What is the difference between a surge suppressor and a UPS?
The biggest difference is that a UPS has battery backup power, and a surge suppressor or TVSS device does not. However a UPS is much more than a surge protector with batteries. A surge protector is designed to protect a sensitive electrical appliance from being destroyed by power surges and spikes. A UPS has this capability, but also conditions power so that the connected equipment always receives an acceptable voltage. A surge protector only protects the equipment from extreme voltage spikes and surges. A UPS can also protect equipment from brown outs, frequency variation, waveform distortion, outages, as well as voltage spikes and surges, and can shut down a computer safely in an extended blackout.
