g wrote: > to determine power requirements, check labels on back of equipment for voltage > and amps ratings. multiply volts x amps = va load to determine require ups.
That works, but it is "conservative". I may have a special case in that I am mostly concerned with riding through very short outages -- 1 second to say 1 minute. I have a 300 VA Conext UPS (I got it from Staples for about $10 after a $20 rebate, IIRC). I'm running 3 computers on it (main boxes only, not the monitor) and am surviving the short outages I occasionally get. Some day I'll pull the plug and time how long the three computers stay up. I just looked at a 200 Watt computer power supply from my junkbox -- the label says it uses 5 amps at 115 volts (575 volt amps (VA)). It is probably not a modern switching power supply, which I assume would have a lower power requirement, but, the three computers I mention above have power supplies of 300, 230, and 200 watts (IIRC), so presumably the labels will add up to at least a "requirement" of 730 volt amps. Since I am running those three on a UPS rated at 300 VA, there is some conservatism in the calculations. PS: The Conext has an indicator light to indicate if the plugged in load is beyond the rating of the UPS (even while the UPS is running off the mains) -- it is not on, and I've never seen it on. regards, Randy Kramer
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