By Sarah Witman
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Most people don't need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), but it can be a worthwhile investment to keep a few key electronics running when a power outage occurs. After spending more than 20 hours considering nearly 100 models, interviewing experts, and testing our top candidates, we found that the Tripp Lite AVR750U is the best UPS for people who want to power a home Wi-Fi network and other small electronics during a blackout of an hour or less.
The Tripp Lite AVR750U will cover the basics for most people during common, short-term blackouts. In our tests, it provided enough power to keep the average broadband modem and Wi-Fi router running for an hour, which means you can stay online while the power is off and get in touch with emergency services, follow news and weather changes, or just pass the time on your favorite websites. It requires no setup aside from plugging it in, and it includes automatic voltage regulation—an important feature that some cheaper models lack. Six of its 12 outlets are backed up by a battery, and its compact shape—about the size of a Merriam-Webster dictionary—and its 6-foot cord make it relatively easy to stow under a desk or nightstand.
Key specs:
Measured run time with a 20 W load: 1 hour
Measured run time with a 300 W load: 6 minutes
Measured peak power output: 670 watts
Number of battery-backed outlets: six
Warranty: three years
The CyberPower CP800AVR is a lot like the Tripp Lite AVR750U, but it's a little less powerful, and only four of its eight outlets are battery-protected in the event of a blackout. But we think those are decent trade-offs for the extra run time the CP800AVR provides—1.5 hours with a 20-watt load such as a modem and router, compared with just an hour on the AVR750U. Much like the Tripp Lite unit, this CyberPower model has a 6-foot cord and a stowable, compact design. If our top pick is unavailable or if you can get a good deal on the CP800AVR, you should go for it.
Key specs:
Measured run time with a 20 W load: 1.5 hours
Measured runtime with a 300 W load: 6 minutes
Measured peak power output: 535 watts
Number of battery-backed outlets: four
Warranty: three years
The CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD is the most expensive UPS we recommend for most homes or small offices, but there's a lot of value in the extra features it includes. If you need to provide power to more (or larger) devices at your workstation during an outage, it can deliver up to 930 W—we had trouble finding gear that would be in most home offices that would be powerful enough to overload it in our testing. Just as impressive, it can keep the average modem and router running for up to four hours, giving you more than enough time to save your work and wait for the blackout to end. Roughly the size and shape of a small PC tower, it has 10 outlets in total, five of which are backed up by the battery, and it adds two USB ports for charging small devices without the need for an extra power adapter. Because it has a pure sine-wave inverter, its power is as smooth as that of a standard wall outlet, making it safe and reliable for even the most sensitive equipment. Lastly, the CP1500PFCLCD's backlit screen provides helpful information such as how much battery life is left and the total wattage of the devices plugged into the unit.
Key specs:
Measured run time with a 20 W load: 4 hours
Measured run time with a 300 W load: 16 minutes
Measured peak power output: 930 watts
Number of battery-backed outlets: five
Warranty: three years
If you're on a tight budget, the AmazonBasics Standby UPS 800VA is an affordable UPS with the battery and run time of a more expensive model: It can keep a typical router and modem running for up to 1.5 hours. Its maximum output is on the lower side (we measured up to 470 W in our testing), but that should be plenty powerful for the six battery-backed outlets to support basics such as home Wi-Fi. Unlike our other picks, this less expensive model uses standby power management instead of automatic voltage regulation (AVR). That should be fine in most cases, but it's harder on the battery, and you shouldn't use it for sensitive AV gear or medical equipment. Plus, Amazon offers only a one-year warranty on its UPS models, in contrast to the three-year warranties that brand-name companies have.
Key specs:
Measured run time with a 20 W load: 1.5 hours
Measured run time with a 300 W load: 6 minutes
Measured peak power output: 470 watts
Number of battery-backed outlets: six
Warranty: one year
Who this is for
An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, is basically a surge protector, a battery, and a power inverter (which turns the battery's stored energy into usable power) wrapped into one unit. The size of the battery determines how long it can provide power, and the inverter determines how much power it can put out at a time, often listed as volt-amps (VA) but more easily discussed as watts (W).
