UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
From: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-uninterruptible-power
-supply-ups/
The Best Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
By Sarah WitmanUpdated July 16, 2021
The three best uninterruptible power supply models from CyberPower, APC, and
Amazon Basics, shown side-by-side.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
FYI
After a new round of testing, we’ve made the CyberPower CP900AVR our top
pick and the APC BR1500MS2 our upgrade pick. The Amazon Basics Standby UPS
800VA remains our budget pick.
July 2021
Most people can get through a household power outage without much
hassle—chances are, by the time you find the spare flashlight batteries
and break out the board games, your lights and television will already be
back on. But if you want to keep your home Wi-Fi network and some other key
electronics up and running in the event of an outage, an uninterruptible
power supply (UPS) might be a worthwhile investment. After spending 34 hours
interviewing experts, considering more than 100 models under $250, and
testing the top candidates, we found that the CyberPower CP900AVR is the
best UPS for people who want to back up a few small electronics (such as a
modem, router, PC, external hard drive, or game server) during a blackout
lasting up to four hours.
Everything we recommend
Our pick
CyberPower CP900AVR
The best UPS for a home network
With five outlets on battery backup and 10 outlets total, this UPS can
reliably keep your Wi-Fi network running for up to four hours in a blackout
or keep your home-office setup powered long enough for you to save your work
and shut down.
$139 from Amazon
May be out of stock
$139 from Walmart
The CyberPower CP900AVR will cover the basics for most people during common,
short-term blackouts. In our tests, it provided enough power to keep a
household broadband modem and Wi-Fi router running for four hours, which
means you can stay online while the power is off and get in touch with
emergency services, follow news and weather changes, or just pass the time
on your favorite websites. It requires no setup aside from plugging it in,
and it includes automatic voltage regulation—an important feature that
some cheaper models lack. Five of its 10 outlets are backed up by a battery,
and its compact shape—about the size of a three-ring binder—and its 6
-foot cord make it relatively easy to stow under a desk or nightstand.
Key specs:
- Measured run time with a 20 W (modem and router) load: 4 hours
- Measured run time with a 300 W (modem, router, PC, and hard drive) load: 17
- minutes
- Measured peak power output: 738 watts
- Measured surge protection: 540.4 let-through volts
- Number of battery-backed outlets: five
- Warranty: three years
Upgrade pick
APC BR1500MS2
Powers larger setups for longer
This UPS has the highest peak power output and run time of any model we
tested, so it can run more gear for a longer stretch than anything else.
Plus, its higher-quality power is compatible with even the most sensitive
electronics.
$270 from Amazon
$270 from Walmart
The APC BR1500MS2 is the most expensive UPS we recommend for most homes or
small offices, but it offers a lot of value in the extra features it
includes. If you need to provide power to more (or larger) devices at your
computer workstation during an outage, it can deliver up to 847 W—we had
trouble finding home-office gear powerful enough to overload it in our
testing. Like our top pick, it can keep the average modem and router running
for up to four hours, giving you more than enough time to save your work and
wait for the blackout to end. Roughly the size and shape of a small PC
tower, it has 10 outlets in total, six of which it backs up with the
battery, and it adds two USB ports (one USB-A and one USB-C) for charging
small devices without the need for an extra power adapter. Because it has a
pure sine-wave inverter, its power is as smooth as that of a standard wall
outlet, making it safe and reliable for even sensitive equipment such as a
CPAP machine. Lastly, its backlit screen provides helpful information such
as the remaining battery life and the total wattage of the devices plugged
into the unit.
Key specs:
- Measured run time with a 20 W (modem and router) load: 4 hours
- Measured run time with a 300 W (modem, router, PC, and hard drive) load: 21
- minutes
- Measured peak power output: 847 watts
- Measured surge protection: 593.2 let-through volts
- Number of battery-backed outlets: six
- Warranty: three years
Budget pick
Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA
A bare-bones UPS
This UPS lacks premium features, but it has plenty of outlets and power to
keep a home Wi-Fi network up and running for up to an hour and a half when
the power goes out.
$76 from Amazon
If you’re on a tight budget, the Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA is an
affordable UPS with the battery and run time of a more expensive model: It
can keep a typical router and modem running for up to one and a half hours.
Its maximum output is on the lower side (we measured up to 470 W in our
testing), but that should be plenty of power for the six battery-backed
outlets to support basics such as home Wi-Fi gear. Unlike our other picks,
this less expensive model uses standby power management instead of automatic
voltage regulation (AVR). That should be fine in most cases, but it’s
harder on the battery, and you shouldn’t use it for sensitive AV gear or
medical equipment. Plus, Amazon offers only a one-year warranty on its UPS
models, in contrast to the three-year warranties that brand-name companies
provide.
