Question:
Having just had an electrical storm mess with my electronics, I was
wondering if I oculd buy a big UPS / surge protector / line
conditioner that would be used to supply power for 2 desktop
computers, a 36" TV, DVD player and a home theater.
Someone must have done this already. Any recommnedations on brands,
features to look for and power sizing?
Answer:
you do not need an UPS for a device that is read-only
such as a TV or DVD player.
Thus for conventional audio/video devices, you need a line conditioner
or surge protector to protect you from damage to the equipment in case
of overvoltage surges. Unless your device is writing to a valuable storage
device, loss of power can be recovered from as soon as power comes
back. The few minutes that an UPS can provide you with viewing
seems unnecessary.
Realize that not all UPS run off battery all the time. They usually simply
pass line power straight thru, synchronizing the internal inverter to the
power line waveform. When the power dies, it switches over in a few
milliseconds. As a result a serious surge will go through one of these
UPSes. If you use a backup UPS, don't think you are safe from power
line strikes, you will still need a line conditioner.
