Are UPS power supplies needed in Taiwan?

Have a multiple monitor setup and the new monitors kept turning off randomly for no apparent reason. They just turn off for a few seconds, then turn back on. Bought a UPS and powered the monitors through it, and the flickering stopped.

I presume it means the power supply as-is either has over/under voltage fluctuations. So the question is whether more expensive electronics like desktops, laptops or NAS may be affected.

So far the power fluctuations have not resulted in a shut down of my desktop or NAS.

Also, what is Taiwan like during stormy weather? Is one advised to unplug sensitive electrical equipment?

Been here aince 2006, and apart from a handful of blackouts never had any problem like the ones you described.
unplugging equipment is up to you, it is not a common SOP here. Wind and rain are more common problems, not lightning.

Sounds like the power supply in your apartment has weird issues. Try other power sockets. If you still have issues get an electrician over?

Sounds like it’s just your house.

I’ve seen more power failures in the three weeks I was in Canada than I have seen in Taiwan 2022.

Have you measured the voltage? It sounds like voltage drops possible due to having a long wire run from the power source, or the wire is too small for the load causing voltage drops. How many monitors are you connecting?

I would suggest you to buy an ups anyway. Although you have not mentioned the expenses of the server. A decent anti power surge ups will go the long way to give you the peace of mind in any location.

Previously four monitors from two different sockets, now all connected to one socket through one dedicated 1000VA UPS.

I haven’t measured the voltage. Something like this because it is intermittent would best be caught with an oscilloscope with a trigger function.

Or do you mean to check the nominal voltage to see if it is 110V?

Will probably need to get a separate one for the desktop and NAS in the future.

Yea check if it’s 110 or 120 volts and not lower. Maybe run a hair dryer while measuring the voltage and see how much it drops.

Just to let you know. I run several servers of semi commercial grade. An ups ( you can buy used commercial ones) for cheap online and insert new batteries in some shops.

Yeah, thank you.

I found the present 1000VA UPS second hand and bought it for NT$1000.

I’m curious what you do for work? Happy to take it to PM.

My PC monitor has started doing this every time my fridge on the same circuit switches on. Motors draw a large current pulse when they switch on and it can cause enough disturbance to upset (badly-designed) electronic equipment on the same supply.

Try unplugging your fridge and see if the problem goes away.

Do you have an enormous fridge?

Climate science modeling. I run a demi-decadal old mainframe and 2 storage servers. Which I have plugged into a solar pv system with a redundant ups.

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If it has an app you can get a report on the voltage directly from the UPS and see when there’s dips. Also a good idea to buy a decent surge protector to put between it and the wall even if the UPS has that capability as it’s much quicker and easier to remove/replace the surge strip than the UPS… :sunglasses:

Actually on the subject of a ups, is it possible to buy a power wall in taiwan?

I run one of these for my TV & Sound system and another one for desktop pc & monitor.

TL probably means those that can power the entire home.

https://www.tesla.com/zh_tw/powerwall

That’s what I mean. If taipower can offer discounts for off peak use more people will buy these things because it would pay for itself.

It would also be helpful for power outages or whatever.