h a l f b a k e r yMy hatstand runneth over
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A low power UPS that silently switches to the mains when tripped. Useful for power-hungry home appliances which feature a clock (microwave ovens, dishwashers, washing machines, etc). If the power fails while the appliance is in active use, it simply stops, but if the power fails while the appliance is
on stand-by, power is still available from the UPS's battery, and the clock doesn't reset.
[link]
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Is this intended for the whole home, or for each appliance?
If the former, then it's likely that a light, heater or some
other hungry device will exceed its capacity and cause it to
stop. If the latter, then maybe. On the other hand, most
modern appliances come with battery-backed (as in 'internal
rechargeable') clocks and other 'memory' features. |
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It's intended for individual appliances. As such, if most modern appliances do come with battery-backed memory features then this is indeed rubbish, but in my experience that's not the case. Of course, I might not buy the right stuff. :) |
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duh, here I'm thinking delivery men on LSD... |
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Hmmm. Well, the problem is that most of the older
appliances that might not have backed-up clocks (DVD
players, microwaves etc) are now so very cheap that it
would probably cost more to buy a UPS with a sufficient
power reserve to be useful. |
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Also, the older appliances (without battery backup) are
probably the very ones which draw quite high "idle
currents", and would therefore drain the UPS quickly. |
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Like the name, though. (Trip-UPS) |
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This could be an outlet add on that provides a few VA of power storage in a capacitor. If the device uses up the stored charge, it goes dead, but if it is adling, it would probably last through a short outage. |
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Yes, I think that's what's being suggested by [gutza].
However, it's not just a capacitor - you need significant
storage capacity *and* a circuit to generate AC from the
stored voltage, so it's not going to be a very small or cheap
thing. |
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If you have an old appliance with a clock, and it keeps getting reset by power cuts, can't you just leave the clock alone? You probably have plenty of other clocks in your house. |
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Say this thing costs $10. That's an hour's work for most people. That's more work than setting the clock a couple of times a year. |
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The people who earn significantly more than $10 probably have modern, battery backed appliances. They probably live somewhere with a reliable power supply too. |
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