Considering a battery backup for your computer? Here’s everything you need to know

If you’ve ever worked in an office environment before, then you’re likely familiar with something called an Uninterruptible Power Supply (or UPS for short). They’re sometimes even referred to as battery backups, by those who hate big words.

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Uninterruptible Power Supplies aren’t just for the work setting – you can buy them for the home as well, and there are lots of reasons to consider one, especially if you do any sort of remote work or important computer usage from home.

In today’s piece, we’ll discuss the benefits of using an Uninterruptible Power Supply and even make some recommendations so that you can decide if one might be right for you in your home setting.

What is an Uninterruptible Power Supply?

An Uninterruptible Power Supply is, in short, a device that provides continuous clean power to attached equipment, even in the event of a power surge or power outage. The obvious benefits here are that it can prevent data loss in mission-critical software and that it protects your hardware from electrical damage.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply features an internal lead acid battery that powers your devices for a limited time in the event of a power outage, generally for up to an hour depending on factors like the battery capacity and the combined power draw of your attached devices.

Higher-quality Uninterruptible Power Supplies will also have built-in surge protection and voltage regulation, which both prevent power spikes from damaging connected equipment as well as adjusting voltage levels until stable so that your equipment runs as efficiently as it can without hiccups.

Why to consider an Uninterruptible Power Supply

When the power goes out and you’re on your powered desktop computer, which can include some Macs in addition to Windows desktop computers, sudden power loss can result in losing important progress in your favorite programs before you get a chance to save your work.

When you attach an Uninterruptible Power Supply to the chain, the internal battery provides you with enough time to finish whatever you were doing during the power interruption and save your work before safely shutting down the machine. Some Uninterruptible Power Supplies even include software that saves your work and shuts your machine down automatically.

In terms of surge protection, anyone who has ever weathered a harsh lightning storm knows the dangers that this can pose to sensitive electronics. Thousands of electronics are affected by power surges every year, ranging from computers, to televisions, to expensive household appliances. Built-in surge protection in higher-quality Uninterruptible Power Supplies can mitigate these risks and protect your equipment during storms.

As for the voltage side of things, your computer’s internal power supply supplies critical components like the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage with the correct amount of power they need. Energy the power supply receives from a wall outlet can be unstable with spikes and dips, which impacts hardware performance. An Uninterruptible Power Supply cleans up this dirty power into modified or pure sine wave power output for a stable voltage level and optimized performance.

What to look for in an Uninterruptible Power Supply

If you’re shopping for an Uninterruptible Power Supply, it can be easy to over- or under-spend, depending on a variety of factors. For this reason, we have a few tips below that can help you decide whether you need an Uninterruptible Power Supply and what you should look for when buying one.

You don’t need an Uninterruptible Power Supply if:

• All your electronics already run on batteries
• You never work with sensitive data that needs continuous saving
• Your electronics are relatively inexpensive to start
• You don’t frequently experience power outages or surges

You should consider an Uninterruptible Power Supply if:

• You have electronics like desktop computers that don’t run on batteries
• You have a small home server that needs uninterrupted power
• You frequently work with sensitive data that needs continuous saving
• You have invested a lot of money in your electronics and want to protect them
• You experience frequent power outages or surges
• Your setting is susceptible to power oscillation because of nearby tools/equipment

While computers are the focus of our post today, Uninterrupted Power Supplies can also be useful for home entertainment systems, medical equipment, and home security systems, among other things that need continuous uninterrupted power.

If you’re looking for an Uninterruptible Power Supply, it’s important not to over- or under-spend. You should consider what you plan to attach to it and determine how much wattage your combined devices will pull so that you don’t exceed the wattage rating of the Uninterruptible Power Supply you buy.

For example, my gaming PC has a power-hungry NVIDIA RTX 5090 graphics card rated for up to 600W, while my AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor can draw up to 170W. I picked an Uninterruptible Power Supply with a wattage rating well above the combination of my PC’s most power-hungry components, eventually landing me with the APC BR1500MS2 with a 900W-rated internal battery.

It is important to consider the power draw of your devices first and foremost. You should also consider whether the Uninterrupted Power Supply has any regular Surge Protector ports for devices that don’t need battery backup capabilities and whether it has built-in coaxial line surge protection if you want to use it with your modem.

Here are some high-quality recommendations from our team depending on your wattage requirements:

• 900W or lower – APC BR1500MS2 – (approximately $275 on Amazon)
• 810W or lower – APC BR1350MS – (approximately $230 on Amazon)
• 600W or lower – APC BR1000MS – (approximately $170 on Amazon)
• 450W or lower – APC BR850G2 – (approximately $140 on Amazon)
• 330W or lower – APC BE600M1 – (approximately $80 on Amazon)
• 225W or lower – APC BE425M – (Approximately $60 on Amazon)

While there are Uninterruptible Power Supplies with higher wattage ratings, the price grows exponentially from the 900W range. Most consumer electronics, especially PCs, will not exceed the 900W range, so we’ve elected to exclude those expensive options from our recommendations.

What you should know about Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Even when you get an Uninterruptible Power Supply, there are things you need to know to keep your electronics protected long-term. The most important thing is that Uninterruptible Power Supplies require maintenance to work correctly.

The most important part of Uninterruptible Power Supply maintenance is keeping up with the batteries. Like other batteries, these have a limited lifespan and eventually need to be replaced. You should check the batteries at least once every 6-12 months for signs of wear and tear, including swelling. APC recommends replacing their Uninterruptible Power Supply batteries at least once every 3-5 years. The replacement battery kit can cost around $100, depending on the size and battery capacity of your Uninterruptible Power Supply.

Some Uninterruptible Power Supplies share a data connection over a USB or serial cable so that they can speak to the computer via software to let it know when to shut down. It’s important to keep this software, as well as the firmware of the Uninterruptible Power Supply, up to date to squash any bugs and ensure optimal performance.

Final thoughts

An Uninterrupted Power Supply can mitigate a lot of worrisome factors when it comes to powering your personal computer and other sensitive electronics in the home, especially when it comes to saving your work before a sudden shutdown in the event of power loss.

While Uninterrupted Power Supplies can be costly on the higher end, most consumer models are affordable and well-worth the investment if the user requires reliable power and doesn’t want to risk equipment damage from unstable power sources.

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