UPS in addition to Surge Protector

[mpompey]

I have a Monster HTS850 Power Center that I use to plug all of my components and Projector into. I was thinking of getting a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to provide backup power to all components and the projector to run its fan and cool down in the event of a prolonged outage.

What do you guys think about this setup? How do I determine the appropriate sized UPS to get for this?

 

[MDS]

You would add up the max wattage draw of each device you will connect to the UPS and buy one that has a capacity of twice that amount. Because the devices won't necessarily all be drawing their maximum at all times, you could get away with adding up the average draw of all the devices.

Ideally you want a UPS with twice the capacity because the stated battery run times for a UPS is for half-load; ie if the UPS is rated for 1000 watts with a 20 minute runtime, you only get 20 minutes if the load is 500 watts.

 

[hemiram]

Most of the better UPS's have a much better surge protector than the usual ones you see around, so you don't need both. I'm going to buy a large UPS this spring and use it for my TV and receiver.

My APC UPS that was on my PC got nailed about a year and a half ago, by a lightning strike that hit my unused (since it got hit a few years ago) 10.5' C band dish. I had just left the room with the PC on, it was barely raining, and I never heard any thunder, or I would have pulled the plug. After the hit, I went back into the room, and it was obvious from the smell alone I had taken a hit. The UPS had plugs for the phone and LAN. The LAN plugs and cables were fine, but the phone cord from the wall to the UPS was burnt in two and kind of "crunchy". The cord from the UPS to the PC was intact, but the plug was melted into the UPS, and couldn't be removed. I disconnected everything, and after the storm went through, I was shocked when my PC fired up ok and, except for the modem, worked fine. I took the modem out and the traces were burnt off the PC board. I didn't need the modem anymore, so I just tossed it. I bought another APC UPS and it's doing great.