Running a Home-Office Through a UPS 141
mwagner_00 asks: "After spending lots of money and time, I now have an office in my home. My wife and I both have computers (mine is a high powered gaming rig), and I also have a workbench where I work on other people's PCs. I have a web/email server as well. I would like to protect the investment by running the room's power through a UPS. I have a APC 3000NET that my workplace was going to throw out. The only thing it needs is a good set of batteries. Has anyone tried something like this before? Basically I want to find the breaker for the room, and after the breaker, run the power through the UPS and back out to the room. Is the UPS that I have sufficient to run a whole small office?"
My recommendation (Score:5, Insightful)
Much easier to mount the UPS under the work bench and to run an extention cord/surge strip to the other PCs. You don't want to have anything running off the protector you don't need. Things like speakers, printers, PDA chargers, etc.
-Rick
Code is the key here. (Score:3, Insightful)
The UPS is an appliance, not a fixture. It has to be separable from the building wiring by a plug. It doesn't carry the appropriate ratings and classifications for being wired-in. Use the appropriate output cords and power strips.
That being said, you might want to do some research into generator transfer switches, and the idea that some of the house's loads would be on a se
Just go PV (Score:3, Interesting)
See http://www.dsireusa.org/ [dsireusa.org] for more info on your local photo volatile power system incentives
-Rick
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
Also, Cali isn't the best place for solar power. AZ has it beat, but yo
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
What very very little I know of solar panels and Windmills (wind turbines to be exact) is that solar panels are (last I knew?) very inefficient in that it takes more power to make the panels than what they can create over the span of their lifetime, thus the reason I've never bothered looking at them.
Wind turbines rock. They're fun to look at, dangerous to make (huge freaking magnets that you're trying to *gently
Re:Just go PV (Score:3, Interesting)
No longer true. current theoretical limits put the power generation at 30% of the power received by the sun. And life spans of 20+ years. New thin film technology is allowing PV cells to be made cheaper and easier, and in much better applications. Gone are the huge 6 foot panels. Now you can get a PV sheet that can be rolled up and put in a ba
wind farms (Score:2)
We have a new wind farm being built in Wisconsin
Next door in Minneasota, we have a number of wind farms producing megawatts of energy. The Minnesotans for an Energy Efficient Economy [me3.org] has a good website about the state of wind farms in MN.
FalconRe:Just go PV (Score:2)
http://www.nationalwind.org/publications/avian/av
Re:Just go PV (Score:3, Informative)
Best energy sources (in terms of payback and renewability) are wood heat (1:22) and hydroelectric power (1:28). They didn't cover nuclear, since it isn't an opti
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
Interestingly, that's the exact point being made by many global warming scientists. The only drawback to nuclear power generation is disposal of waste materials. However, a very small quantity of fuel lasts a really long time, so disposal isn't a constatnt issue, only a periodic one.
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
Awfully timely... (Score:2)
The article doesn't mention the technology that these new plants will utilize. I certainly hope they're planning on pebble-bed...
Re:Just go PV (Score:3, Informative)
Do you mean you can generate a megawatt hour every year, or you can constantly have an output of 1 million watts for a year?
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
-Rick
Re:Just go PV ... or fusion (Score:2)
Just harnessing the damn power is the clincher.
Re:Just go PV ... or fusion (Score:2)
-Rick
Re:Just go PV (Score:2)
PV incentives (Score:2)
It's only worth it in California, really. Few other states have the incentives or the climate to make this worthwhile.
Here's a table of financial incentives [dsireusa.org] by state. It lists them by Federal, private, state, utility, and local incentives. While pv may not be practical in some locations there are a number of financial incentives available that cover more than just pv.
Falcon
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
So: Break the feed heading into the server room. Terminate one side in a male plug, and the other side in a female. Plug the UPS into this pair of connectors.
Done*.
And then, if required need to disconnect the UPS appliance, simply do so, much as you would any other appliance.
(*Variations might (and probably should) include using double-insulated stranded wire, installing a panel directly after said male plug with fusing/breakers appropriate for the wire and connectors, and also so
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
It is safe: If someone does something stupid, the panel's fuse pops before the UPS does. No smoke. No fire.