Key specs:
- Measured run time with a 20 W (modem and router) load: 1.5 hours
- Measured run time with a 300 W (modem, router, PC, and hard drive) load: 6
- minutes
- Measured peak power output: 470 watts
- Measured surge protection: 402.8 let-through volts
- Number of battery-backed outlets: six
- Warranty: one year
Get Wirecutter’s independent reviews, expert advice, and intensively
researched deals sent straight to your inbox.
For information about our privacy practices, including how to opt out of
marketing emails, see our Privacy Policy. For general questions, contact us
anytime.
The research
Why you should trust me
I’ve been a science journalist for more than seven years, covering a wide
variety of topics from particle physics to satellite remote sensing. Since
joining Wirecutter in 2017, I’ve reported on surge protectors, dash cams,
USB-C cables, and more. In total, I’ve spent 34 hours researching and
testing UPS units for this guide.
I worked with Lee Johnson—an electrical engineer with more than 15 years
of experience designing and testing electronics—to determine the surge
-protection capabilities of each UPS in our 2021 round of testing.
Additionally, to learn more about how to recycle used UPS units, batteries,
and other electronic waste, I interviewed Joe Day, director of global
business development at TerraCycle Regulated Waste, a private firm
specializing in hard-to-recycle materials. I also interviewed Linda Gabor,
director of external relations at Call2Recycle, a battery-recycling
nonprofit, and Call2Recycle CEO Leo Raudys.
Who this is for
An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, is basically a surge protector, a
battery, and a power inverter (which turns the battery’s stored energy
into usable power) wrapped into one unit. The size of the battery determines
how long it can provide power, and the inverter determines how much power it
can put out at a time, often listed as volt-amps (VA) but more easily
discussed as watts (W).
A small, inexpensive UPS is great for anyone who wants their home Wi-Fi and
internet to stay online during short power outages or brownouts. Unlike
landlines, which work without power, digital phone service and Wi-Fi require
a broadband modem, which may have only a small battery backup. Adding a UPS
can keep you online and connected for an hour or more in case you need to
reach emergency services—or if you’re about to finish a critical
encounter in Dark Souls and your comrades are counting on you.
Larger UPS units with extra power and features can help keep home offices
and workstations running during business hours, or at least long enough for
you to save your work and safely shut down vulnerable equipment. If you have
a lot of important data on a desktop computer, an external hard drive, or
network-attached storage, you may need a UPS to prevent your drives from
losing data in the event of a sudden power outage. In some cases, a UPS can
provide crucial backup power to household medical equipment—such as CPAP
machines for sleep apnea—for a limited time.
A small, inexpensive UPS is great for anyone who wants their home Wi-Fi and
internet to stay online during short power outages or brownouts.
Powering your home theater for a movie marathon during a storm is more
difficult, and costlier, than simply buying a UPS. If you need long-term
power, the capacity to keep refrigerators and other appliances plugged in,
or a way to light up your whole house in blackout situations, off-grid
options such as backup generators or professionally installed battery packs
are the way to go.
The Best NAS for Most Home Users
The Best NAS for Most Home Users
If you need to back up documents, photos, and videos from multiple laptops
and phones, we recommend a network-attached storage (NAS) device.
How we picked
The three best uninterruptible power supply models from CyberPower, APC, and
Amazon Basics, shown side-by-side.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
We started by considering more than 100 models from three leading companies:
APC, CyberPower, and Tripp Lite. We’ve tested uninterruptible power
supplies and surge protectors from these companies in the past, and all
three have long-held reputations as reliable makers of electronics. Since a
UPS is designed for use in an emergency, choosing from a reputable brand is
crucial to avoid buyer’s remorse at the worst possible time. We also added
a few models from Amazon Basics to our list because it’s a prominent
option when you’re shopping online.
To whittle down our massive list of candidates, we considered the most
important traits of a great UPS and developed the following requirements:
- Automatic voltage regulation (AVR): We required our upgrade-pick contenders
to have AVR, and we strongly preferred it in all other models. AVR, also
called line-interactive topology, is a more advanced form of power
management than the type that less-expensive models use. With AVR, when
power from a wall outlet dips or surges briefly outside of a specified
range, a small transformer in the UPS acts like a buffer to compensate
without relying on the battery; the UPS switches to battery power only when
the transformer can’t handle the variation. This reduces wear and tear,
especially if you live somewhere with frequent brownouts, and prolongs the
overall life of the battery. It also provides more-reliable power to
sensitive gear such as hard drives. Since AVR is available without a huge
price premium, it’s a sensible feature that can help you get the most from
a UPS in the long term.
