Combining Power Protection

[Dorkenstein]

Is there a UPS that performs a solely battery-backup and AVR function that I can combine with a Brickwall surge protector? Or is there a nice UPS that has as good a surge protection ability as a Brickwall?

I'm curious because I found out something that could be causing my UPS to freak out and sound the alarm all day. My uncle, who is an electrician, came to visit from Virginia and looked at our circuit breakers in the cellar. He said we have one single 15-amp circuit doing the work of two twenty-amp circuits. Who knows what that does to electronics. We're getting it fixed ASAP, but I want to get some better protection for my gear. Thanks.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think if you were really drawing 40A through a 15A circuit, if you weren't blowing the breaker every second, then your walls would be glowing red-hot and burning down.

 

[Mark R]

He said we have one single 15-amp circuit doing the work of two twenty-amp circuits. Who knows what that does to electronics.

It permits the electronics to operate correctly.

If your single 15-amp circuit really was doing the work of 2 twenty-amp circuits, the power would shut off in seconds.

If your power is staying on, your 15-amp circuit is doing the work of a single 15 amp circuit, with capacity to spare.

What your uncle means is that you have an unusual number of sockets on a single circuit. Circuits are normally designed so that you can you plug a sensible number of significant loads in, and not have the breaker go out. So, it wouldn't be recommended to have a single 15A circuit powering 12 sockets, 4 sockets in each of 3 rooms - as you might want to use a heater in each room - this would overload the circuit. However, it might be OK to have 12 sockets in one small room - because it would never be necessary to use 3 heaters in a single room.

Electronics are very low-stress loads, so you can have 20 sockets on a single circuit and still be well within the capacity of a single 15 A circuit.

 

[Itchrelief]

I think if you were really drawing 40A through a 15A circuit, if you weren't blowing the breaker every second, then your walls would be glowing red-hot and burning down.

I'd have to concur. What your relative is telling you relates more to your physical safety (from electrical fire) than any power quality issues.