I wouldn't rely on a fuse, but rather put a GFCI in at the panel. Now one concern I'd have is whether or not the UPS can handle all that power going through a single socket. You're not even supposed to hook up a single splitter or extension cord to most UPSes. Hooking up an entire circuit likely won't work.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
The fuse exists to protect against fire. It heats up and melts, breaking the circuit, before any series-connected wire gets a chance to.
The GFCI exists to protect against electrocution by way of detecting ground faults and shutting down.
Different animals for different problems.
You always have a fuse, even if you don't install one: If things short for whatever reason, something is going to fuse/flash/melt/burn, and it may not be. Everyone agrees that it
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
The GFCI exists to protect against electrocution by way of detecting ground faults and shutting down.
And a ground fault can't cause a fire?
A GFCI, even if generally a good idea, is only needed in situations where ground faults are likely. Like wherever there's water. Which, hopefully, is not one's server room.
I assume the UPS would be installed at the circuit breaker panel, not in the server room. If you're going to put it in the circuit room, what's the point? Just plug the stuff directly into the
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Because in many places, using extension cords/power strips* permanently is against code.
It does if you use one of those GFCI circuit breakers that you install in your panel box
Well, that would be a circuit breaker, wouldn't it?
Not just a longer length of wire, it's also splitting a single outlet into multiple loads.
And a power strip isn't?
Even if it can, b
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Because in many places, using extension cords/power strips* permanently is against code.
And hooking up a standard UPS to your circuit isn't?
Well, that would be a circuit breaker, wouldn't it?
Yep, not sure where I said it wasn't.
"Not just a longer length of wire, it's also splitting a single outlet into multiple loads."
And a power strip isn't?
I wouldn't recommend hooking up a power strip to a UPS either.
"Even if it can, by increasing the distance of the cable you're increasing the potential inte
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
What? You'd expect a non-standard UPS to be somehow more suitable?
People do this shit all the time. Properly. Safely. To code. With "standard" UPSs.
There's even documentation describing at least two ways to make it happen here [powerware.com], from people who have a vested interest in not being sued over improper installations.
I wouldn't recommend hooking up a power strip to a UPS either.
Is there anything that you do recommend?
I mean, clearly, it's just impossible to
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
What? You'd expect a non-standard UPS to be somehow more suitable?
A UPS that is meant to be hooked up to a whole house circuit is more suitable for hooking up to a house circuit than a UPS that is meant to be plugged into the wall. I thought that was kind of obvious.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Thanks for playing. You're still a moron.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Not just in water-prone places.
A kid can stick a fork into any outlet. An RCD will save lives.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Depending on the power requirements of your computers (think about getting TFT monitors, for example), you could perhaps five sockets each of two amps, (about 450W/socket, easily enough for most PCs and an attached
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Keep in mind that the UPS the submitter referenced is a 120V solution, which will be around 22-24 amps for the 3000 VA......
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
It's kind of embarrassing really, I keep needing to apologise for my nationality more and more lately. I meet Germans and feel the need to apologise for MY nation's conduct in the war...
Re:Winston Churchill would spit in your eye, wanke (Score:2)
I can't remember where I quoted my last comment from (think it was Red Dwarf), but then again England does need fewer patriotic and nationalistic wankers like you.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Don't even think about doing this without talking to your city's electrical inspector.
I would think in the US the constitutional right to privacy would preclude Big Brother from getting involved in this, as long as you don't sell or rent the house, anyway. Besides, it's not like the govt. is going to find out. Personally I'd talk to someone who knows what they're talking about, but not necessarily the city's electrical inspector, since it's just a temporary and easily removable hack.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
You can have your privacy, but when your house burns down and takes your neighbor's homes with it and they find this... you are going to be in a world of hurt with your insurance companies and probably the police.
I didn't say you should be able to do something unsafe. I'm just saying you shouldn't have to have Big Brother check off on it.
Regardless of whether or not the idea has merit or is valid or even could be done safely, wiring a UPS into the breaker box is most assuredly against electric code an
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
if you want to grow a plant in your basement then burn that plant without ever leaving your property you have not only engaged in commercial activity, you have engaged in interstate commercial activity. because of this the Federal government will put you in jail.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
the constitutional right to privacy only applies to abortion
Considering that it also applies to sodomy, you're clearly wrong.
if you want to grow a plant in your basement then burn that plant without ever leaving your property you have not only engaged in commercial activity, you have engaged in interstate commercial activity.