- Pure sine-wave inverter: We required this feature in our upgrade-pick
contenders and preferred it in all other models. A battery’s sine-wave
inverter turns its direct current (DC) power into alternating current (AC)
power, which you need to power most devices. A pure sine-wave inverter can
produce electrical waveforms as clear and smooth as those of the AC power
coming out of any wall outlet, whereas modified sine-wave inverters produce
choppier waveforms. The latter are fine for charging most household devices,
but you shouldn’t use them to run anything with a powerful motor (such as
a corded drill, vacuum, or blender) since they can cause inconsistent
speeds, heat buildup, or damage to the components. You should also avoid
using a UPS with a modified sine-wave inverter for sensitive audio equipment
(which can pick up buzzes of interference from the unit) and medical devices
that require pure AC power.
A graph showing pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet during testing
of UPS units.
A graph showing the output of a former pick UPS unit while running on
battery power.
A graph showing the output of a former pick UPS unit during previous
testing.
- Rated for at least 600 VA output: Most models explicitly include their
output in the name or model number in volt-amperes (VA). For our upgrade
pick, we looked for models with at least a 1,000 VA rating. VA ratings
aren’t common in most people’s lives, but they’re power ratings along
the same lines as the more-familiar watts (W). In most cases, you can safely
assume the wattage you’ll get from a UPS will be slightly lower than the
VA rating, though the actual result depends on the type of device you’re
plugging in.
- At least four battery-backed outlets: All outlets on a UPS provide surge
protection, limiting the amount of extra voltage that can reach and
potentially damage your devices—which is good because you should never
plug your UPS into a surge protector or plug a surge protector into a UPS.
But generally only half the outlets are connected to the backup battery (and
are prominently marked as such) so that they stay on when the power goes
out. It’s always good to have more outlets for plugging in more devices,
but the outlets that really matter on a UPS are the battery-backed ones. A
set of four battery-backed outlets is enough for you to plug in a modem,
router, desktop computer, and external hard drive—just make sure to plug
the right devices into the right outlets.
- At least a 5-foot cord: A long cord is helpful if your wall outlet isn’t
immediately next to your workstation, especially since it’s unsafe to plug
a UPS into an extension cord. A 5-foot cord should be long enough for most
people, but when an even longer cord is available, we prefer that.
- User-replaceable battery: Most UPS batteries are small, sealed, lead-acid
batteries—more like a car battery than the one in your smartphone or
laptop. We tested only those models that have a user-replaceable battery,
which allows you to spend $30 to $60 on a new battery instead of having to
buy a whole new UPS. Plus, as demonstrated in this video, the process is
simple enough for a novice to complete in just a few minutes.
- Power-management software: Even though most people won’t go through the
trouble of installing such software, most UPS makers offer an application
you can download to monitor and manage a UPS (over USB) from your computer.
You can also program it to complete a series of tasks before shutting down
if you’re away from your computer when the power goes out—which is
especially handy for units with shorter run times. Even better, software
that works on any operating system is future-proof even if you replace some
of your equipment, so your UPS can be just as useful years down the line as
it is the first day you plug it in.
- Warranty for a year or more: Most brands we looked at back their devices
for upwards of three years, but a year is plenty of time to test out your
UPS and determine whether it’s working properly. And since power outages
happen about once or twice per year in the US, you’re likely to have
tested it against a real-world outage in that time frame, too.
- USB ports: For charging a phone or some other small device, using a built
-in USB-A or USB-C output port is more convenient than taking up one of the
outlets with a multiport wall charger. These ports aren’t connected to the
battery, though, so you can’t use them during a power outage.
- Backlit screen: A small status light is all it takes for your UPS to tell
you that it’s up and running, but some of the pricier UPS models have a
screen to display additional information such as the battery’s charge
status, the current load, and the remaining run time. This information helps
to ease low-battery anxiety when the power goes out and you’re rushing to
save your work in time.
Cost under $250: You can get a good UPS for well under $250, and we don’t
think most people shopping for use at home or in a small office would get
any added benefits by spending more than that.
