Designing a DIY power backup system

[jcdumaguing226]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask these things but I am gonna try to gather as much information as I could. Blackouts have been happening quite frequently these days which lasts for more than 8 hours at most. This has been somewhat a headache for both me and my clients since I have a small ISP business in my community.

I have tried a UPS solution where I can still keep my gear running enough for me to notify my clients about the blackout so they can finish what they are doing. Sadly it is not acceptable for me to allow this to keep happening. So I have this idea of building a power backup system that could last more or less 1 day.

I appreciate every little info I can get from you all.



download original image from instagram

 

[Ralston18]

How many clients are you supporting and what are their individual and collective power (wattage) requirements for 8+ hours of power?

Are the clients all on the same power grid?

Or do you just need to keep the Server Rack operational for 8 hours?

What exactly is that AC to DC 12v 3a source? Solar panels?

If your backup power system fails in any manner - what liabilities do you have?

Actually there are quite a number of questions that need to be addressed.

I expect that there will be more questions.

 

[kanewolf]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask these things but I am gonna try to gather as much information as I could. Blackouts have been happening quite frequently these days which lasts for more than 8 hours at most. This has been somewhat a headache for both me and my clients since I have a small ISP business in my community.

I have tried a UPS solution where I can still keep my gear running enough for me to notify my clients about the blackout so they can finish what they are doing. Sadly it is not acceptable for me to allow this to keep happening. So I have this idea of building a power backup system that could last more or less 1 day.

I appreciate every little info I can get from you all.



download original image from instagram

A generator and an automatic transfer switch in front of the UPS is a more practical method of sustaining for an 8 hour power outage.
That would be a typical data center implementation.

 

[jcdumaguing226]

How many clients are you supporting and what are their individual and collective power (wattage) requirements for 8+ hours of power?

Are the clients all on the same power grid?

Or do you just need to keep the Server Rack operational for 8 hours?

What exactly is that AC to DC 12v 3a source? Solar panels?

If your backup power system fails in any manner - what liabilities do you have?

Actually there are quite a number of questions that need to be addressed.

I expect that there will be more questions.

I currently have 5 fiber clients, 3 of them are on a different power grid so when the power fails, 3 of em are still expecting to have internet connection. I estimate around 150W more or less of power on my rack.

The AC to DC 12v 3a is an AC Adapter, not sure if its a good idea to use though.

The three clients that are on a different power grid are work-from-home employees and students that rely on my internet service to do their tasks due to weak or unstable cellular connection. Most of the power outages happen on daylight and coincides with their schedules.

 

[Ralston18]

Thoughts:

1) You want simplicity and reliability.

2) You probably also want to eventually add more clients so you must plan for growth. Which means that simplicity and reliability must be scalable and easily implemented without the potential high costs of a complete new power system. DIY or otherwise.

As stated by @kanewolf a generator and switch solution would be more practical and viable with respect to "Thoughts 1 and 2".

DIY might be appealing but overall will end up kludgy, inefficient, and probably unreliable.

My recommendation is to do some research and reconsider.

For example:

https://community.fs.com/blog/things-you-should-know-about-data-center-power-system.html

https://www.evoquedcs.com/colocation-101-power-data-centers/

You can find many similar links - most of which are marketing oriented versus technical.

Still the readings can help you get a sense of the bigger picture and what all is involved.

Consider that you need to keep the server up and running but you may also need to have air conditioning as well. Plus power for modem, routers, administrative PCs - your ISP equipment, etc..

And if the power goes down - what ways do you have of notifying your clients? You need backups there as well.