That's probably not true, but no case has yet been brought over such a thing. Wickard v. Filburn is close, but if there's no legal market for the plant you're talking about the
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Possessing almost any significant quantity of pot (btw i do not use pot) counts as intent to distribute. without requiring any evidence that distribution actually occured
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
I guess there are two ways the right to privacy applies i was not aware that was the basis for the ruling against sodomy laws.
No, there are many more than two. Read about it some time, you don't seem to be aware what the right to privacy is.
Possessing almost any significant quantity of pot (btw i do not use pot) counts as intent to distribute.
Not under federal law it doesn't. It might create a rebuttable presumption of intent to distribute, but that's not the same thing.
Re:Code is the key here. (Score:2)
Re:My recommendation (Score:1, Insightful)
But the only thing you should have running on the uninterruptable power supply itself is the computer and monitor - the essentials only. You want to be able to save documents and safely turn the machine off should the mains power fail (or have PowerChute do it). Do not make the solution more complicated than the problem.
Here are your main problems (Score:5, Insightful)
you think; all the outlets in one room may not be
on the same breaker. Other rooms may have outlets
on that breaker. Lights may or may not be on the
outlet with that breaker. IOW, you would need to
test thoroughly, and probably do some rewiring.
And you still might miss something.
2) If you miswire anything and the house burns down,
your insurance may not cover you. You'll need to
check what the code is where you live and look into
inspections. Getting a licensed electrician involved
is a good idea.
3) You don't want to plug your vacuum cleaner into the
output side of your UPS; not great for either one
of them. Sooner or later, something like that will
happen.
4) If you have a laser printer, startup surges can be
huge; not a good idea to be on the UPS.
There are others, but this should be enough. I have
to go along with the people who receommended running
one (or however many) separate outlets for the UPS.
These can be current or new outlets wired to the UPS
and *clearly labeled*. Maybe use red covers or something,
with a label "Computer equipment only" or "Ask Fred
before plugging anything in here". Of course, you'd
have to change your name to Fred.... Depending on who
could possibly be plugging things in, you could even
consider switching to no normal outlets; hardwire some
power strips into a junction box, and bolt them underneath
the desks the equipment sits on. The biggest problem with
that is moving the desks.
And finally, what happens when you move? You need to make
sure this isn't too hard to reverse, or consider what
happens if you leave it. You don't want someone coming
after you with an axe or lawyer later.
18 amps (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course, doing this is surely a crazy violation of electrical codes. Would it be that hard just to plug the computers into the UPS? It has plenty of outlets, it really looks like that is how it was intended. Wiring it right to the electrical box might get you some geek points, but you might also become a Darwin awards nominee.
I doubt it is worth it.
Re:18 amps (Score:5, Interesting)
If the power suddenly goes out, do you really want the lights in the room simultaneously drawing extra power from the UPS and hiding from you a pretty good clue that the power just went out?
This is surely not the way a UPS meant to be used. I've certainly never seen one hooked up this way.
Re:18 amps (Score:2)
Re:18 amps (Score:2)
On top of that, (Score:2)
Any competent electrician can install a transfer switch for the branch circuit, but you will ne astounded as the cost v
Re:18 amps (Score:2)
While you could replace the plug on the cord to fit in your present outlet, you must consider the following:
1) Your existing circuit will either be rated 15A or 20A
2) There will be other things on the circuit "upstream" of the UPS, and therefore the available capacity for the
Specific loads.... (Score:5, Informative)
You kind of need to specify the kind of loads you'd like to put on the UPS. What you'd need to do is look at how many machines, how many monitors, etc.
For instance, you do NOT want to put lighting (flourescent or otherwise) on a UPS.
I have an older APC 900 that has external modules that I can add battery packs to, if I want a long runtime.
I'm rambling, but a 3000 will power a lot of equipment, for a short amount of time. The batteries for the "higher numbered" UPS's seem to be pretty small, so you don't get much runtime out of them. For a quick-and-dirty of how long, get an estimated wattage you're going to draw from the UPS. Then, take battery voltage, multiply by number of batteries in the UPS, then multiply by the AH of ONE battery. That gives you the watt-hours of your UPS.
If you're going to draw 450 watts from a UPS and the batteries add up to 450 or so, then you'll get about 1 hour - 20%.... Efficiency losses run about 20% (I'm guessing here)...
