UPS for home computer or small business - TOP 10

Which UPS to choose? We recommend 10 models for maintaining the power supply and full protection of PCs, for electronic equipment or household appliances.

The coming summer seems to maintain the recent trend of storms and heat (see where and when the storms - see warning apps). As a result, we will have to deal with network failures and power outages again - often even for days. Will my countrymen be ready and supplied with UPS this year?

UPS for computer - guardian angel of your equipment

It is not worth saving money on an uninterruptible power supply. Sometimes we may not even notice its operation, and most often it may become useless for a year. However, in this one critical moment, it must guarantee 100% efficiency. Otherwise, there is no point in investing in UPS and there will be no benefits. This mainly applies to very cheap 'no name' power supplies or a little-known brand, mostly from China. Such products are hosted, among others, on large auction sites and really tempt with the price. All the more so, we do not recommend used UPSs, specifically those that have been heavily used.

In our TOP 10, we focus mainly on home or office power supplies, to which we will connect computer equipment, electronics or household appliances. The list below is not a ranking and we will describe further in the article what distinguishes each of the selected models.

Home or Small Business UPS:

Examples of applications for which the above UPS will work perfectly:

1. Securing work performed on PCs (workstations) in the event of short power cuts.
2. Ensuring work continuity - e.g. maintaining the power supply of the cash register and payment terminal or uninterrupted video streaming.
3. Protection of devices, computers, workstations, NAS servers, game consoles against the effects of network disruptions.
4. Maintaining power of the monitoring system - cameras and NAS server.
5. The possibility of recharging a phone, tablet or laptop in the event of a long power outage.
6. Possibility of lighting the house or office, maintaining cooling in the refrigerator in the event of a long absence.
7. Power supply for devices in the house, such as: a gas stove (i.e. hot water or even heating the entire house), garage door, alarm system, PlayStation.

We mainly consider the most popular line-interactive power supplies, but there are also three online suggestions. We decided to reject the offline models completely, because with the current price difference and no AVR, we just don't consider them worth buying.

Offline power supplies are still the cheapest way to get backup power, but they offer very limited protection for the connected equipment and switch to battery power much slower.

The first three are cheaper models with the so-called simulated sine wave (another name that can be found in the specification is a stepped approximation of a sine wave, a modified sine wave and an approximate sine wave). UPSs with a pure sine wave output have a wider application, are more universal, and therefore also more expensive. Generally speaking, they are not only suitable for computer hardware. Rule of thumb: if you don't know what device you are going to connect to the UPS, better choose a pure sine wave. For more information, see the guide Which UPS to choose.

It is worth remembering that the power of the power supply is not equal to its demand for power - modern power supplies have an efficiency of 80-90%, so an example 500 W power supply can actually draw up to 600W of power from the UPS!

All UPSs listed here have a transfer time of 8 ms or less, which is sufficient for the applications for which we recommend them. A solid ATX power supply in a PC, at maximum load, in the event of a power failure, will maintain the output voltage for about 15 ms. Line-interactive UPSs with sinusoidal voltage offer even shorter transfer times, ranging from 2 to 6 ms.

When selecting a UPS, it is worth measuring the real power consumption - ATX power supplies in a PC are often selected with a significant reserve of power. Usually, a computer with a 500 W power supply, even under heavy load, will not draw more than 400 W from the socket (although this is not a rule!)

However, it is important to select the type and power of the UPS for a PC equipped with an ATX power supply with active PFC. And nowadays, this applies to virtually all modern ATX power supplies with any 80+ certification. The simplest and currently the only cost-effective solution is to choose a UPS with full sine wave. An alternative might be to choose an oversized UPS with an approximated sine wave, however, as you will see from the list below, it does not make sense due to the current cost of full sine wave power supplies.

Modern computers will no longer be willing to work with power supplies with a simulated sine wave.

The last thing we want to emphasize is the uptime, which in the industry is usually set at about 4-5 minutes at full load (nominal power). This time, however, does not increase proportionally to the load reduction and depends to a large extent on the design of the power supply itself. When describing power supplies, we will focus on the first of the above-mentioned applications.

