Just a few weeks ago, an electrical storm accompanied by a flash flood whacked Hawaii. Some East Honolulu roads were gridlocked and flooded. An ensuing power outage hit many households in the area. (Of course, the damage on Kauai was much worse.)
It was a stark reminder that our grid is fragile, and when it collapses it can wreak havoc on your computers.
Here’s why:
A power outage is accompanied by power spikes and power dips, which can corrupt files by shutting down your system prematurely or, worse, damaging your motherboard, your expensive flat-screen TV or any number of devices.
Invest in a UPS
At the minimum, defend your system with a brand-name surge protector. Better yet, get an uninterruptible power supply (aka UPS), which offers protection from outages, power spikes and power dips. Vendors such as APC, PowerWare and Tripp Lite offer a variety of models and prices. These run in the neighborhood of $100-$200.
Rob Kay, my co-writer, tested out a new APC Back UPS pro 1000s, a midrange model that pumps out 600 watts and is enough to keep most desktop systems going for 15-20 minutes after an outage. That provides plenty of time to shut down your system manually. APC also provides software that will automatically shut down the system if unattended.
It’s simple to set up. You start by connecting the positive cable to the battery terminal, and you’re in business. Rob set it up on his system, which consists of two monitors and a Dell desktop. It ran flawlessly through our testing. It has room for expansion — there are 10 outlets, six of which provide UPS battery backup and surge protection while the other four outlets offer surge protection only.
We think it’s a good size for the average home office.
What’s new with this system is a technology called sine wave battery backup output, which corrects minor power fluctuations that can protect sensitive (expensive) high-end PCs, smart TVs, network routers, gaming systems and home data storage.
The unit also has a fast-charging Type C USB charging port and a standard USB charging port, each of which offers 1.5 amps of charging power. This setup is ideal for charging flashlights, tablets or cellphones during an emergency. It’s a plus for disaster recovery scenarios.
The UPS pro 1000s costs you about $139 on Amazon, and you can purchase its least expensive UPS (the 600 VA) for $55.
If you can’t afford a UPS for your computer, we suggest that at the minimum you get surge protection such as the APC SurgeArrest Essential series ($8-$34) depending on number of outlets, cord length and USB charging ports. I’ve also seen a surge protection bundle and a UPS unit available at Costco.
Other devices
It’s not just your computers that need protection. Most everyone nowadays has flat-screen TVs and other sensitive electronics in the home. None of us are immune. Rob lost an internet radio a couple of years ago to a power outage because it was plugged into the wall socket instead of a surge protector. He learned the hard way.
How to prevent this?
Get a decent surge protector. APC suggests features such as noise filtering, coax/data line protection and higher joule ratings. For this application it recommends models P10U2, P12U2 and P11VNT3 products in its SurgeArrest Performance series, which range from $27-$45.
If you have any tech questions, APC has an excellent tech support center (out of the Philippines) with representatives that are polite and knowledgeable.
Thankfully, electrical storms, earthquakes and other acts of nature are not everyday experiences, but shielding your gear and data from power surges is a cheap insurance policy.
Mike Meyer is chief information officer for Honolulu Community College. Reach him at mmeyer@hawaii.edu.
