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I was thinking of using battery and surge protector instead of UPS. With UPS you have to:

  • Do checkups
  • Ship for battery replacements

i.e it is a hassle. With laptop battery you have nothing to worry about if you keep it charged in a frame between 40% to 60% and in temperature below 25 C so you prolong battery life. Besides i never use battery because my laptop is a good substitute for desktop to me since i don't use heavy applications at all.

The problem might be that in my country, temperature in summer is 30 C - 32 C. What i don't know is if i will save money and if yes, then how much.

What do you think? Are there other advantages and disadvantages i did not mention?

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This is a rather subjective question, and the FAQ discourages "I use X, what do you think/use?" questions. Try to reword it with specific criteria: "Does a laptop battery degrade faster than a UPS battery?" "Does a UPS provide more equipment protection than a surge protector?" Also, you'd have to do regular tests/checkups on a laptop battery as well, and if your laptop has a built-in battery, then you have to ship it off for replacement as well. – Darth Android Jul 13 '11 at 16:14
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Agreed with @DarthAndroid. Very subjective -- please ask a specific question. It seems you already know what you want to do. Asking "What do you think?" and how much money you will save is not a good fit for Super User. – slhck♦ Jul 13 '11 at 16:22

closed as not constructive by techie007, Darth Android, slhck♦, Sathya♦ Jul 13 '11 at 17:47

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

UPS batteries are not Li-ion like laptop batteries. They will last longer.

Higher-end UPSes condition the power they receive, better than what a simple power strip can do. This can lengthen the life of your equipment.

You can also power multiple devices off of many UPSes, such as external drives or perhaps your router/cablemodem.

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+1 for the power conditioning – Dave Jul 13 '11 at 17:35
Power Surge Protector does not condition power? It protects against surges, brownouts - isn't this power conditioning? What else could you possibly want? Surges and brownouts are main dangers. – Boris_yo Jul 14 '11 at 15:31
Power conditioning makes sure the power frequency is 60Hz, is a pure sine wave, and that the voltage is 120v. The voltage regulation is probably the most significant thing with regard to extending life of components. – ultrasawblade Jul 14 '11 at 17:28
up vote 4 down vote

One disadvantage is you are constrained to laptops for hardware availability and updatability.

It will be hard to upgrade your hardware when better stuff comes out, you will need to replace the whole laptop instead of the component. Also expect the laptop to cost more for the same hardware specd desktop.

modern UPS's have replaceable batteries, you don't need to send the whole unit off and they will have a lifespan as long if not longer than laptop batteries being lead-acid instead of Li-ion.

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+1 Good points! – Dave M Jul 13 '11 at 16:08
And a decent ups can also protect your monitor, printer, router, phone charger and .... – Nifle Jul 13 '11 at 16:14

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