Is inverter/UPS required for HT safety in India?

[Michelangalo]

Do we require inverter or a UPS in India to protect HT equipment from damage due to power outage?

Does the inverter really helps and if it does then which one is recommended by the community?

Thanks!

 

[Nikhil]

This topic has been discussed quite a bit in the past. Short answer to your question s is yes.

Most parts of India has very poor power quality and power supply itself is unreliable with frequent power cuts during the summers etc. As a result many of us implemented a back up power UPS type to give about 15 - 30 mins of power mainly to help safely power down your gear in the event of a power cut. The next issue was the quality of the power itself.

Many of us live in apartment buildings where the power is shared with fellow residents. Quality of wiring is suspect in many places. As a result quite a few of us started drawing dedicated lines for audio gear. This isolates the gear from other household appliances, lights etc. Once you go down this path, next step is to use some sort of power conditioning to clean up the power. This is a reasonably large subject with a lot of products being used. One among those being Smart UPS installations which regenerate the incoming AC to DC and back to AC. There are pros and cons to this approach. One of the pros being able to run your gear on battery backup.

In places where power quality is good, folks prefer to connect their gear (specially power amps) directly into the wall sockets. Where power quality is poor, this is not an option. There is no right or wrong approach. You have to make decisions based on your power quality and supply conditions.

Hope this helps ...



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[sud98]

If the question is for inverter, the answer is NO. Inverters generally give a square wave output. In many equipments, warranty is voided if using an inverter.

The UPS part , Nikhil has answered, is esp. important for projectors which expect a normal shutdown to maintain lamp life. Even there, it would be good to use a DBT type pure sine wave UPS as regular and even some sine waves give simulated sine waves which are not good for any quality electronics. There are options of using a servo stab or CVT or UPS or even a conditioner depending upon your needs and budget.

Do research for the same in the forum as there are lots of threads on the same.

 

[Michelangalo]

That's what I was thinking. Any suggestion which UPS brand to go for? Budget is a constraint.

 

[tuff]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
I have been using this inverter Microtek SEBz 900 (Sinewave) for over 7 years. Have connected home theater and a projector, never had any problems.
Has a Exide Inva queen battery connected to it.

 

[Nagaraj S]

If the question is for inverter, the answer is NO. Inverters generally give a square wave output. In many equipments, warranty is voided if using an inverter.

The UPS part , Nikhil has answered, is esp. important for projectors which expect a normal shutdown to maintain lamp life. Even there, it would be good to use a DBT type pure sine wave UPS as regular and even some sine waves give simulated sine waves which are not good for any quality electronics. There are options of using a servo stab or CVT or UPS or even a conditioner depending upon your needs and budget.

Do research for the same in the forum as there are lots of threads on the same.

I think this is a critical observation here: you must look for a pure sine wave inverter. I remember using a square wave one (not knowing it then), and my Denon amp used to frequently go into protection mode. Plugging the amp directly into the wall socket eliminated this.
But such pure sine wave inverters are expensive. You could probably think of a short/30 minute backup to allow for a graceful shutdown of your gear.

 

[Michelangalo]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
I have been using this inverter Microtek SEBz 900 (Sinewave) for over 7 years. Have connected home theater and a projector, never had any problems.
Has a Exide Inva queen battery connected to it.

Why do you need a additional inva queen battery allong with the inverter? Sorry if it's a noob question.

 

[tuff]

The inverter uses the power from the battery when power is out. Recharges when power is restored. This battery can run my entire system for more than 3 hours if the power is out.
Some inverters have inbuilt battery, with much less power more like a UPS. But will not run the system for long.

 

[Michelangalo]

The inverter uses the power from the battery when power is out. Recharges when power is restored. This battery can run my entire system for more than 3 hours if the power is out.
Some inverters have inbuilt battery, with much less power more like a UPS. But will not run the system for long.

What shall I use if I want want to protect HT when there is power cut and I can safely power down everything.

 

[tuff]

What shall I use if I want want to protect HT when there is power cut and I can safely power down everything.

A UPS should suffice if you want to just shut down after the power cut.

 

[Michelangalo]

A UPS should suffice if you want to just shut down after the power cut.

What should be the UPS power? I am trying to calculate but it's coming too high.
The device that will be plugged is AVR, Woofer, TV, and Projector

This topic has been discussed quite a bit in the past. Short answer to your question s is yes.

Most parts of India has very poor power quality and power supply itself is unreliable with frequent power cuts during the summers etc. As a result many of us implemented a back up power UPS type to give about 15 - 30 mins of power mainly to help safely power down your gear in the event of a power cut. The next issue was the quality of the power itself.

