Is it important to regularly test your desktop computer’s connection to a UPS? #UPS #computer #testing
How can you ensure your UPS is working properly by conducting a test? #UPS #computer #testing
1. Properly shut down your computer before testing.
2. Plug a lamp, fan, or TV into the UPS.
3. Unplug the UPS from the wall to see if the device stays on.
4. Plug the UPS back in and check if it returns to normal.
5. Leave the test load on to check the runtime.
6. Use an analog clock or timer to monitor how long the test load stays on.
7. Note that a fan or motor-driven clock may have a slight buzz on a UPS, which is normal.
By regularly testing your UPS with these steps, you can ensure it is functioning correctly and providing adequate backup power for your computer. #backuppower #computerprotection
or get a good quality UPS that does the testing automatically and reports the condition
Just realised I haven’t heard or read about ‘UPS’ for probably 10 years, completely forgot it was a thing
A UPS should be tested with its intended load. Using a dummy load like a lamp (which is probably LED) is insufficient to test battery health.
A more important thing is to put a sticker onto your UPS indicating the date of purchase/battery change. Most SLA batteries especially in a UPS don’t last for more than 3-5 years. You can stretch this a bit but your runtime is affected.
I tested mine the other day by accidentally flipping the wrong switch at the wall socket. *click* Beep beep beep. Whoops. *click* and no reboot.
I’m pretty sure the instruction manual of my UPS says NOT to test it by unplugging it from the wall.
It always helps when you utilize an acronym to say what it stands for.
I’m fortunate to have a power company that tests all my UPSs every few months for me. 😁
Look at Mr. Stable Electric Grid here who doesn’t get his UPS tested at least once a month
Here’s a tip from an IT guy:
A UPS is there to ride out blips and allow you to safely shutdown. That’s it. That’s all. No other reason. Your computers should NOT keep running if the UPS has been on for more than a minute or so. They should have the software / cable / drivers / networking to detect the UPS has activated, wait a moment to see that it’s not just a blip, and then shutdown as safely and as quickly as they can.
If you’re using a UPS as anything “long-term”, you’re opening yourself up to hardware damage, data corruption, etc. just as bad as pulling out the power yourself.
If you’re using a cheap UPS expecting it to stop lightning bolts and power surges – I have news for you. It won’t.
I have seen £3000 of UPS instantly turn off because it detected an abnormal line condition, didn’t think it was safe to continue, so it just turned off instantly without ever switching to battery. Doing so protected the equipment, yes, but it was not there to “keep the computer running”. (This was an incident where someone crossed 220V electrical phases at a large site, and so 415V+ AC was running around cables and destroying hardware).
If you’re hoping that that cheap lead-acid battery in your UPS is at all predictable and won’t just voltage-drop like mad under load after a few years of active use (way within their specified replacement period), you’re wrong. When that switches to battery, the clock is ticking and you have NO idea when it will die, no matter how much you spent on it or what kind of load you have on it.
APC UPS literally have a front-panel error for “Relay Weld”. That’s when the relay inside it gets stuck on or off because of so much arcing whenever it switches over that it literally welds itself open/shut on one of its contacts (battery or grid, who knows?). The UPS will then be unable do ANYTHING about your precious machine.
A UPS is a *temporary*, *brief* coverage in a power-loss situation for you to switch to a more reliable source of power or shut down in a secure manner to prevent data loss. In datacenters, they are literally there just until the generators kick in and stabilise. That’s it. At home, they are there to shut your machine down because you don’t own enough UPS to run your machines for more than about 20 minutes even when the UPS is brand new.
Do not rely on it to do ANYTHING else.
Your UPS is absolutely USELESS without a shutdown cable and software (even if that’s SNMP / network based), and nobody ever uses those on home UPS (they don’t even supply them with many UPS!).
You don’t need to test your UPS because you shouldn’t be relying on it at all. It’s just a stopgap until you fix the power problem.
And, trust me, I’ve had lightning strikes on our copper data cables, diggers cut through three-phase 100KW supply lines, crossed-phases, brownouts, blackouts, you name it. And trying to keep even one set of servers (often 4KW+ even in just a single unit) up in those situations is nigh-on impossible without something else to take over.
Use your UPS as intended. To shut your machine down nicely. P.S. Your laptops and tablets already do this. So why do you have a UPS for them? And far better than a UPS is to use a laptop. A laptop is specced to be low-power, detect the battery situation (Li-Po is far more predictable than lead-acid!), and shutdown in plenty of time. It’s the best UPS you can have in your home.
I’ve worked in IT for 25+ years… and my home UPS is there to ride out the 5-10ms gap between my solar and grid switchover via my ATS. That’s it. That’s all. Without it, sometimes the equipment reboots. With it, the equipment continues as the switchover happens.
The ones in work? I leave them on their automated test schedule and unless they error, I don’t care about it. I replace their batteries when they ask me to.
Uninterruptible power supply for anyone wondering
If you are using a “good” UPS say one from APC, then this happens automatically & the UPS will tell you with beeps & data some time before you need to change the battery.
After years of googling, finally an acronym that I know!
Why the hell is my computer connected to the United Parcel Service
Mine tests itself. 🙂
Batteries in a UPS typically need to be replaced every 5-7 years and more frequent if you lose power often. Testing too often will wear out your batteries prematurely.
That run time test is pointless, other than proving if the battery is old and weak and cannot hold a load for long. Otherwise you are simply proving how long it runs a lamp or clock for. Not how long does it keep your PC powered up enough to safely save and shut down.
If I had a UPS, the power company would test it for me because we rarely go 3 months without an outage.
What about if it’s connected to a USPS, or a FedEx?
United parcel service?
In other words (letters), make sure your UPS isn’t an IPS.
I’m lucky my ups systems auto self tests every couple of days/weeks.
I recently had to change out batteries on one of my units because it beeped about it incessantly. Annoying. But I’m glad it happened.
Gotta know your target audience.
When using an acronym, it’s best to spell out what it means on first use.
Oh I’m good. I live in Texas. Cold outside? Power shuts off. Hot outside? Believe it or not, power also shuts off. The grid tests my UPS for me every few months, free of charge. Literally. No charge coming into the ups.