A small, inexpensive UPS is great for anyone who wants their home Wi-Fi and Internet to stay online during short power outages or brownouts. Unlike landlines, which work without power, digital phone service and Wi-Fi require a broadband modem, which may have only a small battery backup. Adding a UPS can keep you online and connected for an hour or more in case you need to reach emergency services—or if you're about to finish a critical encounter in Dark Souls and your comrades are counting on you.
Larger UPS units with extra power and features can help keep home offices and workstations running during business hours, or at least long enough for you to save your work and safely shut down vulnerable equipment. If you have a lot of important data on a desktop computer, an external hard drive, or network-attached storage, you may need a UPS to prevent your drives from losing data in the event of a sudden power outage. In some cases, a UPS can provide crucial backup power to household medical equipment—such as CPAP machines for sleep apnea—for a limited time.
Powering your home theater for a movie marathon during a storm is less feasible, and doing so involves more expense than simply buying a UPS. If you need long-term power, the capacity to keep appliances like refrigerators plugged in, or a way to light up your whole house in blackout situations, off-grid options such as backup generators or professionally installed battery packs are the way to go.
How we picked
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
We started by considering more than 100 models from three leading companies: APC, CyberPower, and Tripp Lite. We've tested uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors from these companies in the past, and all three have long-held reputations as reliable makers of electronics. Since a UPS is designed for use in an emergency, choosing from a reputable brand is crucial to avoid buyer's remorse at the worst possible time. We also added a few models from AmazonBasics to our list because it's a prominent option when you're shopping online.
To whittle down our massive list of candidates, we considered the most important traits of a great UPS and developed the following requirements:
Automatic voltage regulation (AVR): We required our upgrade-pick contenders to have AVR, and we strongly preferred it in all other models. AVR, also called line-interactive topology, is a more advanced form of power management than the type that less-expensive models use. With AVR, when power from a wall outlet briefly dips or surges outside of a specified range, a small transformer in the UPS acts like a buffer to compensate without relying on the battery; the UPS switches to battery power only when the transformer can't handle the variation. This reduces wear and tear, especially if you live somewhere with frequent brownouts, and prolongs the overall life of the battery. It also provides more-reliable power to sensitive gear like hard drives. Since AVR is available without a huge price premium, it's a sensible feature to have to get the most from a UPS in the long term.
Pure sine-wave inverter: We required this feature in our upgrade-pick contenders and preferred it in all other models. A battery's sine-wave inverter turns its direct current (DC) power into alternating current (AC) power, which you need to power most devices. A pure sine-wave inverter can produce electrical waveforms as clear and smooth as those of the AC power coming out of any wall outlet, whereas modified sine-wave inverters produce choppier waveforms. The latter are fine for charging most household devices, but you shouldn't use them to run anything with a powerful motor (such as a corded drill, vacuum, or blender) since they can cause inconsistent speeds, heat buildup, or damage to the components. You should also avoid using a UPS with a modified sine-wave inverter for sensitive audio equipment (it can pick up buzzes of interference from them) and medical devices that require pure AC power
The pure sine wave from a residential wall outlet.
The CP1000PFCLCD uses a pure sine-wave inverter to create a smooth sine wave when running on battery power.
The CP800AVR uses a modified sine-wave inverter to turn the DC power in the battery into a rough approximation of standard AC power.
Rated for at least 600 VA output: Most models explicitly include their output in the name or model number in volt-amperes (VA). For our upgrade pick, we looked for models with at least a 1,000 VA rating. VA ratings aren't common in most people's lives, but they're power ratings along the same lines as the more-familiar watts (W). In most cases, you can safely assume the wattage you'll get from a UPS will be slightly lower than the VA rating, though the actual result depends on what type of device you're plugging in.
