Uninterruptible Power Supplies - Superior Protection For Computers and Electronics

By Peter S Lee

Over the years, studies have shown that power issues (surges, drops, fluctuations and especially "brown outs") represent one of the biggest threats to your computer and other electronic devices. Unfortunately, most computer users only have part of the story about how to supply power to their PC, and thus, are left vulnerable to untimely component failures.

The media has done a good job of educating the average computer user about the need for a surge suppressor/protector, a device that is typically incorporated into a power strip that protects your computer from large "spikes" in power caused by environmental factors (such as lightening strikes), as well as issues with your power company's power generation and distribution grid. Unfortunately, what has not been well communicated is the fact that a DROP in power, such as a power outage or a "brown out", can also wreak havoc on such devices. Even power fluctuations that are detectable only by dedicated circuitry (lights do not dim or brighten enough to notice) can be sufficient to cause damage.

Unfortunately, a surge suppressor only deals with large spikes of power, leaving your computer vulnerable to smaller fluctuations, as well as totally unprotected against power drops and brown outs.

Herein lies the power of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (also known as a UPS).

A UPS has its own internal battery which is charged when power is available from the wall outlet. Like a surge suppressor, a UPS also protects your computer against large spikes in power. Unlike a surge suppressor, a UPS can supply power to your computer from its battery when the power coming from your wall socket drops even a small amount, usually sounding an audible alarm while doing so. This protects your computer and alerts you to the drop in power, which many times lasts only a few seconds. In addition, during a "brown out," a UPS will keep your computer safe by supplying the proper power level from its internal battery until you either turn off the computer, or the battery runs out of power. Even when the battery charge is completely exhausted the UPS continues to protect your computer by cleanly cutting all power and blocking low voltages as soon as the UPS is unable to supply the proper power level. Zero power to your computer is far kinder to the electronics than having an insufficient amount of power.

A UPS also helps protect your data. Imagine what happens when you are working on an important document or spreadsheet and you experience a power outage of just a few seconds (and most power outages are in fact this short). Without the UPS, your computer would reboot and you would loose all of the changes you had made since your last "save" (and you save often, right?). However, WITH a UPS, your computer would continue to run and you would smile and congratulate yourself for having been wise enough to invest in a UPS.

Perhaps best of all is that the price of UPS units has dropped dramatically over the last ten years, making them quite affordable.

Your author knows the value of a UPS, for he has one on every computer in his home. He has never suffered a "premature death" of a computer, and he believes in large part that this is due to his investment in UPS units.

So consider protecting your computer investment with a UPS BEFORE you suffer a hardware failure. The data you save may just be your own!

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Peter S. Lee holds a Bachelor's and a Master's Degree in Computer Science, along with over 25 years of professional computing experience. Mr. Lee is the owner and operator of MyComputerPaladin.com, a web resource dedicated to teaching computer defense principles in terms that are understandable by the common man and woman.

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