After applying these criteria to the available options, we were left with 12
contenders to test:
How we tested
We tested the performance of each model in a few key areas, including the
following:
- Peak power output (watts): This test told us the maximum load each UPS’s
inverter could handle. For this test, we plugged in the UPS and turned it
on. Then we unplugged it—leaving it running on its battery—and plugged
in household appliances with known power draws (such as an array of 50 W
halogen bulbs, a couple of 10 W lamps, and a 100 W fan that we had tested
using a Kill A Watt power meter) one by one until the battery overloaded and
the UPS shut down. Then we added up the total maximum power draw (based on
the appliances we had plugged in) and recorded the maximum output in watts.
- Battery capacity (watt-hours, or Wh) and run time: Manufacturers often
publish run-time ratings that outline how long a UPS can keep devices of
various wattages running. Since most ratings are based on ideal conditions,
we tested our top candidates at two different loads to see how they would
perform in real-world use: 20 W, representing the combined power draw of a
household modem and router, and 300 W, representing the power usage of a PC,
modem, router, and external hard drive running simultaneously. After
charging each UPS overnight, we plugged a Kill A Watt meter into one of the
battery-backed outlets. Then we plugged in an array of six halogen bulbs
totalling 300 W and unplugged the UPS, leaving it running on its battery.
Once the battery died, we recorded the time elapsed (run time) and the
kilowatt-hours (kWh), from which we calculated the battery’s effective
capacity in watt-hours (Wh). We then repeated the test with two 10 W lamps,
measuring the run time with a 20 W load.
- Surge protection: Applying the same equipment and protocol we use to test
surge protectors, we zapped each UPS with 5,000-volt power surges and
measured how many volts they let through. A lower let-through voltage (also
called clamping voltage) is better, since you want as few volts as possible
to get through to your devices. Since surge protection isn’t the primary
aim of a UPS, we didn’t set a hard limit, but we did prefer models with
lower let-through voltages.
- Max output (watts) from USB-A ports, if applicable: For the units with USB
-A output ports, we connected a PortaPow USB power monitor and a Drok USB
load tester to each port, then cranked up the power on the load testers
until the ports overloaded and shut down. We recorded the maximum amps and
volts, and we multiplied them to calculate the total output in watts.
- Look and feel: We considered the usability of the interface, the layout and
spacing of the outlets and ports, the shape and size of the unit, and the
overall design.
The Best Surge Protector
The Best Surge Protector
Tripp Lite’s Protect It 12-Outlet Surge Protector TLP1208SAT absorbs
thousands of volts so they won’t fry your gear, and it helpfully lets you
know when its protection wears out.
Our pick: CyberPower CP900AVR
Our top pick UPD, the CyberPower CP900AVR, shown on an orange background.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Our pick
CyberPower CP900AVR
The best UPS for a home network
With five outlets on battery backup and 10 outlets total, this UPS can
reliably keep your Wi-Fi network running for up to four hours in a blackout
or keep your home-office setup powered long enough for you to save your work
and shut down.
$139 from Amazon
May be out of stock
$139 from Walmart
The CyberPower CP900AVR offers premium features that you typically find in
units costing twice as much. It has a peak power output of 738 watts—one
of the highest figures we measured in our testing, and more than double the
power necessary to run a household modem, router, PC, and external hard
drive—and it can keep a modem and router (a 20 W load) running for up to
four hours. Plus, it has 10 outlets, including five battery-backed outlets,
to keep those devices running during a power outage. It’s easy to use, and
it has a compact design that fits comfortably under most workstations.
The CP900AVR has a modified sine-wave inverter, so it produces a slightly
choppier electrical waveform than what you can get from the pure sine-wave
inverters found in more expensive models, which are better for powering
sensitive equipment. But because it has automatic voltage regulation (AVR),
this UPS doesn’t need to transition from wall-outlet power to battery
power as often as models lacking this feature. This technology provides more
-reliable power to connected devices that can’t tolerate power drops, such
as hard drives, and it should extend the overall life of the unit.
In our testing, this CyberPower UPS achieved a higher peak power than any
comparably priced competitor, and it was just as good as some pricier units
we tested. We were able to plug in 738 watts’ worth of devices—two
lamps, a fan, 10 halogen bulbs, and even a KitchenAid mixer set to medium
power (don’t do this at home)—before its built-in battery finally cried
uncle and shut down. Obviously most people won’t be powering their
KitchenAid mixers on a UPS during a blackout, but our test is a good
indicator that this unit will power almost anything you need in your home
office for at least a short while.
