Looking for that last-minute Christmas gift? Why not give the gift of an uninterruptible power supply this Christmas. A UPS can save your Home Office, CCTV systems, Home Entertainment devices, PC/Gaming Equipment and even your Aquarium equipment from surges and power outages.
One of the best all rounder UPS is the CyberPower PFC 1500VA.
CyberPower Systems is a well-known manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies, surge protectors and other backup power solutions, with some of its more popular products being the affordable line-interactive UPS devices.
Of course, there are some expensive uninterruptible power supplies that will do the trick but you don’t necessarily need to break the bank to keep your computer and critical power devices protected because the line-interactive CyberPower CP1500EPFCLCDa is able to offer the necessary protection.
As expected, the PFC 1500VA is an elegant device, featuring a mini-tower case, with rounded corners and covered by a matte finish all around, except for the front and top, where there are some glossy pieces of plastic embedded inside the case (from the front, the glossy finish continues along the bottom side towards the rear of the UPS). On both the right and left side, there are two narrow horizontal vent grills and one vertical, which, along with the cooling fan should ensure that the unit remains cool under any circumstances (be careful not to obstruct the vent grills).
The cooling fan will turn on once the system uses the backup battery and, during the operation time, you will definitely be able to hear it (it’s not loud, but it is noticeable) and the noise should last until the battery is no longer needed. Since this is a better-designed device than its industrial-looking competitors, you’ll have no problem positioning it anywhere in the room (especially because of the front LCD display).
The front side of the CyberPower CP1500EPFCLCDa is occupied by a LED-lit Power button (it illuminates when the UPS is working properly and the outlets are providing power, free of surges), an LCD which shows UPS information using icons and messages: the battery capacity, the load capacity/sensitivity set up, fault, overload, schedule, estimated runtime and output meter. Underneath the display, there are three buttons: the Display switch (press it to roll down the function menu and hold it for 2 seconds to turn on/off the display in Line Mode), the Silence Alarm switch (press it to roll up the function menu and hold it for 2 seconds to silence the battery buzzer) and the Control switch (press it for 3 seconds in Line Mode to start a self-test on the battery). Also on the front, there are two USB ports (5V 1A power output).
On the rear side you can find lots of ports and connections: at the top, there are two Communication Protection ports In and Out (which protects any network, telephone line, modem, fax or RJ11/RJ45 Ethernet connection), there are two Coax/Cable/DSS surge protection ports (In and Out) a bit on the left (suitable for cable modems, DSS receivers or CATV converters) and on the right, there is a USB port and a Serial port to PC, as well as a Wiring Fault Indicator (it will illuminate red if there is a problem with the electric circuit, such as bad ground).
Underneath these ports there are five battery and surge protected outlets on the left (which ensure temporary operation of your devices during a power outage – don’t connect laser printers, vacuum cleaners or other larger electrical devices) and five Full-Time Surge Protection Outlets. The first outlet of each array (the top ones) are designed for AC adapters, so it won’t be blocking any adjacent outlets. In the middle, there is a red button (Circuit Breaker), which serves the role to provide overload and fault protection.
The CP1500EPFCLCDa is able to deliver an average of 120 minutes if your devices need around 50W of power, otherwise, at 100W, you will have about 70 minutes of power for your connected devices. If you need between 300 to 400W (a common consumption for a high-end computer), the UPS will keep your system alive for no more than 15 minutes. At full load, the CP1500EPFCLCDa will keep your devices powered on for about 2 minutes, which means that it’s ideal to configure automatic shutdown from the provided utility, so you won’t lose any files.
If you would like more information on the CyberPower PFC 1500VA UPS or would like to purchase one today, please click here.