Anywho. My 900 runs a file server, switch, cable modem, sipura phone box, and the gateway for about 2 hours. It only has one battery pack, but my battery packs are 4x(12v*18AH), which is around 864Watt Hours. So I'm probably drawing 400 watts continuously through the UPS....
Re:Specific loads.... (Score:2)
UPS (Score:4, Insightful)
As to batteries, I have an old surplus 700 watt APC UPS that I run 4 servers and a couple of switches on. The batteries were dead when I got it and I jury-rigged 2 garden tractor batteries in series to it. It works perfectly, but your mileage may vary. The UPS manufacturers generally *do not* want you to do this, so do it at your own risk.
Re:UPS (Score:2)
While you may have had good luck with this, I'd encourage others not to hook oversized batteries to their UPS. The rationale is that, by massively expanding the battery
What would Ricky Ricardo say? (Score:3, Funny)
Considering that you're married, are you really sure that you want to embark on a project that has the potential to make you a permenant laughing stock at the beauty salon?
Keep in mind (Score:5, Informative)
So keep in mind that really all the UPS is going to give you that a good power supply can't is battery backup and surge protection.
Re:Keep in mind (Score:2)
Re:Keep in mind (Score:2)
AVR works based on percentages. If your voltage drops more than x percent below optimal, it boosts by x percent. It does not boost back up to optimal, it boosts by x percent, no matter how low it goes.
On my APC unit, AVR is totally useless; the UPS unit is configured to switch to battery power before AVR could kick in. TO be honest I sort of feel like APC is misrepresenting the capabilities of AVR, and what AVR does. When you actually email APC to
What you really want (Score:3, Informative)
If you're trying to keep working during a blackout (as opposed to keeping your RAID consistent), look into these: a Kohler Generator [kohlerpowersystems.com]. Sure, you still need a small UPS for your server/desktop, but it only has to last ~45 seconds until the generator kicks in. Have an electrician (or authorized Kohler rep) install it. I wish I had one sometimes.
YMMV
Re:What you really want (Score:2)
One thing to keep in mind - many UPS's don't like generator power. I'm in the process of replacing our old cheap-as-possible UPS's with APC SmartUPS's (used with new batteries, of course) because
not a good idea (Score:2)
if you want to mess with internal wiring then i suggest two circuits for your home office, one connected
Re:not a good idea (Score:2)
Re:not a good idea (Score:2)
Obvious things first (Score:2)
Electricity can kill you and/or burn your house down if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing.
Seek the help of a professional who should then measure the loads in the area you want to protect and recommend an appropiate product.
Don't even think of using an off-the-shelf UPS in any configuration other than the one the manufacturer recommends (regardless of capacity).
A/C and lights can put a heavy strain on UPS.
Re:Obvious things first (Score:2)
Even if you're keen on doing it yourself and you have the electrical knowhow, you can get some good advice -- since you're looking to buy batteries for the thing, you've got their ear. Personally, I suspect they
here (Score:1)
http://www.homepower.com/index.cfm [homepower.com]
you will like this mag if you have never seen it
This is the sort of project that alternate energy folks do all the time, ie, using battery backups then to the house circuits. It is common. Whether the original juice is from solar PV or wind gennys or microhydro, fuel generators-or the grid,or a combination of the above, which most enthusiasts have, the wiring is very similar. They have a nice searchable archive of all their past articles, and you can
don't waste the power (Score:2)
Get real. (Score:2)
I have a rig in my office that is sort of like you proposed. I have a Belkin 1100 UPS, I have both my desktop & monitor and my headless server drawing power from it, it's rated to cover both systems for about 15 minutes. Around here there are occasional 2 or
Re:Get real. (Score:2)
if your model is supported then this [networkupstools.org] might help you.
Re:Get real. (Score:2)
Re:Get real. (Score:2)
Re:Get real. (Score:2)
You'll loose flexibility... (Score:3, Insightful)
Been there, done that (Score:2)
In my post-doc days a housemate got hold of a UPS powered by a massive array of car batteries in the garage. He wired it into the house such that in a power outage, only his room (admitedly containing the house servers as well as his personal computers, lights, TV etc) would have power.