At least four battery-backed outlets: All outlets on a UPS provide surge protection, limiting the amount of extra voltage that can reach and potentially damage your devices—which is good because you should never plug your UPS into a surge protector or plug a surge protector into a UPS. But generally only half the outlets are connected to the backup battery (and are prominently marked as such) so that they stay on when the power goes out. It's always good to have more outlets for plugging in more devices, but the outlets that really matter with a UPS are the battery-backed ones. A set of four battery-backed outlets is enough for you to plug in a modem, router, desktop computer, and external hard drive—just make sure to plug the right devices into the right outlets.
At least a 5-foot cord: A long cord is helpful if your wall outlet isn't right next to your workstation, especially since it's unsafe to plug a UPS into an extension cord. We think a 5-foot cord should be long enough for most people, but when an even longer cord is available, we prefer that.
User-replaceable battery: Most UPS batteries are small, sealed, lead-acid batteries—more like a car battery than the one in your smartphone or laptop. We tested only those models that have a user-replaceable battery, which allows you to spend $30 to $60 on a new battery instead of having to buy a whole new UPS. Plus, as demonstrated in this video, the process is simple enough for a novice to complete in just a few minutes.
Power-management software: Even though most people won't go through the trouble of installing such software, most UPS makers offer an application you can download to monitor and manage a UPS (over USB) from your computer. You can also program it to complete a series of tasks before shutting down if you're away from your computer when the power goes out—which is especially handy for units with shorter run times. Even better, software that works on any operating system is future-proof even if you replace some of your equipment, so your UPS can be just as useful years down the line as it is the first day you plug it in.
Warranty for a year or more: Most brands we looked at back their devices for upwards of three years, but we think a year is plenty of time to test out your UPS and determine if it's working properly. And since power outages happen about once or twice per year in the US, you're likely to have tested it against a real-world outage in that timeframe, too.
USB ports: For charging a phone or some other small device, using a built-in USB-A or USB-C output port is more convenient than taking up one of the outlets with a multiport wall charger. These ports aren't connected to the battery, though, so you won't be able to use them during a power outage.
Backlit screen: A small status light is all it takes for your UPS to tell you that it's up and running, but some of the pricier UPS models have a screen to display additional information such as the battery's charge status, current load, and remaining run time. This information helps to ease low-battery anxiety when the power goes out and you're rushing to save your work in time.
Cost under $200: You can get a good UPS for well under $200, and we don't think most people shopping for use at home or in a small office will get any added benefits by spending more than that.
How we tested
During our research, we found seven models worth trying out: the AmazonBasics Standby UPS 600VA, the AmazonBasics Standby UPS 800VA, the APC BR1000MS, the CyberPower CP800AVR, the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD, the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD, and the Tripp Lite AVR750U. We tested the performance of each model in a few key areas, including the following:
Peak power output (watts): This test told us the maximum load each UPS's inverter could handle. For this test, we plugged in the UPS and turned it on. Then we unplugged it—leaving it running on its battery—and plugged in household appliances with known power draws (such as an array of 50 W halogen bulbs, a couple of 10 W lamps, and a 100 W fan that we had tested using a Kill-A-Watt power meter) one by one until the battery overloaded and the UPS shut down. Then we added up the total maximum power draw (based on the appliances we had plugged in) and recorded the maximum output in watts.
Battery capacity (watt-hours, or Wh) and run time: Manufacturers often publish run-time ratings that outline how long a UPS can keep devices at various wattages running. Since most ratings are based on ideal conditions, we tested our top candidates at two different loads to see how they would perform in real-world use: 20 W, representing the combined power draw of a household modem and router, and 300 W, representing the power usage of a PC, modem, router, and external hard drive running simultaneously. After charging each UPS overnight, we plugged a Kill-A-Watt into one of the battery-backed outlets. Then we plugged in an array of six halogen bulbs totalling 300 W and unplugged the UPS, leaving it running on its battery. Once the battery died, we recorded the time elapsed (run time) and the kilowatt-hours (kWh), from which we calculated the battery's effective capacity in watt-hours (Wh). We then repeated the same test with two 10 W lamps, measuring the run time with a 20 W load.
