Desktops and laptops are very common these days and in this age of everything online systems, we cannot imagine our life without them. Added to these there are other peripherals like Routers, Modems, Repeaters, speakers, printers etc. which are essential and no more luxury items.
All this is good as long as they are running and with good electricity supply without any interruptions and fluctuations. But if there are interruptions and fluctuations, these delicate electronic devices simply become expensive paper weights or electronic scrap.
So how do we protect them? Use a good quality Uninterrupted Power Supply - UPS
Fine. We know the solution for the problem. But how do we select a good UPS? The market is flooded with cheap chinese crap for very cheap prices.
Well the answer is follow the below steps.
1) Always look for good and established brands
2) This should be having good service centres
3) Components should be of good quality
4) Easily available for purchase
So how did I select this UPS?
APC is a well established and known brand which is widely known for its power systems and backup power systems in commercial establishments and data centers. It is now available for domestic market as well. APC is from Schneider Electric, which is a very popular brand known world wide for its quality products.
Now the Pros of this UPS.
1) The device is made of very good quality plastic. You will instantly recognize it once you take it in your hands
2) No squeaks or sounds from the plastic. Very robustly built
3) Even the power cable is of very good quality and long enough
4) Well ventilated for air flow and minimize the heat
5) 3 Power sockets for battery backup and one power socket for surge only protection
6) Circuit breaker switch to recover in case of overload shutdown
7) RJ45(LAN Port) and the required cable along with the UPS supplied to connect to the system and monitor the condition of the UPS and control certain of the aspects of the UPS
8) Very easy procedure to change the battery if required. No need to open the entire unit for changing the battery.
9) This is the only brand which supports battery backup even if you connect only your internet router and nothing else. It does not shutdown itself stating no load connected if you connect only your router/modem. Very well thought of feature.
10) If only a roter/modem is connected to the UPS, it gives around 3 hours of backup.
11) 2 years warranty
The cons(not much of them though!)
1) Only one multi color LED for various status indications
2) A bit odd design
3) Heavy weight(9 Kg)
Well who cares if it is heavy weight when it is of a very good quality and works much more better than a 1000 models of chinese crap? I definitely don’t mind the extra weight.
My first UPS of this same model served me 5+ years without a single repair and it never failed even once in these 5+ years. It was retired owing to a battery end of life and some failures in the circuit. Without thinking for a even a minute, I purchased the same model again.
I strongly recommend this product.
Purchased it for Rs.4800/- in Hyderabad, Telangana state.
Seeing the price, for a moment a question pops up in your mind. Is that price justified for a UPS?
The a unanimous answer is "YES". Why?
1) Every part in the UPS is of extremely good quality
2) Provides reliable backup
3) The final answer is we do not want our expensive Desktop/Laptop become scrap by blindly relying on cheap shiny chinese UPS crap.