I found the hard way that having a UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)  can be very important, especially if your house hosts multiple devices that run on mains that are critical to you. For me, I have multiple servers, Home-Assistant, and of course my Wifi Router.

I’ve been using Eaton UPS for many years now, and when I wanted to expand the list of devices that work even on a power shortage, I decided again to buy this brand. I’m posting this short review to give you my notes after using it quite a lot over power outages.

Some of the advertised specifications for Eaton 5E1500iUSB

Source: http://powerquality.eaton.com/5E1500iUSB.aspx

Pros

1. This is a very reliable brand and model. I have had this one for more than two years now, and the same model (although with a slightly smaller capacity) for 7 years, and they both work flawlessly.
2. This UPS has a USB port that can be connected to a PC and work with the maker’s application (I use Windows) and get information on
   1. Current load in Watts
   2. Estimate time of backup under the current load and Estimated cost (you can input fix rate for kWh).

      

      Eaton Companion App For Windows

3. It can also be integrated with Home-assistant via the “Network UPS Tools” addon, which gives you the ability to create automation for power outages or power consumptions.

Cons

1. The main issue with this UPS (and every other in this series above 1100 VA rating) is its fan. Well, it’s noisy, very noisy, around 60DB from my measurements. It doesn’t work all the time, which is great, but it starts working as soon as the UPS runs on battery, and it will remain on for the length of time for it to charge again. This means that it can make noise for anywhere from one to fourteen hours straight. So if this unit is backing up your TV, or just is situated in the living room, consider this to be a great annoyance. The fan can also start working if you exceed around 700W of consumption.
2. Charging time is super slow. I know this is a design issue, that is meant to keep the battery safe and healthy, and even so, a full charge takes half a day, which means that if you have more than one serious outage, you may run out of juice before it reloads again.
3. The internal battery has only around 60W of energy inside. This might be sufficient for most applications, but if you want to back up a demanding load like a big screen tv, it will only back up for a few minutes.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with their products, and when I need to buy a new one again, I’ll probably end up buying an upgraded version from them as well.

You can head over to amazon and support me by buying from them 🙂

https://amzn.to/3x3QAJ9