I've got a home office setup with a laptop connected to two external monitors of the same model, and both monitors are hooked up through an HDMI to USB adapter. They're plugged into a backup battery and surge protector. I also have a mini fridge in the office, plugged into a different outlet. I've noticed that every time the fridge's defrost timer kicks in, one specific monitor turns off for a brief second but then comes back on. The other monitor doesn't get affected at all. I'm curious about what might be causing this flickering. By the way, my office recently had some renovations, and new outlets were installed for both the computer and the fridge. Any ideas?
5 Answers
Check if both monitors are plugged into the battery-backed outlets on your UPS. If one is connected to a "surge only" outlet, that could be the cause of the flicker. Make sure they both are getting proper power from the UPS.
Just like someone mentioned, if your house has multiple ring main circuits, you could be overloading one of them. These circuits typically have a maximum load limit. Make sure your monitor and fridge aren't both drawing from the same circuit under heavy loads.
Thanks for that info! I didn’t realize there might be a limitation based on how the circuits are set up.
I’d definitely recommend moving the mini fridge to a different circuit. This could solve the issue since the fridge might be drawing too much power at that time, causing a voltage drop that affects your monitor.
It sounds like your setup might be pulling too much power from the circuit. One suggestion is to try moving the fridge to a different circuit altogether, not just to another outlet. This could help alleviate the issue with the monitor flickering when the fridge runs.
Absolutely! It could really help to balance the load.
Which model of UPS do you have? Often, entry-level UPS devices can’t handle on-demand battery backup without causing power blips. You might want to consider upgrading to something that offers better power conditioning if that's the case.
Yeah, both monitors are definitely plugged into the battery and surge outlets.