APC Battery Back up system question

[RyanTB]

I'm considering using an APC Battery Back up system to protect my home theater system. It seems most people are getting them to protect their projection bulbs which does not apply to my flat panel LCD, but what about brownouts? Shouldn't I worry about those? I live in Tampa, FL. A couple of years ago during a hurricane (before I had a nice home theater) the power flickered and "dimmed" for a few minutes and then cut off. This would be a short brownout, correct? Luckily at the time it didn't damage anything, but now with a $3000 entertainment center I'm much more concerned.

If I do go with a APC backup the biggest one I could find for the home office sector was this.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5248181&type=product&id=1051384662246

It says it's a 1500VA, but I would want to hook up my surround sound (1000 watts) and Samsung LCD (184 watts). That means I would need more VA, at least 2400 VA right?

The specs on the APC state it can run for 110 minutes, but there's no way I would need that. Does that mean it could run at a higher wattage, but for less time? How does this work?

Thanks for helping out the HDTV noob. :thankyou3

Ryan

[57U]

Your surround sound system will be using less than 100 Watts at normal and even "very loud" listening levels. (You'd be amazed at how loud one Watt/Ch is).

I would think that even 1000VA would be "plenty". There's no need to plug a sub, if you have one, into the "battery" side of the UPS...

Yes, the fewer Watts you draw, the longer the battery will last, but if you draw more than the battery can supply (say about 500 Watts on a 1000VA system), the system shuts down.

If you're really concerned, you should get a UPS that puts out a pure sine wave when on battery power. These are quite a bit more expensive than the "home office" type. (I use the "cheaper" one.)

[RyanTB]

Well to protect my surround sound system I have to plug the sub into the battery because the amp for the whole system is run out of the sub. It's a Panasonic home theater surround setup. It's almost identical to this one here. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7067309&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat40200050002&id=1108125945932

Do you think the 1000VA would still satisfy my needs for this?

You wouldn't happen to have any links to info on the pure sine wave type batteries? I definately don't need anything overkill, but would like to take a look into it.

[Ratman]

In your case, a $25 surge protector and a Home Owners insurance policy is more than sufficeint IMO.

[RyanTB]

In your case, a $25 surge protector and a Home Owners insurance policy is more than sufficeint IMO.

I'd rather not have to pay $1000 deductible if something goes wrong.

....but if the $25 surge protector is enough to keep my entertainment center protected then I'm all for it.

[57U]

You wouldn't happen to have any links to info on the pure sine wave type batteries? http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=310

I believe all the APC products come with a guarantee if something happens to equipment plugged into them.

I'm using a couple of "older" Back-UPS that I had for my previous computer - one for the TV, one for all the "stereo" stuff. I bought a 1000VA unit for my Mac G5 because it drew more than the 500VA could handle...

[Ratman]

It all boils down to what you think you need/want.

a) surge/spike protection
b) UPS backup
c) power conditioning
d) all of the above

As 57U stated, most products come with an 'insurance' warranty. The caveat being... you better comply 100% to electrical codes and read the fine print.

As a side note: I've never read/heard one person say they 'cashed in' in a claim.

As you can tell, I'm not a advocate of esoteric power centers. Although... I do recommend that those with TV's that have "lamps/bulbs" use a UPS to provide enough power to run the fan(s) to provide a proper cool down in the event of a loss of power. These can be purchased for ~$80.

[Kal Rubinson]

You don't need a lot of VA for this system as it probably draws <100W most of the time. However, for a HT/AV system, you want a sine-wave UPS, if you want a UPS. Otherwise, almost any decent surge suppressor strip will do. Check APS and Belkin for a start.

Kal