Which UPS for the computer?

CyberPower BU650E - 360W - the minimum option

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CyberPower is a brand recognized all over the world. Over 23 years of experience allows us to create very competitive solutions. This is what the BU650E model costing PLN 200 is. 360 W power is enough to maintain the power of a typical office PC (usually APFC-free) with a monitor for much more than 10 minutes, which will usually allow you to safely save your work and shut down your computer safely, even if you are attacked by Windows updates. Even despite such a low price, the manufacturer provided the AVR function, and also guarantees a very fast switching time to battery power - 4 ms. Another advantage is the small size and shape of a slightly larger power strip.

The most important features:

Legrand UPS Keor Multiplug 800 AVR - 480 W - a bit more features

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This model appeared in the previous edition of our list, but it still defends itself with great design and additional functions - to the extent that we even tried to review it. For example, it is equipped with a USB type A socket, which also allows you to charge the phone directly, if necessary, but also to communicate with the computer, so that even if we are not at the computer at the time of power failure, it will automatically hibernate the system! I have four sockets with a power supply and two "pass-through" sockets at my disposal. As the name suggests, there is, of course, AVR, while 480 W of power will allow you to maintain the power of a typical PC for even longer, but also in the case of more powerful machines, especially those for gaming, it will not allow the computer to be turned off when the power runs out under full load. Unfortunately, we are still talking about a simulated sine wave design, so there may be some conflicts when working with newer computers.

Key Features: See the review

Ever EASYLINE 1200 - 600 W - when more power is needed in the office

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This is the last of our proposed UPS generating an approximate sine wave. It is also the first full-size UPS with an LCD display. Due to the conflict with APFC, however, we dedicate it mainly to typical office applications, where it will support several workstations - 1200 VA in this application will allow you to connect up to four computer sets and maintain their power supply for five minutes after its failure. In addition, we get filtering of the network cable (unfortunately only 100 Mbps) and a very efficient AVR (activation already at 10% deviation from the norm!). What is also worth mentioning - the PowerSoft Professional software for UPS management allows remote control of other computers powered by EASELINE - so you can plan collective hibernation of computers at a specific level of UPS battery discharge.

The most important features:

Armac Office 850F LCD - 480 W - the cheapest full sine wave!

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We are abandoning power supplies generating current with a square wave. The Office 850F model from the Polish manufacturer Armac is a sensationally priced power supply that offers a full sine wave when powered from the battery. What's more, despite such a low price, we still have the option of managing a computer connected via USB (the cable is unfortunately not included in the set). There was also filtering the network cable, but at the expense of cutting the bandwidth to 100 Mbps. We have only two sockets at our disposal, so if you need to connect more devices, you will need to use a power strip. The device also has a simple LCD display that provides information about the charge level, operating mode and voltage stability. The AVR function keeps this voltage within +/- 15% of the desired voltage. This UPS has a decent time of switching the power supply, and the power of 850 VA will allow you to maintain the work of even a very efficient PC for about 4 minutes. The only significant drawback is quite loud work.

The most important features:

PowerWalker VI 800 SW FR - 480W - decent but still inexpensive

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PowerWalker is a reliable German company that has been providing UPS solutions for over 15 years. The VI 800-SW model is structurally very similar to the previously described Armac model, but the workmanship is at a higher level, and we get a 30% larger battery, which translates into up to 6 minutes of battery life under heavy load. The AVR function is also more precise (up to 10% deviation), and in the event of a power outage, switching to the battery is within 2-6 ms. The product, however, like all the above, is not without some drawbacks - despite the higher price, the use of mains cable filtering is limited to 100 Mbps, and the power supply, although it is not loud, is not quiet either. There is also a 600 VA version and a full cross-section of socket types.

