Issue 630 • 27 April –10 May 2022 61Replacing your UPS battery
This Makelsan Line Interactive UPS packs a lot
of power into a compact buildWhat to look for in a UPS
The main factors that should influence
your choice of UPS are power output and
backup time. The power output is
specified in VA (volt-amperes) or W
(watts), and this figure dictates how
much equipment can be connected to it.
Although units include multiple
sockets, which may tempt you to plug in
your computer, monitor, router, NAS,
smart TV and more, you must ensure that
power demand doesn’t outstrip supply
and drain the battery instantly. Add up
the power requirements for your PC and
other hardware you need to connect to a
UPS (you should be able to find this
information on a label on the rear of the
equipment) and buy a device with at least
this total capacity – preferably about 20
per cent more.
A good option is the CyberPower Brics
series (www.snipca.com/41552, pictured
above), which offers a choice of models
depending on how much power you need
- from a 700VA/420W unit for £84, to
1200VA/720W for £154. CyberPower units
also have USB ports for charging devices
such as phones via a USB cable.
Bear in mind that a UPS may only be
able to power your PC and router from its
battery for a few minutes, but this should
cover most minor outages and give you
the chance to save your important files.
Before you buy one, check its backup
time for an estimate of how long devices
will last on battery backup – the ‘full
load’ figure will tell you the minimum
time you’ll get at maximum power.
For example, the APC Easy UPS BVX900LI,
which costs £120 for 900VA/480W (www.
snipca.com/41554, pictured above), can
power an ‘entry-level’ PC, with a 20in
monitor and router for 80 minutes, but
the backup time is slashed to 10 minutes
for a mid-range PC, with a 24in monitor,
router and external speakers.
Most UPS units sound an alarm in the
event of a power failure, so you can take
immediate action, and many have LCD
screens that show their current power
and battery status. Some also have
software that shuts down your PC
automatically when you lose power.What type of UPS should you buy?
The simplest and cheapest type of UPS
unit is an offline or standby model. In the
event of a mains failure, its batteryprovides power via an inverter that
converts its low-voltage DC output to the
240V AC required by mains-powered
equipment. Because of their limited
power and back-up time, offline units
aren’t ideal for protecting multiple
devices and in recent years they’ve been
usurped by increasingly affordable
line-interactive units. These work in the
same way but also include a transformer
that provides automatic voltage
regulation whenever a mains supply is
present. This protects you against
brownouts and surges, because the
current is maintained at 240V, and
preserves battery life by not switching to
battery power unless necessary.
Most UPS units aimed at home users
are line-interactive, including the
AmazonBasics units mentioned on page
60, and consumer devices from
CyberPower (www.snipca.com/41556)
and APC (www.snipca.com/41557).
There’s also the compact but powerful
Makelsan Line Interactive UPS Lion
(www.snipca.com/41560, pictured above),
which costs £99 for 1200VA/720W, and
has four power outlets (IEC, kettle-plug-
style sockets rather than type-G standard
plug) and a backup time of up to 30 minutes.
Your other option is an online UPS,
though these are large, expensive and
really designed for offices. With these
units, the battery is always connected to
an inverter, and is kept constantly topped
up from the mains. When an outage
occurs, the power seamlessly switches
from mains to battery, so that all
connected devices keep running without
interruption. Because the hardware is
isolated from the mains supply, online
UPS make your devices impervious to
power surges and spikes.As with the rechargeable
battery in your laptop and
phone, the battery in your
UPS will eventually wear out
and will need to be replaced- typically after around
five years. The more power
cuts your unit deals with, the shorter its
lifespan is likely to be because it will need
to recharge after each one.
Before you buy a UPS, check if its
battery is replaceable or if it will be easier
and cheaper to get a new device when
the time comes. For example, APC states
that the Lithium batteries in its
lower-priced devices, such as
the BX1400UI (www.snipca.
com/41561), can’t be replaced
(though some Amazon
reviewers beg to differ).
In contrast, you can replace
the batteries in CyberPower devices, and
buy them from Amazon from a third-
party company called AJC (pictured,
http://www.snipca.com/41562). However,
the batteries cost £30-£40, which
is almost half the price of a new
CyberPower UPS.APC specialises in UPS units for home users
such as this BVX900LI modelCyberPower offers a choice of UPS units to
suit your budget and power needs