From left to right: the replaceable batteries for the AmazonBasics Standby UPS 800VA, Tripp Lite AVR750U, CyberPower CP800AVR, and CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD. Photo: Michael Murtaugh
We used USB power monitors and load testers plugged into each of the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD's USB-A ports to test their peak power output. Photo: Michael Murtaugh
Max output (watts) from USB-A ports, if applicable: For the units with USB-A output ports, we connected a PortaPow USB Power Monitor and a Drok USB Load Tester to each port and then cranked up the power on the load testers until the ports overloaded and shut down. We recorded the maximum amps and volts, and we multiplied them to calculate the total output in watts.
Look and feel: We considered the usability of the interface, the layout and spacing of outlets and ports, the shape and size of the unit, and the overall design.
Our pick: Tripp Lite AVR750U
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
The Tripp Lite AVR750U offers premium features without breaking the bank. It has a peak power output of 670 watts—one of the highest we measured in our testing, and more than double the power necessary to run a household modem, router, PC, and external hard drive—and it can keep just a modem and router (a 20 W load) running for up to an hour. Plus, it has more outlets (12, including six battery-backed outlets) than most of the other models we tested. It's easy to use, and it has a compact design that will fit comfortably under most workstations.
The AVR750U has a sine-wave inverter, so it produces a slightly choppier electrical waveform than what you can get from the pure sine-wave inverters found in more expensive models, which are better for sensitive equipment. But because it has automatic voltage regulation (AVR), this UPS doesn't need to transition from wall-outlet power to battery power as often as models lacking this feature. This technology provides more-reliable power to connected devices that can't tolerate power drops, such as hard drives, and should extend the overall life of the unit.
In our testing, the Tripp Lite achieved a higher peak power than any comparably priced unit, and it was just as good as some pricier units we tested. We were able to plug in 670 watts' worth of devices, namely two lamps, a fan, 10 halogen bulbs, and even a KitchenAid mixer set to low power (don't do this at home), before its built-in battery finally cried uncle and shut down. Obviously most people won't be powering their KitchenAid mixers on a UPS during a blackout, but our test is a good indicator that the AVR750U will power almost anything you need in your home office for at least a short while. The CP800AVR, which is about the same price, maxed out at a level around 20 percent lower when we subjected it to the same test.
The AVR750U has 12 outlets total, including six battery-backed outlets (more than most units we tested in this price range), so it lets you keep a PC, monitor, NAS, modem, router, and one other device running. Aligned in two rows, the outlets are spaced widely enough for you to fit all but the bulkiest of plugs. The unit has a compact, flattish design—about the shape and size of a couple of phone books stacked—so you can slide it under your workstation. It also has grooves built in so you can wall-mount it.
On the top of the unit, you'll find a simple on/off button next to two little lights: one that turns green when the unit is powered on and working properly, and one that turns red if the battery is overloaded or some other problem crops up. On one side is a USB-B port to connect the UPS to your computer—which you'll need to do if you want to use Tripp Lite's Windows-only software or your computer's operating system to set up data-saving, monitoring, and other functions. On the other side of the unit are a surge-protected phone jack and a splitter—most people won't use those features, but they're nice to have if you need them.
The AVR750U has a thick, flexible, 6-foot cord, which is as long as or longer than the cords on all of the units we tested. It's also the only model in our test group that has a plug angled 45 degrees to the left (all the rest are angled to the right), which isn't necessarily good or bad but might matter to you if your outlet is up against a corner and you're tight on space.
