APC UPC Power conditioning

[drinkmorejava]

The wiring in my apartment is absolutely terrible, and every time I print something (laser printer) my lights will flicker for about twenty minutes as the printer goes through it's various power save modes. I was wondering if putting it on a UPC might help. Obviously, a server grade UPC would have power conditioning in it, but what about a consumer model such as an APC BackUp-ES.

I'm betting they don't recommend running laser printers and toaster ovens and such off of UPCs, but I pretty much don't really care right now.

Thanks in advance

 

[MichaelD]

A UPS with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) would help a bit. The AVR ciruitry senses when the line voltage drops (or raises) and either adds juice from the battery or shunts the extra voltage to ground accordingly.

It will not completely fix your light flickering problem but it would help. As you already know, running a laser printer off a home UPS is not a good idea. Get as beefy a UPS as you can afford. Plan on at least $200 for a big, decent unit.

 

[Griffinhart]

If you are looking to buy a UPS, use this tool:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/upssizecalc.html

Enter in the wattage of all the devices that you want protected and it will give a minimum and suggest KVA rating. Then buy a UPS with that raiting.

So, a computer with a 600Watt power supply and a 24inch LCD screen running 110 Watts max would take, roughly, a 1000KVA UPS to cover it. With a margin for growth and extra up time a 1200KVA UPS would be recommended. The same system with just the computer and no monitor on the UPS would take a 900KVA UPS.

edit:
Since you specifically mentioned APC, a brand I actually like and use, I see that they have a calculator that will generate a list of the UPS models that they have based on your needs.
http://apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm

 

[Mark R]

A UPS for your printer or computer will do nothing for your flickering lights.

 

[MadAmos]

Originally posted by: Mark R
A UPS for your printer or computer will do nothing for your flickering lights.

+1
Sounds like you have some wiring issues, since it is an apartment I would start with the landlord/property manager as substandard wiring can be a serious safety hazard.

Good luck