American Power Conversion was founded by three electronic power engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who were originally working on solar power. There wasn't enough money to make a viable solar concern, but there was in power protection. They produced their first UPS in 1984 (the 750). Rodger Dowdell, Jr. joined APC as its president in August 1985, where he stayed for more than 20 years. Dowdell's expertise was in manufacturing, and he was in the right place at the right time with emergence of the personal computer market, and a need to protect those computers from spikes and lags. He moved manufacturing to Peacedale, Rhode Island where there was favorable tax advantages, real estate was cheap and the local workforce was skilled. They became a publicly traded company in 1998. APC has numerous product lines, including models targeted for home, small business and even large datacenters. Today they're a billion dollar company with worldwide sales and manufacturing and also a Fortune 1000 company.
When I was in college, I lost a seventeen page research paper when the power went out. This taught me a couple of lessons.
1. If it's important, back it up. Twice. And print it too.
2. Get a good quality Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), they pay for themselves.
I used to just think they were useful when the power went out. Not true. Power in your house is not a smooth clean flow. There are sags, surges and brownouts, and when things *almost* go out, and they play absolute havoc with sensitive electronics. A lightning strike is not the only thing that will melt your computer's expensive electronics. Years later, I lived in California and they were having rolling blackouts. My neighbor lost his TV (For that huge flatscreen TV and entertainment center in the living room, you might want to consider APC S15 UPS), and asked if I had any problems. Fortunately for me, I had purchased some cheap practical insurance in UPS, and didn't have a problem. I have two of these particular UPS, both for a little over a year now. The main selling point for me (besides protecting thousands of dollars of equipment) is the LCD display. With the touch of a button I can see in the incoming voltage, and the load on the UPS. I used them to make sure I wasn't overloading my breakers, and also to informally troubleshoot a power problem with the wiring in the house. Turns out when I turn on my treadmill it creates a load that drops the voltage on downstream electronics- the UPS solved that problem by smoothing out the voltage and cutting over to the battery as necessary. They also keep a simple log of outages and power problems, through the very easy to use Powerchute software. A common mistake people make is to buy the UPS and just plug it in. Make sure you install the software, and test the shutdown performance of the UPS. While running without the software is better than no protection at all, you're not making the most of the technology, and you're removing a safety net.
), and asked if I had any problems. Fortunately for me, I had purchased some cheap practical insurance in UPS, and didn't have a problem. I have two of these particular UPS, both for a little over a year now. The main selling point for me (besides protecting thousands of dollars of equipment) is the LCD display. With the touch of a button I can see in the incoming voltage, and the load on the UPS. I used them to make sure I wasn't overloading my breakers, and also to informally troubleshoot a power problem with the wiring in the house. Turns out when I turn on my treadmill it creates a load that drops the voltage on downstream electronics- the UPS solved that problem by smoothing out the voltage and cutting over to the battery as necessary. They also keep a simple log of outages and power problems, through the very easy to use Powerchute software. A common mistake people make is to buy the UPS and just plug it in. Make sure you install the software, and test the shutdown performance of the UPS. While running without the software is better than no protection at all, you're not making the most of the technology, and you're removing a safety net.You can order here: APC BR1500LCD 1500VA 900 Watts 8 Outlets BACK-UPS
 APC BR1500G Back UPS Pro 1500 Battery Backup System $284.99 Time Remaining: 1d 4h 47m Buy It Now for only: $284.99 |
 APC RS 1500 Battery Back Up BR1500LCD Back UPS $74.95 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 38m Buy It Now for only: $74.95 |
 APC Back UPS BR1500G Line interactive UPS 1500VA 860W $213.29 Time Remaining: 1d 11h 2m Buy It Now for only: $213.29 |
 APC BR1500G Back UPS Pro 1500 $209.99 Time Remaining: 1d 22h 43m Buy It Now for only: $209.99 |
 APC BR1500G Power Saving Back UPS RS 1500 NEW $223.95 Time Remaining: 2d 11h 22m Buy It Now for only: $223.95 |
 APC BR1500G BACK UPS Pro 1500 10 Outlet 1500VA 865W UPS System $225.99 Time Remaining: 3d 12h 19m Buy It Now for only: $225.99 |
 APC BR1500G Uninterruptible Power Supply ups $212.53 Time Remaining: 5d 21h 28m Buy It Now for only: $212.53 |
 APC BR1500G 1500 VA 865 Watt 10 Outlet Power Saving Back UPS RS 1500 $199.00 Time Remaining: 6d 10h 45m Buy It Now for only: $199.00 |
 APC Back UPS BR1500G Line interactive UPS 150 kVA 86 $202.93 Time Remaining: 7d 13h 59m Buy It Now for only: $202.93 |
Sources:
APC
International Directory of Computer Histories
Funding Universe Company Histories
