UPS (backup battery) for mac mini 2014 ?

See APC products. Best in the biz.

A small 1500+ VA model could do OK, the tower-looking models are a bit

better than the flat-brick ones, and usually have larger capacity batteries.

Figure you get about 10 to 15 minutes when they say 30+ run time.

The reserve is what you pay for and it helps to have that as the unit ages.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+to+compute+UPS+runtime&ia=web

You can hope to get a useful 2 to 3 years battery life; some users never

need the backup because the automatic power regulation & switching

helps keep your computer alive more often (from high & low quick shifts

from the grid.) A warehouse store may be a better place to find a deal;

but replacement of battery is better at electronics parts stores if you are

checking. They may have generic replacement batteries instead of APC

or other major brands; shipping the batteries can be costly due to weight.

My Mini(s) do OK with a 1300VA power conditioning UPS with battery

backup that automatically switches from grid, too; it shows what the

power is doing in a little display and you can set the sensitivity, too.

I found a good price on a spare unit, after I bought replacement battery

for the older one. (And I learned to stress-test these when new, after

giving them a full 24 hour charge. Put a huge load on them & pull plug

to make them switch. Mine had failed to switch or work correctly, so

after that damaged one of my 400 macs, I sought to kill each APC in

advance. Helps to be pro-active. A 1,000W halogen light is adequate.)

There had been some discussion elsewhere a few years ago, about

making sure your house or business AC power was correctly grounded

so these UPS units can shunt any excess power surge to ground. And

one user considered all UPS a waste of time & money; but don't bank

on the contrarians whose claim to fame is a flat-earth policy.

Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

APC has an online calculator you can use to choose what capacity you should need. I used a 1500 VA model to provide backup for a 2006 Mac pro, 21" display, several external and internal drives. It was more than adequate. I use the same capacity (newer) model for a 2015 27" iMac and two external drives; that is overkill.

The UPS needs to provide power for your Mini, any external devices, and the monitor at a minimum. You will need to know the maximum power required by all either in wattage or VAs. Then use the calculator to find out what the UPS needs to provide for the amount of safety time you think you will need. I doubt that K Shaffer's suggestion is close. You probably won't need 1300 or even 1000 VA for your setup.

Mine can also power an LED desk lamp nearby and the base for my cordless

land-line phone, among other accessories; plus that over-capacity lends to

a longer useful life. And you can choose to ration any excess reserves should

the power grid be offline inconveniently longer than expected.

Back when I used iMacG4 17-in 1.25GHz and additional stuff running to support

it, commonly a UPS 1250VA APC would be good for about 15 minutes, regardless

of what they said on the box. Later with a PowerBook or iBookG4 this was better

because at desk, I used USB keyboard/mouse & printer backed up. - More is best.

{Those otherwise worthless (non-protective) surge strips can be used to help

ration power because anything plugged-in can be easily turned off thus save

the UPS battery reserves for the most important item attached... the Mac or

maybe other devices that could be helpful in extended outage.}

I've had smaller and larger capacities; and found out by living nearly off-grid

to have more is best. Even if you happen to have a backup generator, too.

As I had for many years. A good automatically switching power supply can

buy you time. Also it protects while you are away. I've left my Macs on for

up to six months; they sleep automatically. ~ But in bad weather months,

if I know ahead of time that I may be away for more than three days, I will

shut down the computers; but leave them plugged into an UPS.

A fair backup generator that has quality power output (top end yamaha or

honda) can also help. - I'd use an UPS to protect my Macs from power flux

while manual change-over during storm outage. Extra time is worth the cost.

But your expectation and living situation may vary. After all, I've lived where

you would be very uncomfortable; with few to no modern conveniences. 😐

I've lived in Viet Nam during the war. Few modern conveniences. I survived with little problem. I'm sure you will have worse to report. What is actually relevant is not buying less or more UPSs than required. That can be computed with the proper information regardless of your living conditions. 😀

The Mac Mini pulls about 85 watts, your monitor probably about the same.

A 300 watt backup should be enough.

APC just changed styles, this is a little taller, but much smaller.

Toaster size...

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/383084/APC-Back-UPS-450VA-Battery-Backup/

(The old one was the size of a throw pillow...)

Remember, there are backup ports, and surge only.

Plug in the Mini and monitor into the backup,

your printer and other accessories into the surge...

Would really depend on how much time you need using UPS battery power. Go to the APC site and use their calculator to estimate what you would need. Then be sure to get a UPS that can provide battery backup plus line conditioning. It may cost a little more, but that would be worth the expense.

You will find a number of options here: UPS Selector. The best of all the options would be APC Power-Saving Back-UPS Pro 700. But look at what is available then pick the best one for you.

The Pro series does offer better features and longer run time under variable conditions.

For a little more than the basic unit, you can get one that works much better, provides

power filtering, automatic switching, adjustable sensitivity, and has viewable gauges.

To test & check the amounts of power consumed, one can get & use such a device as

the 'Kill-A-Watt' load tester that also can help configure actual needs of backup power.

And most power supplies and other devices use more power than the label suggests.

Buying a better uninterruptible power supply, with automatic voltage correction, and

conditioning, with battery backup, and better run-time is a place where frugal isn't a

great idea. Considering one could built one using deep-cycle marine batteries & a

controller that could maintain a whole-house, if one is handy. There are at least two

major kinds of technologies behind the idea. I prefer the better industrial scale.

Living in a wilderness area, without someone dropping an arsenal in your vicinity, is

probably like the war zone; especially if you don't have infrastructure to begin with.

I've worked & lived in remote & semi-remote areas for more than 45 years without

anything approaching the expectation of many in the USA.

Good luck & happy trails! 🙂

With a 350-450 and just a Mini and flat panel display, you will

be able to take your good old time closing things out and shutting down.

Actually, you'll likely be able to continue work for a fair amount of time.

I may want to purchase a model with USB monitoring capabilities so

you can keep track of charging as well as battery level when power goes

out.