UPS

[TShaw]

i am thinking of setting up a UPS to supply power to my nbn modem & Arlo base station. I am unsure what size would be suitable to supply power for up to 2hrs. Advise & or ideas would be appreciated...

[jguerdat]

While I haven't tested the runtime on my 750VA UPS, I think it will run a long time with the router, cable modem and base station attached to it.  My early quick and dirty check showed something like 40 watts of draw (using a Kill-A-Watt with the whole UPS setup plugged in which includes a USB hard drive that was sleeping).  You may be able to get an idea of runtime using this chart from APC:

http://www.apc.com/products/runtime_for_extendedruntime.cfm?upsfamily=165

I wouldn't take it for gospel because of differences in loading, etc. but should give you an idea.  The chart starts at 50 watt draw and the model numbers generally reflect the VA rating so mine would supposedly give me 1.5 hours but note that the 500VA model at the top is rated at 500VA and give longer runtime.

In the end, it depends on what you expect your longest outage to be and how many devices are plugged into it tempered by how much you want to spend.  You definitely don't need the expensive models unless you want extra features.  You should be able to stay under $200 easily.