I've used Cyberpower UPS for years as I live in a suburban area subject to frequent blackouts lasting from several seconds to several days. I use Cyberpower UPS to keep my TiVo functional, keep my FIOS modem / wireless router running, and keep my iMac bittorrent server running. I've never been disappointed in Cyberpower's products and the single time I needed warranty service it was rapid and complete.
My brother has multiple handicaps and uses his laptop as his primary entertainment point. Recently his area (not far from my home) has begun suffering blackouts of several minutes to several hours duration. He asked me to select an UPS to keep his DSL modem / wireless router running. Of course I turned to Amazon and selected this model from Cyberpower.
The Westell's wall wart consumes around 7 watts. When this arrived, I charged it for 8 hours then pulled the plug with a 15 CFL lamp on the backup outlet. An hour later the lamp was still lit and the UPS wasn't indicating pending shutdown.
As to the green claim, it stands up. I am a 56 year old tech geek and purchased the P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor from Amazon back when it was introduced. I used it to measure the watts drawn while charging then in battery maintenance. This unit does consume far less power maintaining the battery as compared to the standard CPS425SL.
Some of my Cyberpower UPS are more than 7 years old and only now are needing their batteries replaced. Battery replacement is simply removing 6 or more screws from the bottom of the UPS models I own, opening it up, unplugging the old battery, then reversing the process to install the new battery. It takes less than 5 minutes from the time I unplug it from the electric outlet until it's plugged back in and ready for service. Please be sure to observe all safety precautions when replacing the battery.
I also own UPS systems by APC and recommend them also. They offer higher output with less runtime and I use them for my quad core systems.
For the more than 2 hour to multiple day outages I purchased an ETQ generator from Amazon and a Reliance Controls transfer switch. I recommend these products for extended outages. CyberPower CP425SLG UPS Standby Green - 425VA/255W 8-Outlet RJ11 Compact Design
I had a power outage during a lightening storm. When the power came back the PC that was connected to the (3 month old) Cyberpower UPS/Surge Protector stopped working. I applied for a refund for the cost of the PC, under their equipment warranty. They made me fill tons of paperwork, made me spend 40 bucks on a diagnosis from Geek Squad(who confirmed that my motherboard was fried). After all that hassle, and mailing them the old UPS back, they claimed that their UPS had functioned fine, and refused to pay me anything. The way the refund process is setup, they can pretty deny anyone a refund. Not only does their equipment not handle a lightening surge, their equipment warranty is not worth anything.
Unit works as advertised but unlike me, pay attention to the 255 watt maximum. I glossed over that important point to my regret; I've ordered another unit with 500 watt capacity. My system quickly overloaded the 255 watts and it turned off. I have a system with quad core, multiple LCD monitors, external hard drives, etc. This unit is for basic systems with one monitor.
I recently had the power fail, and this UPS kept my modem and wireless router running for a while. Unfortunately, it beeps every half second when the power goes out, and there's no way to silence it. Other than that annoyance, it works great, and would get 5 stars.
If you graph power problems - power surges are rare. Why? The utility doesnt want to be sued! What they have lots more of are called a recloser. The recloser works on their 12,500 volt lines and above and it's purpose is to clear a fault on those high voltage lines. The way it does this is by opening the 12,500V circuit for exactly 1 second then closing it again. It will do this 3 times in a row before opening for good causing a power failure - at your house you will see your lights flash for 1 second 3 times in a row before a power failure hits. This is the most common event on the power lines that will hit your house.
Now a surge supressor will shut down your computers when the power quits as well as your other equipment. So everything gets on/off cycled 3 times which is a great way to kill high end electronics, yet the surge supressor lets these momentary outages go right through.
The same thing happens with the monster power conditioners (all models) - see during that one second opening of the recloser they have no power to condition - so again all your expensive equipment gets the on/off treatment 3 times in a row.
Now with an uninteruptable power supply such as the cyberpower (or any other UPS) those 1 second outages are filled in with the power "made" by the UPS's batteries. They don't use much power for 3 one second outages, but during those outages is when your unit's batteries supply power and make things normal for the equipment downstream. In fact, in most cases the power is restored by the recloser and all you hear is a couple clicks while the unit fills in for the missing voltage providing power and preventing data loss.
It's ironic that you can spend over $1000 for a "power conditioner" that can't do this, but for 1/5 that price get a device that protects against the bad power at the same time as the no power condition. These are great friends during storm season since if the power does not return you have time to shut down your important work and your computer, or if you have an autostart generator, your ups will keep things going until the generator kicks in (they take 5-10 seconds to warm up and start)
Anyway you look at it this device provides more protection than items costing 5x more. - Back Up - Apc - Uninterrupted Power Supplies - Computer Power Backup'
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