Battery backup UPS feedback

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Continuing the discussion from What are your battery backup strategies for Hubitat and network?:

Found this thread and I thought it would be better to start a new one but pointing out that I read a lot of what was in that old thread.

I got an APC Back-UPS 650 for free, so making use of it. I wanted one anyway, so it worked out. Sorry this is long so thanks if you read it all.

I thought I had this all planned out and now that its hooked up I might change my mind. Main goal is just to prevent everything from going down if we get a power flash for a couple of seconds which happens sometimes with bad weather. Secondary is to keep some things running longer and get a clean shutdown during an extended outage (rare).

  • Cable modem is on the other side of the basement, with ethernet going to the router. Could be relocated to just below the stairs so it can feed from the UPS.
  • Router, Hubitat, two mini-PCs connected to battery power on UPS.
  • One PC is connected to the UPS via USB cable and running apcupsd, and also NUT on a VM mirroring the apcupsd info.
  • Using apcupsd and NUT to get the info to the other PC and the hub for shutdowns.
  • UPS was reporting 207 mins run time but after testing it today and letting it recharge it is showing around 127 mins now.

Questions / thoughts

  • Moving cable modem to be on UPS would keep internet from dropping out for a brief outage, I know for a major outage the internet may not work anyway. Might just find a small UPS for just the modem as alternate solution.
  • If modem is moved, I would be out of outlets on the UPS. So might move the UPS to below the stairs and run a non-surge power strip up for the other devices unless that is a bad thing to do.
  • UPS is connected to non-critical PC, just runs a Plex server right now and a VM for testing things mostly. Only reason I did this was because the USB ports on the main PC are on the side so it would annoy me.
  • Debating if I should move it to the main PC anyway, which has all my extra HA software running on it and my local DNS server so I want to keep it running longer. I tested powering down the extra PC while on battery and I only got about an extra 15-20 mins of run time, so not huge.
  • OR, I think I could connect the UPS to the router and run NUT or apcupsd on there, the router will stay up until power is cut. I just didn't want to tie up last USB port on the router for that.

Thoughts or feedback?

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I like this mini-UPS by TalentCell, they make several other similar ones too.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ME3ZH7C/

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Hah, I just came across this on Amazon. Looks interesting...I just with there was one with more 5V USB ports.

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I found a free 2200mAH battery pack that I got at a conference. Tested it and it does not drop out when power is lost so this should work for me. (I just need the hub to stay alive while house switches over to backup generator.)

Question, should I let the hub run on battery every so often to maintain battery health? Was testing a schedule where power to hub turns off for an hour each night to let battery discharge a bit and then recharge. Is this necessary?

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It was for the TalentCell battery I bought.
It didn't work when I actually needed it.

I did what's in the following thread.

It monitors the watts going into the charger.
When it drops to 8 it turns off charging.

The ZEN04 has an auto/on function, so after it shuts down the relay to the charger, it powers up again after 12 hours, and the process starts over.

Read the thread-it has my logic, but it was seat of the pants for me.

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Interesting. I'm using a Matter outlet so I can control it outside of hubitat. (To be able to reboot remotely if I can't get into the hub)

I do have a Z-Wave module around that I can play with using your scenario..

(Also coming around the idea that many of the safeguards I had to create for Vera are just not necessary here)

Thanks.

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@velvetfoot do you really think this needs a daily cycle? Or is once or twice per week enough?

Also, what is the purpose of setting the timer in the switch itself rather than using a rule? Is it in case it dies so it should restart itself?

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I don't know.

I know keeping it plugged into the charger all the time is what killed it.
If it's not on the charger, and not powering anything, then...
It's not an advanced charger...ie...cheap...so doesn't have any smarts as far as I can tell.

I have the hub plugged into the battery, so the battery is always powering the hub.

I've read 80% is the max you want to charge it, that's why I chose 8 watts...I think the minimum was 2 watts...but who knows.
Also, I'm not sure how far down 12 hours brings the charge...maybe that thread had some logic. I also put on a small, old, router on the battery to get my Envisalink to work.

I didn't want to run it too far down so I'd have juice to run things if actually needed.
The TalentCell I have will run it a long time though.

In a power outage, all bets are off. I figure it's more robust. I have the switch to auto turn on. So, after I start the generator, it will turn on and start the charging cycle. During an outage, I'd sacrifice battery conditioning for a topped up (to 80%) battery while the generator is running. I periodically turn it off, run essentials on "solar" batteries, get some peace and quiet, etc.

This does not restart the hub. I used to have a spare hub autonomously control that stuff, but I don't travel much. Something to think about is that if it's always powered by the battery, you either have to remotely switch 5vdc, or let the battery run down. I think I used a Tuya(?) wifi plug with USB in/outs. It's a crap shoot whether you'll corrupt the database though without a controlled shutdown, which was what the spare hub was for.

I also have a rule that should alert me if the charge cycle is taking more that a certain amount time...I forget what that is. Meaning, the battery is weakening. I haven't gotten a notice yet, knock on wood.

I guess I should test it. But I'm lazy. And that's why power outage backup schemes fail. :slight_smile: