How often do you have a power outage in your home or office? How many of those power outages are less than five minutes in length? I’m going to guess that I’ve had to deal with around ten of those short outages a year. Some only last a few seconds. But each of those outages are hard on electronic devices as they get shut down unexpectedly. Today I’m going to share a solution and I’ll share links to get it at Amazon. Yes, I get a tiny commission. No, I didn’t get a free one.

Admittedly I wasn’t prepared for a recent outage. I walked away from my computer long enough to make a sandwich. When I returned, the computer had rebooted. OK, no problem. But unfortunately damage was done to one of my hard drives during the unexpected shutdown. I’ll get it fixed, but I’ve lost some time and it will definitely cost a bit to get it fixed.

One way to survive these brief outages is by having an Uninterruptible Power Supply or UPS. Basically, it is a big battery that can keep your devices running for a short time. The one I’m suggesting is only good for around 15 minutes. That’s long enough to survive the short outages. When there is a longer outage, it gives you a few minutes to shut everything down properly.

The APC UPS 600VA Battery Backup & Surge Protector is priced so that all users should have one for their computer. It claims 23 minutes of power, but that will be somewhat dependent on how much power is needed by devices connected to it. For those who want more time/power, go with the APC 850VA UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector. It still isn’t that expensive and gives your equipment a nice insurance policy.

Note that because these include a big battery, they do have a limited lifespan of 3-5 years. So if you get one, make sure you get a replacement before the original goes down. Admittedly I didn’t have one and it will cost me far more than the price of a UPS. I’ll be getting one as soon as possible so that my equipment is protected.