Best UPS for Home Servers in 2026

Q: Pure sine wave vs simulated sine wave?

**Pure sine wave** if your UPS powers a NAS or any device with an active PFC power supply (most modern PSUs). Simulated sine wave can cause buzzing, overheating, or malfunction in active PFC devices. **Simulated sine wave** is fine for mini PCs with external barrel-jack power adapters.

Quick Recommendation

APC Back-UPS BE600M1 (600VA, ~$65) for a single mini PC. It gives you 20-45 minutes of runtime at 10-30W, USB connectivity for automatic shutdown, and surge protection. For a mini PC + NAS + switch setup, step up to the CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD (1000VA, ~$130) or APC BR1500MS2 (1500VA, ~$180).

Why You Need a UPS

A sudden power loss can:

Corrupt databases. PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and Redis can lose uncommitted transactions or corrupt index files during a write operation.
Damage ZFS pools. While ZFS is designed to be crash-consistent, repeated unclean shutdowns stress the system. A corrupted ZFS intent log can require pool recovery.
Lose Docker container state. Running containers that are mid-write when power cuts can leave corrupted configs.
Damage HDDs. Heads that don’t park cleanly can physically damage platters (rare on modern drives, but possible).

A UPS gives your server time to shut down gracefully. With USB connectivity and NUT (Network UPS Tools) or apcupsd, your server automatically shuts down when battery runs low.

Types of UPS

Standby (Offline) — Best for Home

Runs on mains power normally. Switches to battery when power drops. Switchover time: 5-12ms. Perfectly fine for servers — modern PSUs ride through brief interruptions.

Examples: APC Back-UPS BE series, CyberPower SL series.

Line-Interactive — Best for NAS

Includes an autotransformer that regulates voltage without switching to battery. Handles brownouts (low voltage) and overvoltage without draining the battery. 2-4ms switchover.

Examples: APC BR (Back-UPS Pro) series, CyberPower CP PFC series.

Online (Double Conversion) — Overkill for Home

Continuously runs on battery while charging. Zero switchover time. Expensive and generates more heat/noise. Only needed for critical enterprise infrastructure.

Recommendation: Line-interactive for NAS and multi-device setups. Standby for a single mini PC. Skip online/double-conversion for home use.

Top Picks

1. APC Back-UPS BE600M1 — Best for Single Mini PC

Spec	Detail
Type	Standby
VA / Watts	600VA / 330W
Battery	1x sealed lead-acid
Outlets	7 (5 battery + surge, 2 surge only)
USB	1x USB for monitoring + 1x USB charging port
Runtime (10W mini PC)	~45 minutes
Runtime (30W mini PC + switch)	~15 minutes
Price	~$65

Best for: A single N100 mini PC drawing 6-15W idle. 45+ minutes of runtime gives you plenty of time for automatic shutdown.

2. CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD — Best for Mini PC + NAS

Spec	Detail
Type	Line-interactive, pure sine wave
VA / Watts	1000VA / 600W
Battery	2x sealed lead-acid
Outlets	10 (5 battery + surge, 5 surge only)
USB	1x USB for monitoring
LCD	Yes (runtime, load, battery status)
Runtime (50W: mini PC + 4-bay NAS + switch)	~15-20 minutes
Runtime (30W: mini PC + switch)	~30 minutes
Price	~$130

Best for: A mini PC + NAS + network switch setup. Pure sine wave output is important — some NAS devices and active PFC power supplies don’t work correctly with simulated sine wave UPS units.

3. APC BR1500MS2 — Best for Full Homelab

Spec	Detail
Type	Line-interactive, sine wave
VA / Watts	1500VA / 900W
Battery	2x sealed lead-acid
Outlets	10 (6 battery + surge, 4 surge only)
USB	1x USB for monitoring
LCD	Yes
Runtime (100W: full homelab stack)	~15-20 minutes
Runtime (50W: mini PC + NAS + switch)	~30 minutes
Price	~$180

Best for: Multi-device homelabs drawing 50-100W total. Enough runtime for graceful shutdown of all devices.

4. APC Back-UPS BE425M — Budget Option

Spec	Detail
Type	Standby
VA / Watts	425VA / 255W
Outlets	6 (4 battery + surge, 2 surge only)
USB	1x USB charging port (no monitoring)
Runtime (10W)	~35 minutes
Price	~$45

Note: No USB monitoring port — can’t trigger automatic shutdown. Suitable only if you want basic battery backup without automatic shutdown, or if you add a separate USB monitoring cable.