The CP900AVR’s run time is as good as that of any model we tested, and
better than most. Judging from our testing, we expect it to keep a modem and
router running for up to four hours—or a modem, router, PC, and external
hard drive running for about 17 minutes—giving you ample time to save any
work and close any programs you have open. That result is on a par with what
we saw from our upgrade pick, and more than twice as long as our budget
pick’s result.
The CP900AVR has a total of 10 outlets, including five battery-backed
outlets, so you could keep a PC, monitor, NAS, modem, and router running
when the power goes out. Aligned in two rows, the outlets are spaced widely
enough for you to fit most plugs, and two of them can accommodate even the
bulkiest of plugs. The unit has a compact, upright design—about the shape
and size of a family-size box of cereal—so you can easily stash it next to
a PC tower or wireless router at a workstation, say, or alongside the
speakers and stereo receiver in a record-player setup.
This model is as easy to use as any UPS we’ve tested. It has a large,
round button on the front to power the unit on and off, and another to mute
the notification noises (a double-beep every 30 seconds after a power
outage, rapid beeping when the battery backup is about to cut out, a
constant tone if there’s an overload or short circuit, or a beep every two
seconds if the UPS has an internal problem). Below those buttons is a
cluster of four small LEDs that light up to indicate (clockwise from top
left) when the unit is powered on, when the battery backup has kicked in,
when the unit is overloaded, and when the AVR feature has kicked in. The
unit has large vents on either side to prevent overheating, and all of the
ports and connectors are located on the back.
In addition to its 10 AC outlets, the CP900AVR has two coaxial connectors
that you can use to hook up a cable box or modem, a serial port for a
printer or other peripheral device, and two network ports to connect the
unit to a server, Wi-Fi router, or any other device that requires a wired
network connection. It has a USB-B port to connect the UPS to your
computer—which you need to do if you want to use CyberPower’s software
or your computer’s operating system to set up data saving, monitoring, and
other functions. It also has a small LED to alert you if it detects a wiring
fault in the outlet you plug it into, as well as a red button to reset the
circuit breaker in the event of an overload or short circuit.
The CP900AVR has a thick, flexible 6-foot cord, which is as long as or
longer than the cords on all of the units we tested. As with the rest of our
picks, its plug has a flat, low-profile shape and is oriented at a 45-degree
angle so it won’t block more than one wall outlet (though if you prefer a
straight-in plug, our former top pick, the Tripp Lite AVR750U, is a good
option).
CyberPower protects the CP900AVR with a three-year warranty, which is as
long as we’ve found for a home UPS. Three years is more than enough time
for you to test your UPS to find out if it’s a dud and whether it meets
your needs in a real-world power outage.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The CyberPower CP900AVR isn’t as easy to slide under a desk or an
entertainment center as units that are flatter in shape, like our budget
pick, so you need to have enough vertical space to accommodate it. Its ports
are also less accessible since they’re located on the back of the unit
instead of on top, but that’s a worthwhile trade-off to reduce cord
clutter. Although this model has two fewer outlets than our budget pick, 10
outlets is plenty for most people—and all the models we tested with more
outlets had worse peak power or run times.
When we threw 5,000 volts at this unit, it blocked all but 540.4 of them.
That’s not quite as good as what we saw from our favorite surge
protectors, none of which let through more than 300 volts in testing with
identical equipment and parameters. But against most household power spikes,
sags, or surges, the CP900AVR can protect your devices better than most of
the UPS models we tested, some of which (such as the CP800AVR and CP685AVRG)
let through more than 700 volts apiece.
For powering and protecting critical equipment, such as a CPAP machine or
high-end audio gear, you’d be better off with our upgrade pick, since this
model’s modified sine-wave inverter produces slightly choppier waveforms
that can be incompatible with some devices.
Upgrade pick: APC BR1500MS2
The best UPS for more power and longer run time, the APC BR1500MS2, shown on
an orange background.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Upgrade pick
APC BR1500MS2
Powers larger setups for longer
This UPS has the highest peak power output and run time of any model we
tested, so it can run more gear for a longer stretch than anything else.
Plus, its higher-quality power is compatible with even the most sensitive
electronics.
$270 from Amazon
$270 from Walmart
If you need more power, slightly longer run times, or the ability to protect
sensitive electronics such as household AV gear or medical equipment in a
blackout, the APC BR1500MS2 is your best bet. It costs around twice the
price of a model like the CP900AVR, but its peak power output is higher than
that of nearly every other UPS we’ve tested, it can keep a home Wi-Fi
network powered for a few minutes longer, and it has an LCD screen for you
to closely monitor output, battery life, and other variables. Plus, when
you’re not in an outage, you can use its two USB ports to keep a phone and
one other small device charged.
