UPS

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Those UPS's for your computers and home theater systems, I know the battery backups are good for something. But does the power conditioning really matter? Is the power coming through the power lines really that bad?

 

[Idontcare]

I think it is really one of those situations where it must be determined on a case by case basis.

Some houses have really noisy wiring setups once you factor in the other major appliances usage patterns.

Some people notice their laser printers kick the UPS on when they are simply on the same circuit (different outlets but still same circuit) when they do a print job.

Other people have complained that their gas stoves cause power quality issues when turning on a burner on the stove.

So whether power conditioning helps or not depends on your situation. It has never been reported to hurt...anything but the wallet that is.

 

[zig3695]

well said. electric stoves would have an effect, not gas ones. unless they mean the electronic ignitors on some gas stoves

and the affordable ups's like apc's only condition power so much. when my a/c kicks in, i still get a pop over my speakers but its not nearly as bad as when dont have the stereo plugged into the ups.

a good line conditioner would make the voltage nearly perfect, and give longer life to your electronics but the argument is a bit like over clocking cpu's. sure it might shorten life, but you wont be using it in 20 years anyway because it will be worthless. if you can afford line conditioners, you probably have thousands in systems that are designed to keep up with technology.