APC AVR 500 UPS

This

is the latest line-interactive UPS from APC targeted at homes and small offices.

It is a compact power backup machine, which weighs 7 kg and claims to provide a

backup of about 15 minutes for a single PC.

The UPS has a power switch and four LEDs to indicate battery

life, mains power, overload, and usage status. It offers surge-protection, and

claims to sustain a sudden voltage surge of 6,000 V. It has four ports at the

back. The last one is to provide surge protection to sensitive devices such as

laser printers. The charging time is about 5 hours to reach 90 percent of the

full capacity.

The AVR 500 has a serial port to connect to your PC and uses

APC’s PowerChute software. The software–which is optional and costs Rs 3,500–

performs unattended shutdown of your PC when the UPS is on battery. The UPS also

supports overload protection and has switchover voltage range of 160-280 V.

The UPS houses one battery. Replacing this is easy and the

cost of one battery is around Rs 800.