Many of us live in apartment buildings where the power is shared with fellow residents. Quality of wiring is suspect in many places. As a result quite a few of us started drawing dedicated lines for audio gear. This isolates the gear from other household appliances, lights etc. Once you go down this path, next step is to use some sort of power conditioning to clean up the power. This is a reasonably large subject with a lot of products being used. One among those being Smart UPS installations which regenerate the incoming AC to DC and back to AC. There are pros and cons to this approach. One of the pros being able to run your gear on battery backup.

In places where power quality is good, folks prefer to connect their gear (specially power amps) directly into the wall sockets. Where power quality is poor, this is not an option. There is no right or wrong approach. You have to make decisions based on your power quality and supply conditions.

Hope this helps ...



.

I think the power quality is good at my place just that the power goes once in a while for a few minutes and back on. I didn't want a power cut to damage any equipment. So looking for suggestions on what to use so I can power off everything when there is an outage.

 

[tuff]

Use this calculator. https://www.apc.com/shop/in/en/tools/ups_selector/home/device

 

[Michelangalo]

Use this calculator. https://www.apc.com/shop/in/en/tools/ups_selector/home/device

How is this model? This is the cheapest model I see for Online UPS, its still expensive. I was looking for something up to 5K.
Microtek-Online UPS E2-1KVA 24V Pure Sinewave with in-Built Batteries (12V 9AHx2)

 

[mail2sumanth]

I have a Inva planned ahead as I know very much it is required in our case (India). I have a dedicated media room with 5.1 setup with Full HD projector. You can see it in my profile pic. I have planned for 2kva office Model to power my entire house. I can watch at least two movies at a stretch on inverter(not tried beyond it ). Luminous (Acquired by APC) with two batteries (24v DC) 100ah. It costed around 38k. This also does basic conditioning. It is very much worth to have it when you are dealing with expensive rigs

 

[Michelangalo]

I have a Inva planned ahead as I know very much it is required in our case (India). I have a dedicated media room with 5.1 setup with Full HD projector. You can see it in my profile pic. I have planned for 2kva office Model to power my entire house. I can watch at least two movies at a stretch on inverter(not tried beyond it ). Luminous (Acquired by APC) with two batteries (24v DC) 100ah. It costed around 38k. This also does basic conditioning. It is very much worth to have it when you are dealing with expensive rigs

It's too expensive. I want something that can help to protect the gear from sudden power cut and give me few minutes to power everything down. Not planning to use as backup power to use it during power cuts.

 

[Nikhil]

It's too expensive. I want something that can help to protect the gear from sudden power cut and give me few minutes to power everything down. Not planning to use as backup power to use it during power cuts.

What is the total load of the gear that you need to have protected?
The solution is based on the total load and amount of backup time needed

For a 2KVA load and about 30 mins backup you can expect the cost to be about 40K
You have to buy additional batteries for more backup time.


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[Michelangalo]

What is the total load of the gear that you need to have protected?
The solution is based on the total load and amount of backup time needed

For a 2KVA load and about 30 mins backup you can expect the cost to be about 40K
You have to buy additional batteries for more backup time.


.

The load will be 500W peak Avr, 300W peak Subwoofer, 375 W peak LED TV. I am looking for something to use as a precautionary measure to protect devices and not as a necessity.
Don't want to invest too much money in this and the budget is around 5K and can extend to up to 10K if the UPS is really good.

I just need a device with 5-10 min backup to turn off all the equipment and won't be requiring additional batteries. I have no plan on using the devices when no power on the battery.

I did some research and Online UPS is the way to go as they produce pure sine wave but these are expensive and the power runs continuously through battery to the devices.
Online UPS type- Microtek-Online UPS E2-1KVA 24V Pure Sinewave with in-Built Batteries (12V 9AHx2)

Line-interactive UPS is affordable but not sure if they are suitable for my purpose or they will cause more harm then safety. These are simulated sine wave UPS and the battery comes into picture only during a power failure. In normal operations its direct power without the use of the battery.

 

[Nikhil]

Not sure of a 5K budget but it also sounds like you don't have much of a load.
You are also not using a projector which is normally a concern.
TVs don't get affected as much with power cuts so you could probably leave it out.

I would recommend allocating a good budget towards power quality at some point.
I have used APC gear without any problems and recommend their products.

Ask around and see what you can find that's in your budget.


.

 

[Michelangalo]

Not sure of a 5K budget but it also sounds like you don't have much of a load.
You are also not using a projector which is normally a concern.
TVs don't get affected as much with power cuts so you could probably leave it out.

I would recommend allocating a good budget towards power quality at some point.
I have used APC gear without any problems and recommend their products.

Ask around and see what you can find that's in your budget.


.

Which APC model you have.

 

[sud98]

Going by your list of equipments I dont think you need a UPS at all, none of them really care for a graceful shutdown. You could look at fast acting relays which can prevent high voltage damaging your equipment. I remember seeing one in one of the FM HT setup. Else, typically your regular MCB does the job, but its sometimes too slow to prevent damage. Again, this is only if you are in typically bad power area with lot of fluctuations.