Batteries are Cheap, Backup power is expensive


Dear Audiophiles,

To make a long story short I need to make sure my Internet devices stay on even when power is down for 24 hours, which on the South Carolina coast is realistic. 

I have an APC UPS 600VA which I though would do the job but it actually lasts less than 2 hours.  So I have been crunching the numbers and have really been surprised at how expensive an APC UPS is per minute of run time vs. modern battery based generators and DIY solutions. 

An APC UPS can be anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 / minute of run time while an EcoFlow Delta for instance is around $0.50 to $0.75 / minute.  Not only is the EcoFlow cheaper but just has ten times better run times.  A single 1 kWh unit will keep my data closet running close to a full 24 hours.  I have too many devices in there which consume ~ 50 watts.  50 x 24 = 1,200 

I did in fact purchase a Delta 2 with back up battery for other reasons than the data closet, but when doing the research I also investigated DIY backup solutions and came across the idea of using a Renogy inverter/battery charger + 2x 12V LiFePO4 batteries.  It’s even cheaper than the Ecoflow but requires much more effort to set up.    I’ll do a full write-up on that soon. 

What have you done to back up your home devices?  

erik_squires

Showing 1 response by whart

We finally installed a whole house generator 26KWa-Kohler- natural gas- a little more than a year ago. After the Texas "big freeze" in 2021, I swore I would not go through that again (or the threat of rolling blackouts during peak summer heat, which is brutal here). Since it takes the generator a bit to come fully online--arguably in the tens of seconds, though the switch over happens in milliseconds, that’s obviously enough of a time lag to disrupt Internet service. 

Since so much of what we have today is Internet dependent, including household alarms, security cameras, etc. (all with battery back ups), I bought a substantial Eaton sine wave 20 amp UPS. This way, the Internet signal is covered during the generator switch over. I’m less concerned about computer activity during a power outage than the security systems. (and fwiw, I had a pretty elaborate wiring scheme approved to avoid having my main hi-fi part of the same circuitry as the ATS for the generator; the hi-fi is not supported by the generator at all). One less thing to worry about  and--no, I would not be listening to the hi-fi during a power outage.