If you want to keep what you’ve put on your computer, you need this
By Lawrence I. Charters
April 12, 2018
The APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 VA UPS is essentially an intelligent battery for keeping your equipment up and running in case of brief power outages. It also insulates your computer from voltage surges, such as lightning strikes, or drops, such as brownouts. The “UPS” in the name is an abbreviation for “Uninterruptible Power Supply.”
You “size” a UPS according to the power draw of the equipment being backed up. Laptops don’t require a UPS; they already run on batteries. But desktop computers, especially expensive units such as high-end graphic workstations, or computers connected to RAIDs or other expensive peripherals, would certainly be candidates for a UPS. High-end stereo and video equipment would also be good candidates for a UPS.
This particular model, in addition to protecting my computer, flat-screen monitor, and two RAIDs, also has provision for filtering co-ax connections (a lightning strike once killed one of my computers by sending a power surge through the TV cable line) and for phone lines. Yes, you can also insulate your computer from surges coming via your phone, though not that many people have phones anymore.
In addition to keeping your computer from crashing during a blackout or brownout, this model includes a USB cable allowing most Macs and some Windows machines to shut themselves down for an extended outage, rather than run the battery down.
Great product, especially if you live in a region prone to thunderstorms or unreliable power.