# Will I need an uninterruptible power supply for my computers in the Philippines?



## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

I've been to the Philippines many times and I know the electricity goes out pretty often. I'm thinking I will need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for my computers when I get there. I guess I will need one that runs on 220vac since that is wall voltage in the Philippines.

Are there good ones available in the Philippines? Any suggestions on brands or models and an idea of what they cost?

Thanks
Maxx


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## Phil_expat (Jan 3, 2011)

Will you be using a laptop or desktop? If a laptop: all laptops will work on 110V and 220V, check your power adapter. Since you already have a battery a UPS is not needed. The thing that concerns me is voltage surges that may damage my computer but in a laptop your battery acts like a regulator. If a desktop: Many power supplies have a 120V – 220v switch on the power supply. If your do consider replacing the power supply, it is very easy to do! If you save your work regular a voltage regulator is all you need. If you want extra security of not losing your work get a UPS. I use a 23” monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse with my 15” laptop so I have the advantages of a desktop and the portability of a notebook. It has been a very long time since I had a desktop so my info on that is old. check ace hardware!


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

Phil_expat said:


> Will you be using a laptop or desktop? If a laptop: all laptops will work on 110V and 220V, check your power adapter. Since you already have a battery a UPS is not needed. The thing that concerns me is voltage surges that may damage my computer but in a laptop your battery acts like a regulator. If a desktop: Many power supplies have a 120V – 220v switch on the power supply. If your do consider replacing the power supply, it is very easy to do! If you save your work regular a voltage regulator is all you need. If you want extra security of not losing your work get a UPS. I use a 23” monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse with my 15” laptop so I have the advantages of a desktop and the portability of a notebook. It has been a very long time since I had a desktop so my info on that is old. check ace hardware!


Thanks Phil

It's my desktop computers I'm worried about. The power supplies on them will work with either 110vac or 220vac so that's not a concern. Do you still have frequent power outages in the Philippines. Seems like the last time I was there several years ago that it happened just about every day. That was in Angeles City.

Maxx


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

We had half a day planned outage just after Christmas and a couple of minor blips before Christmas. The days of frequent brown outs in our area are long gone.


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

Gary D said:


> We had half a day planned outage just after Christmas and a couple of minor blips before Christmas. The days of frequent brown outs in our area are long gone.



That's good to know, thanks again !!

Maxx


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## richardsinger (Oct 30, 2012)

I am living in Batangas, and we get a lot of very brief voltage dips here. I know because my 2 desktop PC UPSs frequently switch to battery backup for periods of a few seconds up to a minute.

I would call these brown-outs, but in Philippines that word is used for total power loss and it might confuse people if I said brown-out instead of voltage dip. I have no idea if a voltage regulator would be sufficient for this condition, it would depend on the regulator specification, the amount of load, and the exact nature (voltage and time) of the voltage dip.

Regarding UPS availability, the situation is improving and you can get small UPSs in computer shops and CD-R King (I brought my units with me from Singapore 3 years ago). If you watch the loading a small UPS should be sufficient, at least to allow you to shut down your system without loss of data. But if you plan to keep on working during a total power loss, you would need a bigger UPS which means a bit more searching.

Richard


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

richardsinger said:


> I am living in Batangas, and we get a lot of very brief voltage dips here. I know because my 2 desktop PC UPSs frequently switch to battery backup for periods of a few seconds up to a minute.
> 
> I would call these brown-outs, but in Philippines that word is used for total power loss and it might confuse people if I said brown-out instead of voltage dip. I have no idea if a voltage regulator would be sufficient for this condition, it would depend on the regulator specification, the amount of load, and the exact nature (voltage and time) of the voltage dip.
> 
> ...


Richard, does your unit run on 220v or are you using it with a voltage converter?

Maxx


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

An uninterruptable power supply would be good to have if it is a good quality one. Because of the brownouts that happen in this country, it would be wise to have one because it gives you enough time to properly shut down your computer. Otherwise your PC takes a PacMan Punch to the jaw and you can get it corrupted in a hurry.


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## richardsinger (Oct 30, 2012)

Zone199 said:


> Richard, does your unit run on 220v or are you using it with a voltage converter?
> 
> Maxx


Hi Maxx. My stuff was all bought in Singapore (where I used to live) so it's running on 220V.

Richard


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

We have reasonably good steady power here in the Subic Bay Freeport. I think we have had 3-4 outages in the past 10 months, with only 1 more than 1 minute, maybe 10 minutes. If you go outside the freeport into Olongapo City, they have regular brownouts.

In any case, a UPS is a good idea. I lost a file I was working on in one of the outages and decided to shop for a UPS. I found some small name brand ones (name escapes me) I was going to buy one, but I didn't get around to it yet.

The other reason for a UPS is that I think it will protect you from lightening strike surges, which can be frequents as well. Am I right on this point?


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

Zone199 said:


> I've been to the Philippines many times and I know the electricity goes out pretty often. I'm thinking I will need an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for my computers when I get there. I guess I will need one that runs on 220vac since that is wall voltage in the Philippines.
> 
> Are there good ones available in the Philippines? Any suggestions on brands or models and an idea of what they cost?
> 
> ...


I was able to pickup a 500va APC brand (same brand sold at Fry's Electronics in US) uninterpretable power-supply for around 5,000 Peso (approximately $125) at a local computer store here near Lapu Lapu City. We have generally have one or two power failures a week, and they usually last between one to four hours at a time. In my case, I think that the UPS was a good investment, because I've had a few power failures hit while I was using my desktop PC.