Sizing Your UPS

Calculate Your Load

Measure or estimate total wattage of everything connected to the UPS:

Device	Typical Power
N100 mini PC	8-15W
N305 mini PC	12-20W
Synology DS224+ (2x HDD)	18-22W
Synology DS423+ (4x HDD)	28-35W
8-port Gigabit switch	5-8W
WiFi access point	8-12W
Raspberry Pi 5	5-8W
Cable modem/router	10-15W

Choose VA Rating

Rule of thumb: Your UPS VA rating should be at least 1.5x your total wattage for reasonable runtime.

Total Load	Minimum UPS	Recommended UPS	Approx. Runtime
10-20W	425VA	600VA	30-60 min
20-50W	600VA	1000VA	15-30 min
50-100W	1000VA	1500VA	15-20 min
100-200W	1500VA	2200VA	10-15 min

You don’t need hours of runtime. 10-15 minutes is enough for automatic shutdown. The UPS exists to bridge brief outages (seconds to minutes) and enable clean shutdowns during extended outages — not to keep your server running through a 3-hour blackout.

Automatic Shutdown Configuration

NUT (Network UPS Tools) — Recommended

NUT works on Linux, supports most USB UPS brands, and can notify multiple servers from a single UPS connection.

# Install NUT
sudo apt install nut

# Configure UPS (APC or CyberPower via USB)
sudo nano /etc/nut/ups.conf

Add to ups.conf:

[myups]
    driver = usbhid-ups
    port = auto
    desc = "Home Server UPS"

Configure NUT mode:

sudo nano /etc/nut/nut.conf

MODE=standalone

Configure monitor:

sudo nano /etc/nut/upsmon.conf

MONITOR myups@localhost 1 admin secret master
SHUTDOWNCMD "/sbin/shutdown -h +0"

Start NUT:

sudo systemctl enable nut-server nut-monitor
sudo systemctl start nut-server nut-monitor

Test:

upsc myups
# Shows battery charge, runtime, load percentage

Synology DSM

Synology has built-in UPS support:

Connect UPS to Synology via USB
Control Panel → Hardware & Power → UPS
Enable UPS support
Set “Time before Synology NAS enters Safe Mode” (default: when battery is low)

TrueNAS

System Settings → Services → UPS
Enable UPS service
Select driver (usually usbhid-ups)
Set shutdown mode and battery thresholds

Multi-Device Shutdown

If one UPS protects multiple devices, use NUT’s network mode. The server connected to the UPS via USB runs NUT in “master” mode. Other devices (NAS, second server) run NUT in “slave” mode, connecting over the network:

UPS ──USB── Server 1 (NUT master)
                  │
              Network
                  │
            Server 2 (NUT slave)
            NAS (NUT slave)

All devices receive the shutdown signal and power off gracefully.

Battery Replacement

UPS batteries degrade over time. Expect to replace them every 3-5 years.

Signs of a dying battery:

UPS reports low runtime even when fully charged
UPS switches to battery during brief voltage dips that it used to handle
Battery fails self-test

Replacement batteries are standard sealed lead-acid (SLA) and cost $20-40. Replace with the same specification (voltage, Ah rating). APC and CyberPower use common SLA batteries available from Amazon or battery specialty stores.

FAQ

Do I really need a UPS for a home server?

If you run databases (PostgreSQL, MariaDB) or ZFS: yes, strongly recommended. If you only run stateless containers (Pi-hole, reverse proxy): it’s less critical but still protects your hardware and filesystem integrity. At $45-65 for a basic unit, it’s cheap insurance.

Pure sine wave vs simulated sine wave?

Pure sine wave if your UPS powers a NAS or any device with an active PFC power supply (most modern PSUs). Simulated sine wave can cause buzzing, overheating, or malfunction in active PFC devices. Simulated sine wave is fine for mini PCs with external barrel-jack power adapters.

Can I use a UPS with a Raspberry Pi?

Yes, but standard UPS units are overkill. Consider a Pi-specific UPS HAT ($25-40) that provides battery backup directly on the GPIO header. These typically provide 30-60 minutes of runtime and signal the Pi to shut down via GPIO.

How long does a UPS battery last?

3-5 years for sealed lead-acid batteries. Longer in cool environments (heat accelerates degradation). Set a calendar reminder to test or replace every 3 years.

Should I put my router/modem on the UPS?

Yes, if you want network access during power outages. Your server being online is useless if the network is down. Budget 10-15W extra for modem + router.