Is it okay to plug a power-strip into a UPS?

Bob Bell bbell at macroped.com
Wed Jun 15 11:09:01 EDT 2005


On Wed, Jun 15, 2005 at 09:13:02AM -0400, Larry Cook wrote:
>I've got the APC 500 ES (which by the way is on sale at Staple for $15 off 
>and a $15 rebate for a final cost of $29.99), but it only has three battery 
>backup outlets.  I'm using one for the computer and one for the monitor.  
>I'd also like to put the router and DSL modem on there.  Any reason I 
>shouldn't use a power-strip to add these two devices to the last remaining 
>outlet?

One thing is that if you lose power, and it's more than just your house, 
there's a chance that even with your router and DSL modem, you may not 
be able to access the Internet if some of Verizon's DSL infrastructure 
is down.  I know this is often true with cable, at least.

Another piece of advice I've gotten recently is *NOT* to plug the 
monitor into the UPS, but to leave an empty spot for it.  A monitor uses 
up a lot of juice.  It'll use *something* even if it is in power-saving 
mode.  If you are away from your computer when the power goes out, not 
having your monitor plugged in gives you extra time on your battery.  If 
you are at your computer when the power goes out, it's probably not that 
big of a deal to plug the monitor into the UPS if you need to.

Finally, I'm not an electronics expert or anything, but to my knowledge 
most UPSes don't output a perfect sine wave.  Instead, they may output 
a square wave or at best a stepped sine wave.  I've heard that this 
output may not play nicely with a surge protector, and may cause the 
surge protector to trip prematurely.  However, I can't actually back up 
that assertion with any hard evidence, so take it for what it's worth.

    -- Bob



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