Tripp Lite protects the AVR750U with a three-year warranty, which is as long as we've found for a home UPS like this. Three years is more than enough time for you to test your UPS to find out if it's a dud and whether it meets your needs in a real-world power outage.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The Tripp Lite AVR750U's run time—one hour at a 20 W load—was lower than that of most of the other models we tested, but we think the small time difference is worth tolerating in exchange for the AVR750U's extra outlets. Based on our testing, it should be able to keep a modem and router running for up to an hour—or a modem, router, PC, and external hard drive running for about five minutes—giving you ample time to save any work and close any programs you have open.
Runner-up: CyberPower CP800AVR
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
If the Tripp Lite AVR750U is unavailable and you don't want to splurge or settle for either of our other picks, you should get the CyberPower CP800AVR. Like the AVR750U, the CP800AVR offers automatic voltage regulation (AVR), a compact size and shape, an easy-to-use interface, a 6-foot cord, and a three-year warranty. It even has a better battery capacity and run time. But it has a lower peak power output, one fewer battery-backed outlet, and two fewer outlets overall.
Having AVR means that the CP800AVR is able to compensate for small fluctuations in power from a wall outlet, reducing wear and tear on the battery and providing a steadier stream of power to your devices. But because this model, like the AVR750U, has a modified sine-wave inverter—which produces only a rough approximation of a pure sine wave—it is not appropriate for sensitive equipment that requires a super-smooth sine wave.
In our testing, we were able to plug as many as 10 halogen bulbs and a fan—for total load of 535 W—into the unit while it was running on battery power. That's not quite as high as the Tripp Lite AVR750U's 670 W peak power output, but it's still more than twice as much power as the typical home-office setup consumes at once.
The CP800AVR performed better than the competing Tripp Lite model in battery capacity and run time. In our testing, it kept a 20 W load (representing a modem and router) going for 90 minutes compared with the Tripp Lite's run time of roughly 60 minutes. With a 300 W load (representing a modem, router, PC, and external hard drive), it ran for 6 minutes. In plain terms, you should have plenty of time to do what you need to do before the battery shuts off.
Offering 10 outlets total, including five battery-backed outlets, the CP800AVR powers one fewer device during a blackout than the AVR750U model. But that's still enough to provide protection to a router, modem, PC, monitor, and external hard drive. And, as on the AVR750U, the outlets are adequately spaced apart from one another.
The CP800AVR looks almost identical to the AVR750U except that its plug is angled 45 degrees to the right instead of to the left. It has an on/off button, a green light to indicate it's powered on and working, and a red light to indicate a problem; plus, it has a mute button just in case there's an outage and you want to shut the alarm off without powering the whole thing down. Like the AVR750U, it has a USB-B port for connecting to auto-shutdown software—which, as a bonus, works on either Mac or Windows. And instead of the AVR750U's three protected landline/dial-up ports, it has one (equally useless for most home offices) serial port as an alternative connection to USB.
Upgrade pick: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
If you need more power, longer run times, or the ability to protect sensitive electronics like household AV gear or medical equipment in a blackout, the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD is your best bet. It costs around twice the price of something like the Tripp Lite AVR750U, but it can keep a home Wi-Fi network powered for four times longer, its peak power output is higher than that of any other model we tested, and it has an LCD screen for you to closely monitor output, battery life, and other variables. Plus, when you're not in an outage, you can use its two USB-A ports to keep a phone and one other small device charged.
Because it has both a pure sine-wave inverter and automatic voltage regulation (AVR), this unit can work with even the most sensitive electronics. In our testing, we ran out of 10-, 50-, and 100-watt appliances trying to test the CP1500PFCLCD's peak power output, and we performed the ultimate test when we plugged in a microwave—don't try this at home, since a UPS is not designed for use with heat-producing devices—and measured a maximum output of 930 watts.
Similarly, the CP1500PFCLCD left our other contenders in the dust when it came to battery capacity, as it ran for four hours at a 20 W load and 16 minutes at a 300 W load. No matter how massive your setup is—maybe you have a full workstation drawing 300 W or more, or maybe you just have a modem and router plugged in, totaling about 20 W—this UPS should buy you plenty of time to save your work and shut down all your programs.
