When
I first moved to Bindoon I wasn’t too concerned about protecting my electronic
equipment, but a couple of fried motherboards later I realised that the power
supply was not as regular as I was used to in the metro area. Ideally, mains
power supply should provide 240 volts, but there are times when usage peaks and
the voltage drops considerably (usually around dinner time when ovens and other
heavy draw appliances are being used). The graph below shows a snapshot of the
power fluctuation in Bindoon for the week from 13/6/11 to 19/6/11.  The solution was to invest in a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) which provided “clean” power to my equipment. A UPS is essentially a battery that sits between your computer and the main power supply. It provides protection from voltage fluctuations and provides power when the main supply goes out. This will usually only last for about 10 minutes but it gives you enough time to save that document you’ve been working on for the last 3 hours, and to shut down the computer properly. UPS’s will range in price depending on capacity and features but you can get a basic model that should be sufficient for a single computer from $100. If you want to connect a lot of peripherals and computers then you may need to purchase a larger capacity model. Make sure that the UPS you purchase has AVR (automatic voltage regulation) as some only provide backup power. To determine which UPS is suitable , check the websites listed below. You can buy a UPS from computer shops, or contact us for pricing. http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/ http://powershield.com.au/upscalc/calc
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