<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Q: I have a security/fire alarm system that links to an emergency call center via my VoIP telephone service. If the power goes out, will my alarm system be disabled? A. If you don&amp;#039;t have some sort of backup power system, both your alarm and the VoIP phone service it connects to will be kaput. To prevent a power outage from taking down your whole system, you&amp;#039;ll need some sort of generator or battery backup. It&amp;#039;s likely your alarm system already has a battery backup just for its wiring, sensors and alarms. (Otherwise all a thief would have to do to disable it is cut the power.) Your VoIP telephone system is another matter. You likely have one of two configurations: If your VoIP service comes through your Internet service provider, then both your VoIP router and broadband modem may be in one box; if your VoIP provider is a third party, then you may have two separate boxes. But neither configuration will work if the power cuts out. So you&amp;#039;ll want to invest in a battery backup system. Since you won&amp;#039;t need to power a full-blown computer during an outage, you can buy a relatively low-power 300- to 750-watt UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for $50 to $150. A UPS is essentially a giant battery that stays plugged into a wall socket, always on the alert for any power interruption. Most of the time, the UPS passes power directly from the outlet, but it switches to battery power when the power is lost. How quickly the UPS switches over to battery power will depend on the quality of your UPS. You can test yours by unplugging its cord from the wall and seeing if any of your devices lose power momentarily. A good UPS will advertise a quick switch-over. Besides the switch-over time, you&amp;#039;ll need to factor in capacity. The larger the capacity of the UPS, the longer it will be able to power your devices. In your case, two routers aren&amp;#039;t going to pull very much power, so an average unit should be able to last several hours. Many vendors have charts that explain how long their UPS will power something at a certain wattage. Use a tool like the Kill A Watt to measure the draw of your broadband modem and VoIP hardware, or refer to the manufacturers for projected wattage and do the math. Be sure to test! An alarm system over VoIP on a UPS is a risky solution, so if you aren&amp;#039;t going to spend the money for a hard-wired, plain old telephone line, do yourself a favor and make a few test calls over the VoIP system when it&amp;#039;s running off the UPS power. APC Back-UPS BE 750G ($100) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/how-to/a2529/4245102/>