The CP1500PFCLCD has only 10 outlets, including five battery-backed outlets, which is something of a disappointment. And only two of them (including one battery-backed outlet) are spaced far enough apart from the others to accommodate an extra-large plug, whereas our other picks have at least that many. But that's enough for you to safely back up a computer, monitor, external hard drive, modem, and router. Plus, the two USB-A outlets on the front (which have a combined output of 13 W according to our measurements) can help free up one of the regular surge-protected outlets, which might otherwise be occupied by a wall charger.
Shaped more like a small desktop-computer tower than a dictionary, the CP1500PFCLCD is the biggest unit we tested. You'll probably want to stand it up right next to your tower rather than sliding it under a desk or mounting it on a wall.
The CP1500PFCLCD is one of two models we tested with a display screen. (The other model, the APC BR1000MS, is similar in price and features but had a shorter run time in our tests.) It's large and brightly lit, with easy-to-read text and images. It lights up when you turn the UPS on (using a power button at the top), and it shows the current input, the current output, the battery charge status, how much of the maximum load your devices are using, the estimated run time (in minutes) if an outage were to occur, and whether the alarm's volume has been muted. The screen also shows when the UPS is utilizing its AVR feature and keeps track of how many outages there have been—options none of our other picks have.
Under the screen are a Display button to toggle through different options, a Silence Alarm button, and a Control button to test the battery. The included software, which works on either Mac or Windows if you connect to it over USB, lets you schedule your computer to turn on and off at a certain time, back up certain data, and more.
Like every other unit we tested, the CP1500PFCLCD has a little light that turns red if it encounters a problem. But its screen offers additional information such as whether the problem originated internally or from faulty wiring in your wall, or from the battery overloading. And on the back of the unit, you'll find a red button you can press to reset the circuit breaker so you don't have to unplug and plug the UPS back in every time a problem occurs.
In addition to two landline phone jacks, a serial port, and a USB-B port, the CP1500PFCLCD has two coaxial connectors, which you can use to hook up a cable box or modem. These surge-protection ports are largely unnecessary for most people, but they don't take up much space and are nice to have if you're concerned about surges coming over these lines.
This unit's 5-foot cord is a foot shorter than those on both the CP800AVR and AVR750U, so just make sure to measure the distance between your workstation and the nearest outlet before you buy. You should never plug a surge protector or UPS into another extension cord—it's a safety risk.
Like our other contenders (except for the AmazonBasics models), the CP1500PFCLCD has a sufficiently lengthy three-year warranty.
Budget pick: AmazonBasics Standby UPS 800VA
Photo: Michael Murtaugh
The AmazonBasics Standby UPS 800VA is a good option if you can't swing the extra $30 or more for one of our other picks. It has a better battery capacity and run time than the Tripp Lite AVR750U and offers just as many battery-backed and surge-protected outlets. But you're giving a few things up by saving some cash: It has the lowest peak power output of any of our picks, and the shortest warranty. And don't plan on using it to protect electronics that require either a pure sine-wave inverter or automatic voltage regulation (AVR), since it lacks both features.
In our testing, this inexpensive option had more than enough power output for home networking gear or a simple home-office setup. We measured a peak power output of 470 W, as it allowed us to connect an assortment of eight halogen bulbs and two lamps to its battery-backed outlets before it tapped out. That's lower than the result we got from any other UPS we tested (except for the AmazonBasics Standby UPS 600VA, which had the same peak power output), but it should still be enough to power a desktop computer, a household modem, a Wi-Fi router, an external hard drive, and maybe a few small devices.
If you just want to keep your Wi-Fi powered during a blackout, this AmazonBasics option is a cheap way to do so for around an hour and a half. It won't last more than a few minutes under a heavier load, though. Just as with our top pick and runner-up, on this unit we measured a runtime of 6 minutes with a 300 W load.