Because it has both a pure sine-wave inverter and automatic voltage
regulation (AVR), this unit can work with even the most sensitive
electronics. In our testing, we ran out of 10-, 50-, and 100-watt appliances
trying to reach the BR1500MS2’s peak power output, so we ended up putting
it to the ultimate test by plugging in a hair dryer—don’t try this at
home, since a UPS is not designed for use with heat-producing
devices—after which we finally measured a maximum output of 847 watts.
Similarly, the BR1500MS2 left most contenders in the dust when it came to
battery capacity, as it ran for four hours at a 20 W load and 21 minutes at
a 300 W load. The only competitors that came close were our top pick and the
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD (the latter was also the only UPS to beat the
BR1500MS2 in output, cranking out a whopping 930 watts). No matter how
massive your setup is—maybe you have a full workstation drawing 300 W or
more, or maybe you have only a modem and router plugged in, totaling about
20 W—the BR1500MS2 should buy you plenty of time to save your work and
shut down all your programs.
Like our top pick, the BR1500MS2 has 10 outlets, two of which are spaced far
apart enough to accommodate extra-large plugs. It has one more battery
-backed outlet than our top pick (six versus five), so you could potentially
keep a computer, monitor, external hard drive, modem, router, and NAS unit
running without skipping a beat in the event of a power outage. Plus, the
USB-A port and the more-powerful USB-C port on the front (which have a
combined output of 19 W, according to our measurements) can help free up one
of the surge-protected AC outlets, which might otherwise be occupied by a
USB wall charger.
No matter how massive your setup is, this UPS should buy you plenty of time
to save your work and shut down all your programs.
The BR1500MS2 is one of the biggest models we tested, measuring about 4
inches wide by 10 inches high by 14½ inches deep (the CP1500PFCLCD and
CP900AVR are both roughly the same size). Like our top pick, it stands
upright, so it’s better suited for placing alongside a desktop computer
tower or bookshelf speakers rather than sliding under a desk or mounting on
a wall.
When we inundated the BR1500MS2 with 5,000-volt surges, it was able to block
all but 593.2 volts. That’s not nearly as much protection as our favorite
surge protectors offer, and it’s slightly worse than what we saw from our
other UPS picks (our top pick let through 540.4 volts, and our budget pick
let through just 402.8 volts), but this model will still protect your
equipment against most household power surges.
The BR1500MS2 is one of just three UPS units we tested with a display screen
(the other models, the APC BR1000MS and CP1500PFCLCD, are similar in price
and have all the same key features, but in our testing they had a shorter
run time and let through more volts than the BR1500MS2, respectively). The
screen is large and bright, with easy-to-read text and images. It tells you
if the UPS is on and passing power to your devices, and it also relays lots
of other information, including the current input and output, the
battery’s charge status, how much of the maximum load your devices are
using, the estimated run time (in minutes) if an outage were to occur, how
many outages have happened, whether the alarm’s volume has been muted,
when the UPS is utilizing its AVR feature, and when the battery backup has
kicked in. This isn’t information everyone needs to know, but it can offer
extra peace of mind—which is especially nice to have when you’re
scrambling to safely power down your equipment in a blackout.
A close-up of the screen on the BR1500MS2 UPS.
The BR1500MS2 is the only one of our picks with a screen, which allows you
to closely monitor output, battery life, and other variables. Photo: Michael
Murtaugh
Beneath the screen, you’ll find (from left to right) a display button to
toggle through options, a power button, and a mute button to silence the
chirruping audio notifications. The last is especially useful with this
unit, since you can get most of the necessary information from the display
screen rather than trying to infer meaning from a series of chirps (which
are louder and less charming than actual birdsong).
Like every model we tested, the BR1500MS2 has a little light (on the back)
that turns red if it encounters a problem. But its screen offers additional
information, such as whether the problem originated internally, from faulty
wiring in your wall, or from the battery overloading. And like most UPS
units, it has a red button (also located on the back) that you can press to
reset the circuit breaker, which means you don’t have to unplug and then
replug the UPS every time a problem occurs.
Like our top pick, this UPS has two network ports, a serial port, a USB-B
port, and two coaxial connectors. All of these ports are unnecessary for
most people, but they don’t take up much space and are nice to have if
you’re concerned about power surges coming over those lines.
