​High Winds

It’s that time of year in our area where we have high winds. Aside from blowing up the pollen and making Carol sneeze and her eyes itch, it also takes down power lines, as happened just this week.

The power going out won’t necessarily affect a computer, especially a laptop. I have a UPS, an Uninterruptible Power Supply, so my computer keeps chugging along, as does our internet. A UPS can be extremely useful, especially when the power just clicks off and on briefly, as it did Tuesday. Until finally it stayed off. My desktop is tiny, a cube smaller than my fist. My monitor though, that will take some power, so I turned off my computer so just the Windstream modem was powered. That allowed Carol to continue working on her laptop on the Abiquiu News for a while. Gotta keep the News going.

A UPS is generally purchased by power size. A bigger UPS, the more power, and the longer you can run things. It won’t be long actually, depending on what is plugged in. I have a 1500V/900A UPS. Since my computer takes almost nothing to run, and the Windstream modem doesn’t use much, those things will stay on a while, let’s say 30 minutes. By just running the modem, I’d guess I could have internet for at least an hour, maybe longer.

Running a full-size desktop on a UPS will not last long, but it will give plenty of time to do a normal shutdown. Also, using a UPS will provide some power protection. Power outages often come with power surges, and that can ruin a computer that’s plugged into the wall. A power strip doesn’t really offer any kind of protection.

If there’s a bad storm, especially an electrical storm, then I unplug my computer. Carol unplugs the TV. I’m buying another 1500V/900A UPS from Amazon, where I buy almost everything. The one I have is getting older and I want to put some stuff in my workshop on a UPS. The one I am getting is just under $200. For a 5 year lifespan, that’s about $40 a year. Replacement batteries cost about $40 so it’s a good investment for us, to keep us running smoothly. 

Carol also purchased a Westinghouse iGen600s Portable Power Station.  This station is charged from your household electricity, your car or even solar panels.  It will allow you to run small appliances for hours - computers, lights, TVs but not anything with a heating element.   It's great for extended outages as well, as camping.