Like the AVR750U, this UPS has 12 outlets total to plug your electronics into and six battery-backed outlets to protect some sensitive devices—such as a router, modem, laptop, monitor, external hard drive or NAS, and alarm clock—in the event of a power outage.
The unit is about the same size and shape as the AVR750U and CP800AVR (like a black plastic dictionary lying flat on its back), and its outlets are just about as widely spaced; four outlets, two of them with battery backup, have enough space for larger power bricks. Its only auxiliary connector is a USB-B port, which you'll need if you want to use the included software that lets the UPS trigger a safe shutdown of your computer (it works for either Mac or Windows). Like the CP1500PFCLCD, it has a circuit-breaker reset button, which is handy for restarting the unit if it overloads or short-circuits; this feature prevents you from having to unplug and then re-plug the entire unit.
On the top, the Standby UPS 800VA has a single on/off button that doubles as all of the indicator lights for the unit: For example, the button turns solid green when the device is powered on and working, it flashes and beeps when the UPS is running on battery, and it turns solid and plays a constant tone when the battery is overloaded. This interface is less intuitive than what you get from the other units, and it might make you resort to the manual (or this guide) to figure out what the UPS is trying to tell you, but it gets the job done.
Like the CP1500PFCLCD, the AmazonBasics UPS has only a 5-foot cord, so you might have to move your workstation closer to an outlet in order to make it reach. As for other drawbacks, aside from the unit's lack of AVR, a feature that all of our other picks have, AmazonBasics also offers the shortest warranty. With a one-year warranty, you have little wiggle room, so if you do choose this model, make sure to test it out within that window to confirm that it works—and continue to test the battery periodically by unplugging it from the wall and letting it run on its battery.
Care and maintenance
It's important to know what a UPS can and can't do. Using a UPS to power high-drain devices—including large office equipment such as laser printers and paper shredders, or anything that makes heat, like a space heater or curling iron—can damage its internal components, degrade its battery, and void its warranty. Small electronics or office equipment without moving parts should be fine, but for anything bigger than a desktop computer, check the manual for your UPS.
Do not ever—ever, ever—plug a UPS into a surge protector or plug a surge protector into a UPS. Aside from potentially overloading either unit and tripping a fuse or breaker, you also risk canceling out the surge-protection function instead of doubling it up. Tim Derochie at CyberPower told us that UL, the independent company that evaluates electronics safety, strictly forbids the practice, and you'll find strong warnings against doing so in owner manuals.
Similarly, you should not plug a UPS into an extension cord, because the excess load can cause it to overheat and melt. If the cord on your UPS isn't long enough, you're better off moving your workstation closer to an outlet or spending $100 or so to have an electrician install a new one—either of which is preferable to replacing damaged electronics or accidentally starting a fire (PDF).
The sealed, lead-acid battery inside your UPS will stay charged as long as the device is plugged in, so it should be able to perform well for many years. But since batteries degrade over time, you can avoid any surprises in the future if, once a year or so, you unplug the UPS from the wall outlet with your devices running—just to make sure the UPS powers them for as long as you expect it to.
The competition
Although we considered more than 100 different models, only a handful have the features known to make a great UPS. In addition to our picks, these models made the cut for this round of testing:
The AmazonBasics Standby UPS 600VA is pretty much identical to the Standby UPS 800VA, but it has a worse battery capacity based on its run time: half an hour at a 20 W load, and 3 minutes at a 300 W load. Plus, it has fewer battery-backed (four) and total (eight) outlets.
The APC BR1000MS costs about as much as the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD, it has the same number of total outlets (10), and one more of its outlets (six) have battery backup. But in our tests it had a worse run time (3 hours at a 20 W load and 13 minutes at a 300 W load) and a lower peak power output—we measured a max output of 670 watts, which is no better than what we got from some of the less expensive models.
The CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD has a shorter run time (90 minutes at a 20 W load, 6 minutes at a 300 W load) and peak power output (535 W) compared with either of the similarly priced models we tested—the APC BR1000MS and the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD—as well as some models that cost less than half as much.
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