Cyberpower 1500VA UPS with LCD & AVR

[kgoldy]

Cyberpower 1500VA UPS with LCD & AVR

 

 

 

 

I was asking around on the forum a while back if a computer backup battery would be worth the investment, and the overwhelming answer seemed to be "no". With hurricane Irene's path directed right over my home a few weeks ago, I decided to get one anyway. I decided on the Micro Center "house brand" battery backup, rated at 1500VA- since this is the battery I use for my computer systems at work.

 

Throughout the week after the storm I experienced many blackouts and brownouts- and this battery kept my entire system running without so much as a hiccup. Thanks to the audible alarm (a loud, never-ending beep) I was alerted to power outages even when I wasn't using any other electrical equipment (so I didn't notice the TV shutting off, for example). The night of the hurricane I slept on the couch near my reef tank so I could be woken up by the alarm in case the power went out while I was sleeping.

 

When the power did go out, the backup allowed me enough time to get my generator running, run the extension cord into the house, and plug everything in. Also- it guaranteed protection against power waxing and waning, as the generator didn't produce a perfect 120V.

 

Throughout the hurricane and a week of power blackouts and brownouts, my system never lost power even once thanks to this thing. That means at no point did I have my skimmer overflow, ATO lose power, or have my pumps stop circulating. The peace of mind I had about my many hundreds of dollars worth of livestock was absolutely worth the purchase price.

 

I tested the battery with my entire system plugged in, and it ran for almost a half hour before the battery died. I haven't checked with the Kill-A-Watt to check exactly how much power the system eats at once- but I'll list what equipment I had running.

 

Bubble Magus 150 Pro with upgraded Aquabee Pump

Ehiem 1262 Return Pump (900 GPH)

2 x 135 Watt BoostLED Mu Fixtures

36" Ecoexotic Stunner Strip

48" Ecoexotic Stunner Strip

BoostLED Par30

3 x Generic Par30's from Loews (fuge lighting)

ReefKeeper Lite Plus with Net system

Wifi (for RKL w/ Net)

MP-40w ES

MP-10w ES

Maxi-jet 900

 

 

I obviously have a much larger system than most on this forum- so I think it's safe to say that a battery backup like this would power a Nano for much longer than the "8-15 minutes" that everyone said it would last for my BioCube when I was asking about it last year. While this won't keep it running for a week long blackout after a hurricane, it will keep things steady when you need to get your generator running or refill it's gas tank. The stability and peace of mind I had after hurricane Irene because of this thing was well worth the $150 or so that I spent on it. So get yourself a battery backup!