The most important features:

CyberPower CP1300EPFCLCD - 790 W - pure sine wave and more power

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While both previously described models are perfect for a single position, when you need to protect several positions in the event of a power failure, you will need more powerful equipment. Our choice is CyberPower CP1300EPFCLCD - mainly due to its great price / performance ratio. The operating parameters are not inferior to the previously described designs, so we are talking about a full sine wave in line-interactive technology, AVR operating in the range of 10%, filtering the network cable and management via USB and LCD panel. What distinguishes it is the presence of two additional USB sockets for charging mobile equipment (with an intensity of 2.1 A) and, of course, the aforementioned higher power, which is also accompanied by a greater number of sockets. The power of 1300 VA will allow you to safely save your work and shut down or hibernate up to three strong PC sets or six typical office units with monitors. You can also boast a slightly more modern design and a decent level of generated noise. It is also available in a 1500 VA version.

The most important features:

APC Smart SMC1000IC - 700 W - when the power needs to be kept on for longer

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In a typical situation, all the UPSs described so far only allow for safe termination of work. What if we need to guarantee a longer battery life? Here it is not the power, but the battery capacity that matters. APC Smart SMC, although the standard configuration does not have much greater capacity, but allows you to connect additional battery sets! In this way, we get a power supply that will allow for stable operation of 4-6 Dell OptiPlex or HP 24 AiO office PC sets for a time limited only by our budget! It should be noted, however, that such opportunities are not cheap - especially since APC is one of the most recognizable brands on the market, which also raises the price. Nevertheless, we get the highest quality equipment, capable of working in a larger network. Our only caveat is the lack of network signal filtering (despite the presence of two RJ45 ports). It is also worth noting that due to the more business nature, this UPS is equipped with eight IEC type sockets, so it will be necessary to connect the appropriate power strip to each computer set.

The most important features:

Green Cell MPII UPS17 - 900 W - pure sine wave in online technology

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The GreenCell company is mainly associated with the production of batteries and accessories for charging mobile devices - meanwhile, it turns out that they also make very attractively priced UPSs based on their own battery packs. The MPII model is available in two versions and we recommend a slightly more expensive variant with IEC sockets and a network connection filter. The greatest advantage, however, will be the use of online technology, which means that the switching time does not apply to it - the devices are always powered from the battery, and the battery is constantly being charged - this allows you to obtain the most stable power supply. 1000 VA power with an efficiency of 90% allows you to expect even more than 20 minutes of power backup in a mid-range PC. The pure sine wave of course guarantees compatibility with modern ATX power supplies.

The most important features:

PowerWalker VFI 2000 AT - 1800 W - when you need to power the entire office

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The next of the online models selected by us is the middle representative of the VFI series from PowerWalker. It is also available in 1000 VA and 3000 VA versions and offers an efficiency of 90% in each case. The manufacturer used, depending on the model, 2, 4 or 6 batteries with a capacity of 9Ah, and additionally, it allows easy expansion of the system with another blocks with six batteries each. The UPS can also be expanded with a module for network communication, as only communication via USB and RS-232 is available. If you do not need to power the entire office, but for example you are professionally streaming and you need to have a guarantee of operation of the entire station in the event of a power failure for at least 2 hours, the VFI1000-AT variant with an additional set of batteries will be a good choice. With the load generated by a typical stressing station, we can expect over an hour of work, and by adding another set we will approach the full two hours!

The most important features:

Ever POWERLINE RT PLUS 3000 - 3000W - when power loss is not an option

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Our list of recommended UPS is closed by the industry-proven Ever Porerline RT PLUS model - it is available in several power variants (up to 10 kW!), Which can be adapted to your needs - we will focus on presenting the 3000 VA / 3000 W variant - That's right - the manufacturer guarantees 100% effectiveness! At the factory, six batteries with a capacity of 9 Ah are installed here, but you can add another three directly to the UPS. If this is still not enough, the system can be expanded by as many as 10 additional external battery modules, increasing the total capacity to over 1160 Ah! Such a reserve of energy will allow you to power an office building equipped with over 200 workstations for 10 minutes! Of course, such solutions are dedicated to RACK type server cabinets, and this is also the case here. The manufacturer provides excellent software for computer power management in our network - UPS outputs are divided into separate sections. The manufacturer has also equipped the power supply with remote emergency shutdown (EPO) and general remote management (ROO) functions. There is also the ECO mode, which reduces the energy consumption of the UPS itself.

The most important features:

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