We did have a half-hour power outage during a storm and it worked fine when the rest of us were looking for candles. The main drawback was it did SAVAGE things to our electricity bill, more than doubleing it. Keeping an ar
Re:Been there, done that (Score:2)
Re:Been there, done that (Score:2)
You can pretty easily be killed by 110V as well, it's not really significantly safer than 220...
As my old physics teacher used to say: "it's not the Volts that jolts, but the Mills that kills."
UPS? uninterruptable?? sure (Score:4, Interesting)
For whatever reason, over the last 10 years, I have seen more power failures being caused by a UPS then being handled properly by one.
The idea seems to be good and usefull, but so far reality tells me that those devices do not have the kind of reliability that is needed.
One of my customers has their entire computer room wired up to a HUGE UPS, and has a few smaller ones in place for very important servers. The big UPS is supposed to keep them running for as long as power lasts, the small ones are to allow those servers to properly shutdown when power runs out on the main UPS.
In the last month, they had 2 major failures of the main UPS, resulting in a substantial amount of downtime. They cannot remember the last failure of mains power (I do, and it is a few years ago now)
My own company used to have a very nice IBM AS/400 with UPS (one made specifically for this machine), which failed during the one power failure we have had in the last couple of years here, not to mention it deciding to just switch off a few times over the years.
Another one of my customers runs a bunch of servers with redundant power supplies where each power supply has its own UPS. That setup sees to work a lot better already.
To me the story seems pretty simple:
Separate UPS's per power supply, yes! (Score:3, Interesting)
In the telecomm infrastructure, everything runs from a DC battery bank, which is maintained by rectifiers. (Or you could say it runs from rectifiers, backed up by batteries. Semantics.) All the equipment has 2 power supplies, and is always fed from two separate DC inputs, known as A and B. In very small (remote equ
Re:Separate UPS's per power supply, yes! (Score:2)
The problem I see with what you suggest is that you will have to have the UPS connected to mains power anyway so it stays charged. In that case it is pretty easy to just let the UPS tell the system about the power failure, and it still does not address the main reason why I suggest a setup
Re:Separate UPS's per power supply, yes! (Score:2)
My point was that the main building supply would be the giant UPS, or generator, either of which can fail in various ways. Two small UPS units, one per power supply, would just add expense. All you need is one, to sustain the server until the generator kicks in, or the main UPS is back on
Re:Separate UPS's per power supply, yes! (Score:2)
Ok, I understand that, and as I mentioned already, one of my customers is using such a setup (huge UPS for their computer room, and small UPSes for specific servers). As I also mentione
Re:Separate UPS's per power supply, yes! (Score:2)
If you mean two power supplies in the space of a normal ATX p/s, then the only monitoring you would have is if there was an additional serial/usb connection to the board.
Re:UPS? uninterruptable?? sure (Score:2)
This may just be me being picky.
Re:UPS? uninterruptable?? sure (Score:2)
We have ALWAYS had a while room UPS. Call Liebert or whoever your vendor or electrician is and have them fix it. We have in our center a UPS to cover the interim time it takes for the generator to kick on. Our Generator is across the street. While we had issues after we first moved in, they have been resolved and we have lost power since and our room stayed up and so did our website. God pless the power fairies....
Re:UPS? uninterruptable?? sure (Score:2)
Within some time, where I live I will have the option of contracting 2 seperate electricity pr
Re:UPS? uninterruptable?? sure (Score:2)
Use the sizing tool... (Score:2)
APC has a UPS sizing tool on their website... just enter all of the items in it that you plan to connect to the UPS, and it will not only tell you whether or not you are within its abilities, it'll tell you how much room you have to grow, and more importantly - how much run-time you'll have.
15A (Score:2)
Downside is the battery is going to be expensive. You will be better off getting two 740VA back-ups units.
Re:15A (Score:2)
And yes, they are brand new batteries.
Additionally, the batteries used in this UPS are bigger than typical rack-mount setups (in terms of energy and size.)
Car Batteries (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Car Batteries (Score:2)
Warning: building something like will probably kill you and others through electrocution, fire, or something completely unexpected.
House Surge Protector and so forth . . . (Score:2)
Go ahead and mount a whole house surge protector. They cost a couple of hundred dollars, take a couple hundred more to mount. But, then you'll have (I think) somewhere on the order of 40,000 joules of protection. Some smart house sites have more information--let Google do the walking.
