Do We Really Need an Uninterruptible Power Supply in Singapore?

Credit: Schneider Electric

While we’re blessed in Singapore with very few power outages and power trips, it does occur from time to time, and honestly? One of the worst things that can happen is when you’re working and the power trips, your computer shuts down and you end up losing a whole day’s worth of work. Those times are when you wish you had an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) so that you can at least save your work before turning off your computer safely.

Here are four things about Schneider’s Back-UPS Pro that might save you from that agony of having your work go to waste.

1. Battery backup

With batteries inside different models ranging from 650VA to 1600VA, you won’t ever have to worry about a sudden power outage ruining your unsaved work. Even the smallest 650VA model will provide enough power for you to save your work quickly. Estimated timings run anywhere from 64 minutes for a simple work PC with monitor, internet router and modem to 7 minutes for a gaming rig with monitor, external powered speakers, router and modem.

If you’re living in a country where power outages are common though, you might benefit from the 1600VA model, which can run a 40W PC for up to 2.5 hours.

2. Surge Protect

A sudden shutdown won’t generally affect the hardware of your electronics, but power outages might sometimes be accompanied by power surges, and those are definitely dangerous for electronics. Power supply units in computers might get blown, and if it’s bad, the chips on the motherboard and CPU could also be damaged. The Back-UPS Pro models can protect against power surges, spikes and even lightning strikes.

While it’s also not as common in Singapore for power surges to happen, the sudden cutoff in power when the electricity is tripped might cause issues for the storage drives and system files. It’s definitely better to get something to protect against sudden power surges and outages.

3. 1GB Network Protection

Did you know that power surges don’t just come through the power cables? They can travel through other wired connections like your data lines and LAN cables too. It’s definitely hard to protect against power surges, and the most common recommendation is to unplug your electronics during a thunderstorm, but that’s not always possible.

The Back-UPS Pro models have ports for ethernet and protect against data line surge as well as other “back door” surges.

4. LCD Interface

User interface is definitely important, after all, nobody wants to jump through different apps to set up or see the power levels of their devices. The Back-UPS Pro models come with a LCD screen which displays not only the modes of operation, power level, remaining capacity and even the power event history.

If the battery inside has reached the end of its lifespan, the LCD display will even have a warning that informs the user to replace the battery.

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While the Back-UPS Pro units aren’t meant to be a huge source of power to keep your electronics running during power outages, it’s definitely an excellent gadget to have at home to ensure that if it does happen, your stuff are all protected and safe while providing you with a bit of power to charge up the necessities.

There’s also a 2-year warranty for consumers outside of Europe, but for people living in the US, Canada, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, there’s also the Lifetime Equipment Protection Policy. If computers or other electronics are damaged while being plugged into a Back-UPS Pro unit, the consumer will either be reimbursed for repair costs or reimbursed for fair market value by Schneider Electric.

Of course, if you live in a country where power outages are more common, it might be worth taking a look at the largest capacity model so that your life doesn’t have to grind to a halt when the power’s out!