If you have a Windows computer, you can connect it to the USB-B port and run
APC’s included software to schedule your computer to turn on and off at a
certain time, back up certain data, and more. If you have a Mac, you can use
your operating system’s native shutdown feature for a similar range of
tasks.
Like our top pick, the BR1500MS2 has an ample 6-foot cord to reach from a
wall outlet to your work or entertainment setup, and it’s backed by a
three-year warranty in case you run into any issues with your UPS in that
period.
Budget pick: Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA
The Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA, our budget pick for best UPS.
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Budget pick
Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA
A bare-bones UPS
This UPS lacks premium features, but it has plenty of outlets and power to
keep a home Wi-Fi network up and running for up to an hour and a half when
the power goes out.
$76 from Amazon
The Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA is a good option if your budget
precludes you from getting one of our other picks—plus, it adds two more
outlets. But in saving some cash, you’re giving a few things up: It has
the lowest capacity and peak power output of any of our picks, as well as
the shortest cord and the skimpiest warranty. And don’t plan on using it
to protect electronics that require either a pure sine-wave inverter or
automatic voltage regulation (AVR), since it lacks both features.
In our testing, this inexpensive option had more than enough power output
for home-networking gear or a simple home-office setup. We measured a peak
power output of 470 W, as it allowed us to connect an assortment of eight
halogen bulbs and two lamps to its battery-backed outlets before it tapped
out a few seconds later. That’s a lower output than we got from most UPS
units we tested, but it should still be enough to power a desktop computer,
a household modem, a Wi-Fi router, an external hard drive, and maybe a few
small devices.
If you just want to keep your Wi-Fi powered during a blackout, this Amazon
Basics option is a cheaper way to do so for around an hour and a half
(that’s how long it lasted with our 20 W fan). It won’t last more than a
few minutes under a heavier load, though; we measured a run time of just six
minutes with a 300 W load.
This UPS has 12 outlets total to plug your electronics into, including six
battery-backed outlets to protect some sensitive devices—such as a router,
modem, laptop, monitor, external hard drive or NAS, and alarm clock—in the
event of a power outage. That’s two more outlets than in either of our
other picks.
A close up of the outlets on the Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA, showing a
plug using one of the outlets.
The Amazon Basics Standby UPS 800VA has 12 outlets, four of which are spaced
far enough apart to accommodate extra-large plugs. Photo: Michael Murtaugh
The unit is about the size and shape of a dictionary lying flat on its back.
The outlets are widely spaced, and four of them have enough space for extra
-large power bricks. The unit’s only auxiliary connector is a USB-B port,
which you’ll need if you want to use the included software that lets the
UPS trigger a safe shutdown of your computer (it works for either Mac or
Windows). Like our other picks, it has a circuit-breaker reset button, which
is handy for restarting the unit if it overloads or short-circuits; this
feature prevents you from having to unplug and then replug the entire unit.
When we zapped this unit with 5,000 volts, it blocked all but 402.8 of them.
Although that’s about twice as many volts as our favorite surge protectors
let through, it’s still better surge protection than we saw from any UPS
we’ve tested (other than the Tripp Lite AVR750U, which performed about the
same). This means that, unlike with some models we tested, your precious
devices should have ample protection against common household power
fluctuations as well as against less-frequent blackouts that trigger the
battery backup.
On the top, the Standby UPS 800VA has a single on/off button that doubles as
all of the indicator lights for the unit: For example, the button turns
solid green when the device is powered on and working, it flashes and beeps
when the UPS is running on battery, and it turns solid and plays a constant
tone when the battery is overloaded. This interface is less intuitive than
that of other units, and it might make you resort to the manual (or this
guide) to figure out what the UPS is trying to tell you, but it gets the job
done.
This UPS has a 5-foot cord, which is a foot shorter than the cords for our
other picks, so you might have to move your workstation closer to an outlet
to help it reach. As for other drawbacks, aside from the unit’s lack of
AVR, a feature that both of our other picks have, Amazon Basics also offers
the shortest warranty. With a one-year warranty, you have little wiggle
room, so if you do choose this model, make sure to test it out within that
window to confirm that it works—and continue to test the battery
periodically by unplugging the UPS from the wall and letting it run on its
battery.
Care and maintenance
It’s important to know what a UPS can and can’t do. Using a UPS to power
high-drain devices—including large office equipment such as laser printers
and paper shredders, or anything that makes heat, like a space heater or
curling iron—can damage its internal components, degrade its battery, and
void its warranty. Small electronics or office equipment without moving
parts should be fine, but for anything bigger than a desktop computer, check
the manual for your UPS.