Secon
That's a REALLY bad idea... (Score:3, Informative)
My Whole-Home UPS Solution (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes.
I, too, had a surplus UPS about the size of yours. When I
was in my apartment, it sat in the same room as my computers.
The UPS was loud, ugly and produced lots of heat. (Much like
a girl I used to date... but that's an another story for
another day.) It protected my computer equipment but not my
TiVo or home stereo equipment because they were in another
room. So, I had to have a seperate UPS for them.
When I bought a house, I didn't want UPSes spread all over
the place nor did I want the heat or sound inside the house.
So, I put the UPS in the garage and then wired UPS outlets
where I needed them. I have a quad-outlet in the office for all
our computer equipment. I have a quad-outlet in the living room
for the TiVo, stereo and TV. My cordless phone and answering
machine also plug into a UPS outlet.
For nearly five years, this setup has worked great. Every
two or three years, I have to replace the two batteries ($90).
Other than that, it has been great.
Plus, I have disaster-recovery outlets spread throughout
my house. When last year's hurricanes knocked out power to
my house, I was able to plug the UPS into our small generator.
I didn't run the computers or television (but did keep the
TiVo online so I wouldn't miss my shows) but I was able to
keep some lights on without having extension cords pulled all
over the house.
> I want to find the breaker for the room, and after the
> breaker, run the power through the UPS and back out
If I were you, I'd run a new circuit. You never really
know what outlets and appliances are where. When I moved
in, the toaster's outlet in the kitchen was on the same
circuit as the outlet on the front porch where I plugged
in my hedge clippers.
I'm sure there is more on your office circuit than
you know about. It is best to start clean. Plus, electrical
work is really easy if you have attic or basement access.
Matt
Servers at home? (Score:2)
I'm serious. Having a local print and file server is fine. I ran a mail and web server at home for several years.
But I eventually said screw it - I was always a little uncomfortable leaving that equipment on 24/7 when I was nowhere around. It's one thing to take off for the day, but are you really comfortable leaving it on during a two-week trip?
When you leave consumer grade equipment running 24/7 for years you will encounter problems. I've had several disks fail, once tr
Listen to me if you want to live (Score:3, Insightful)
It's almost certain that the wall sockets in the room are daisy chained with sockets in other rooms and all off of the same breaker. Same deal with the overhead lights. This makes your plan somewhat physically impractical.
If you are going to use this unit (the UPS), get the proper replacement battery or batteries. Do not even think of using automobile batteries or anything like that anywhere indoors. Do not think of using those types of batteries outdoors with a long cord running indoors to the UPS.
Get a licensed electrician to install a separate 30 amp circuit from your breaker panel to a single outlet in the room you have set aside as an office and plug the UPS into that outlet. Make sure that the UPS is working properly before going to the expense of installing the outlet.
Use the UPS to power your computer equipment (and perhaps a low wattage lamp), excepting of course any laser printers or the like.
As long as you're going to be talking to a real electrician you might inquire about the feasibility of setting up a generator and the necessary equipment to switch between it and the power company's wires. Unless you get a *very* large generator you'll need to have things set up so that the generator feeds selected circuits in the house (lights, refrigerator, wall outlets, but not the stove, the washer, the dryer, the water heater, the heat pump, etc.) while disconnecting the power company so that there's absolutely no way for the generator to feed power back into the power company's lines or for the power company to feed into the generator's output. Whether you get a generator that starts automatically and automatically disconnects the power company and connects itself, or one that has to be started and switched manually depends on how much money you can afford to throw at it.
You may want to look into swapping this unit (the UPS) for 2 or 3 lesser ones that can be plugged into your existing 15 amp outlets if you can find someone in the reverse of your situation. That way you won't need any special wiring (unless you go with the generator idea).
Been there, done that (Score:2)
Arc Fault Interrupters -- better than GFCIs (Score:2)
A GFCI detects faults _to_ground_ but will not trip to stop a little arc between hot and neutral that can still start a fire.
Arc Fault Interrupters are new technology. Know about this stuff, it's significant.
[PDF] NASFM Science Advisory Committee Recommendations Regarding Arc Fault
Re:My humble suggestion... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Power strips (Score:2)
In general, a plain power strip is fine but anything that claims to be a surge protector can be a problem.