In addition to using a UPS, I'm also using an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) with my PC. I have the UPS plugged directly into my wall socket, and then AVR plugged into the UPS, and then a three prong grounded (220v) surge protector plugged into the AVR, and finally my desktop plugged into the surge protector.

When I first got here, approximately one year ago, I started having all sorts of strange problems with PC, which I never encountered in the US. My video card failed within a few days, and I had to change my RAM because one of my memory sticks mysteriously failed as well. Also, occasionally when I'd boot up my machine I'd get a message reading ntldr is missing. 

Finally I talked to someone who works IT over here, and he said that my problems were most likely caused by fluctuations in my house hold current, and he also mentioned that the local power company is legally allowed to drop the voltage by a certain amount during high load periods. That is what caused me to purchase the automatic voltage regulator. I spent around 3,500 peso on this unit, and since using it my PC has been rock solid. This particular unit is made by Meiji, (local company in Manila) and the model number is SVC-500. The only flaw with this particular unit is that it also has a three prong 110v receptacle built into it, but the ground circuit for the 110v receptacle is tied in directly to the ground circuit for the three 220v receptacles, also built into the AVR. This means if you plug a 110v appliance into the AVR at the same time you have a 220v appliance plugged into the AVR, you run the risk of having 220v feeding back through the ground into your 110v appliance! Not good! Other than that, this seems to a reliable AVR, and I've been using it for about six months without any issues. I simply put a decal over the 110v receptacle on my AVR to avoid plugging anything into it. 

Also, I had some grounding issues associated with my household wiring, and this effected my PC and some of my other household appliances. I posted a thread in this forum titled "Household AC Current" and you may want to take a look at that thread also. Basically the lack of a ground was causing me to get a shock from PC when I plugged something into USB, and I think that not having a ground was causing problems with my video card as well.

Too make a long story short, since I installed a makeshift grounding rod outside my house, and have been using both an AVR and a UPS, my PC has been rock solid. Hopefully my experience will save someone else some headache.


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

DonAndAbby said:


> We have reasonably good steady power here in the Subic Bay Freeport. I think we have had 3-4 outages in the past 10 months, with only 1 more than 1 minute, maybe 10 minutes. If you go outside the freeport into Olongapo City, they have regular brownouts.
> 
> In any case, a UPS is a good idea. I lost a file I was working on in one of the outages and decided to shop for a UPS. I found some small name brand ones (name escapes me) I was going to buy one, but I didn't get around to it yet.
> 
> The other reason for a UPS is that I think it will protect you from lightening strike surges, which can be frequents as well. Am I right on this point?


You're right about all of it. And you mention a point I'm concerned about. Finding a 'good quality' UPS in the PI, I'm sure they exist somewhere, but where.


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## richardsinger (Oct 30, 2012)

Here're some online stores selling UPS:

UPS | AVR | VillMan Computers

PC Corner Online

PC Gilmore Computer Center


These all carry APC brand which I've been using for more than 10 years. You need to calculate your expected loading so that you can choose the correct size of UPS for your needs and budget. And note that W (watts) and VA (volts x amps) are not the same. The UPS Watt rating is always less than the VA rating.

Richard


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## JimnNila143 (Jul 23, 2013)

DonAndAbby said:


> We have reasonably good steady power here in the Subic Bay Freeport. I think we have had 3-4 outages in the past 10 months, with only 1 more than 1 minute, maybe 10 minutes. If you go outside the freeport into Olongapo City, they have regular brownouts.
> 
> In any case, a UPS is a good idea. I lost a file I was working on in one of the outages and decided to shop for a UPS. I found some small name brand ones (name escapes me) I was going to buy one, but I didn't get around to it yet.
> 
> The other reason for a UPS is that I think it will protect you from lightening strike surges, which can be frequents as well. Am I right on this point?


Yes! Because of the above ground power lines so prevalent in the Philippines, lightning can hit a power line and travel for many, many meters and wipe out a lot of things in the process. The UPS is a worthy investment rather than an expense.


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

Maxx62 said:


> I was able to pickup a 500va APC brand (same brand sold at Fry's Electronics in US) uninterpretable power-supply for around 5,000 Peso (approximately $125) at a local computer store here near Lapu Lapu City. We have generally have one or two power failures a week, and they usually last between one to four hours at a time. In my case, I think that the UPS was a good investment, because I've had a few power failures hit while I was using my desktop PC.
> 
> In addition to using a UPS, I'm also using an automatic voltage regulator (AVR) with my PC. I have the UPS plugged directly into my wall socket, and then AVR plugged into the UPS, and then a three prong grounded (220v) surge protector plugged into the AVR, and finally my desktop plugged into the surge protector.
> 
> ...


That's very good information Maxx, I will heed all of it. Thanks for taking the time to answer. You got a really cool name too.

Maxx


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## Zone199 (Oct 21, 2013)

richardsinger said:


> Here're some online stores selling UPS:
> 
> UPS | AVR | VillMan Computers
> 
> ...


Very helpful and it gives me some idea of prices too. Thanks much !!

Maxx


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

I picked up my UPS at Octagon Computers at the SM Mall in Cebu City. You can probably find the same UPS cheaper elsewhere, but if you're in a hurry, and you want to have it in hand today, Octagon seems like a reliable place to go.


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