Do not ever—ever, ever—plug a UPS into a surge protector, or vice versa.
Aside from potentially overloading either unit and tripping a fuse or
breaker, you also risk cancelling out the surge protection instead of
doubling it up.
Similarly, you should not plug a UPS into an extension cord, because the
excess load can cause it to overheat and melt. If the cord on your UPS
isn’t long enough, you’re better off moving your workstation closer to
an outlet or spending $100 or so to have an electrician install a new
outlet—either of which is preferable to replacing damaged electronics or
starting a fire accidentally.
The sealed, lead-acid battery inside your UPS will stay charged as long as
the device is plugged in, so it should be able to perform well for many
years. But since batteries degrade over time, you can avoid any surprises in
the future if, once a year or so, you unplug the UPS from the wall outlet
with your devices running—just to make sure the UPS powers them for as
long as you expect it to.
Like all electronics, a UPS unit won’t last forever. But ideally, you
should be able to replace the battery numerous times before you have to
replace the entire unit. CyberPower and APC sell replacement batteries that
are compatible with our top and upgrade picks, respectively, as do some
third-party battery makers. Amazon Basics doesn’t sell spare UPS
batteries, but you can get a compatible replacement for our budget pick from
Duracell, Mighty Max, and some other well-established brands. When in doubt,
just make sure the voltage and terminals (either F1 or F2) listed on the
label match the battery that came with your unit.
UPS units typically use sealed lead-acid batteries, which (along with nearly
every kind of battery used these days) can be recycled. Although most
Americans recycle plastic, metal, paper, and cardboard on a regular basis,
less than half recycle their used batteries and other electronic waste. This
is a bummer, since batteries that end up in a landfill can leach heavy
metals and other harmful chemicals into local soil and water systems. It
also means that to make new electronics, manufacturers need to have more raw
materials mined, rather than salvaging the usable components from old ones.
To recycle your old UPS batteries, as well as the UPS units themselves (when
they eventually wear out), you have a few options:
- Look up municipal recycling facilities in your area that accept electronic
waste using the Earth911 database.
- Drop off spent UPS batteries (and other used batteries) at a Call2Recycle
collection site.
- Mail in a prepaid TerraCycle Power Strips and Cords Zero Waste Box with
your old UPS unit (sans battery) and any surge protectors, power strips,
extension cords, and other cables you’d like to get rid of.
- Mail in a prepaid EasyPak Electronics Recycling Container from TerraCycle
Regulated Waste to recycle a medley of batteries and other types of e-waste.
Other good UPS units
If our top pick is unavailable, and you don’t need the premium features
our upgrade pick offers (such as a pure sine-wave inverter, a screen, and
USB ports), get our former top pick, the Tripp Lite AVR750U. It has even
more outlets (six battery-backed outlets and 12 total) than our top pick, as
well as an equally long (6-foot) cord. It had the best clamping voltage of
any model we tested, letting through just 397.2 volts. It also performed
well in our other tests—keeping our 10 W lamps lit for two hours and
cranking out 489 watts of power—though not as well as our top and upgrade
picks performed.
The CyberPower AVRG900U is a good option if our top pick and the Tripp Lite
AVR750U are both unavailable and you don’t need our upgrade pick’s
premium features. In our testing, it kept our lamps lit for two and a half
hours, had a 617-watt peak power output, and blocked all but 540.4 volts of
our 5,000-volt power surges. It has 12 outlets (including six battery-backed
outlets) and a 5-foot cord.
The competition
We dismissed the following models because they let through more voltage than
our picks in our surge-protection testing: The APC BE650G1 let through 684.4
volts, the CyberPower CP685AVRG let through 718 volts, the CyberPower
CP800AVR (our former runner-up pick) let through 756 volts, and the
CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD (our former upgrade pick) let through 628.4 volts.
The Amazon Basics Standby UPS 600VA has mediocre battery capacity: In our
testing, we measured a 30-minute run time at a 20 W load, and three minutes
at a 300 W load. Plus, it has only eight outlets (four with battery backup),
fewer than any of our picks.
The APC BR1000MS has 10 outlets, six of which have battery backup. But in
our tests it had a disappointing peak power output—we measured a max
output of 670 watts, a result that’s no better than what we got from some
of the less-expensive models.
The CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD has a shorter run time (90 minutes at a 20 W
load, six minutes at a 300 W load) and peak power output (535 W) compared
with either of the similarly priced models we tested, as well as some models
that cost less than half as much.
|
