit by too great an amount, the battery may not be able to keep the computer running long enough for you to save your work and shut the operating system down safely. Do not use your computer's power supply rating as a guideline for determining its power usage; a computer generally draws far fewer watts than its power supply can deliver. You can use an online tool to determine the approximate power usage of your computer and monitor.
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Higher-Capacity Models
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Companies also make higher-capacity UPS units with the ability to keep several computers running in the event of a power outage. A high-capacity UPS may have the ability to deliver several thousand watts of power and run at half-capacity for 30 minutes or more. Unfortunately, a UPS with this capacity may be quite expensive, costing as much as 20 times that of a standard single-computer UPS.
Other UPS Features
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A UPS may have additional features that differentiate it from the competition and add to its usefulness. Some features to consider when purchasing a UPS include the ability to monitor battery life via a front-panel display, a USB or serial connection to facilitate communication with the computer and line conditioning to prevent the computer from being damaged by power spikes.
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