Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)

[Jaime C]

As we work on the renovation of our house, I'm trying to figure a few things out for surge protection and the ability to use internet, charge phones, lamp, use a cpap machine if the power is out for an extended time period.

I'm looking for 600-1000 watt coverage. I see lots of them here in the US, but don't know pricing or availability in Indonesia.

Anyone have experience? Not looking for a generator, or such.

 

[fastpitch17]

I have looked a bit for the same thing but a little smaller, around 500 watt but have failed so far to find one.

 

[rabbit_39]

Bhinneka has some. I'll probably end up piecing together my own that will actually last more than 15 to 30 minutes. Won't be cheap. Battery is around 2 juta, and the inverter/charger probably around the same price.

 

[nd_eric_77]

Every December, I make a brief trip to Mangga Dua; they have a couple stores which specialize in UPS units. I find that the batteries tend to last about 2 years, hence I buy a new one every other year. Apparently, one can also just replace the battery rather than the whole unit, but I have not gone this route yet. My current unit is a local brand called Ica, and it is 1400 Amp Hours if I recall correctly. You would need a pretty big unit to power the devices you mention for more than 10-15 minutes or so, but the shops in Mangg2 seem to have a pretty broad range, so they would likely be able to fulfill your need. The challenge will be getting the unit from Jakarta Utara to Bandung, as it will be quite heavy.

 

[rabbit_39]

I don't think the OP will need anything larger? I don't see anything (maybe the CPAP machine) that has a high surge and certainly other than the CPAP machine, 200-300 watt is enough?

 

[Wisnu]

I am using 3 UPS for my appliance, ie. Legrand 2000 VA for TV and sound system (approx 5 minutes only); 1 APC 600 for my computer (appox 10 minutes) and 1 same for router (much longer time)
The battery last 2 - 3 years. Not difficult to get the battery replacement.

 

[Tupai Hitam]

Further to nd_eric_77's post: Have a look at http://tokoups.com and http://www.enterkomputer.com/ups.php

If you do ever make the trip to Mangga Dua, remember the three golden rules: Always know, beforehand, the precise model and/or the specs of what you want to buy (otherwise you may have a bewildering array of choices); Always know what the price should be (and then compare prices among vendors); Always go to the outlets on the fifth or fourth floors because their rents are lower (than the ground-floor rip-off merchants) and they offer the best prices.

 

[ukcouple]

.. Not looking for a generator, or such.

Why..?? a generator is the best solution.

Set to auto start on power failure.

 

[Zavia]

Say I have 2 desktop and 2 laptops... what size of a power supply should I look into for them to continue functioning for 15 mins after a blackout?

 

[Davita]

Why..?? a generator is the best solution.

Set to auto start on power failure.

Do you have any source for this auto-start genset around 3-4Kw size. The only ones I see are pull-start or battery start...I'd like to get one as we are having more and more power-outs here in Bali

 

[willianto]

Why..?? a generator is the best solution.

Set to auto start on power failure.

Will this kind of generator immediately provide power instantly? Have you try it on computer? Half-a-second power failure would mean a restart for a desktop computer. I would say a UPS is what he needs.

Say I have 2 desktop and 2 laptops... what size of a power supply should I look into for them to continue functioning for 15 mins after a blackout?

You don't need UPS for laptops as long as the laptop batteries are okay. The laptop battery will provide immediate power if it lost the AC power (as long as the battery is attached).

For the two desktops... I would say it's better if you buy two 600VA UPS. One for each desktop.

 

[Jaime C]

Most items would low watt items. Laptops, wifi router and cpap machine. Looking for 5-6 hours coverage, especially for the cpap, as I can't sleep without it.

 

[wanderer]

UPS's are easy to get here. Mainly used for things you need to keep running for a short time like computers or video playback devices with a hard disk and an OS.

The only issue I have with them is the higher ambient temperature tends make the battery life around 1 year or so unless your rooms are air conditioned. Easy and cheap to replace though and I do this for peace of mind for my main PC UPS.

For anything else like a fridge etc, a backup generator is a better solution. Have not seen any auto start types off the shelf but some companies offer this as part of their service. Don't expect it to be cheap though.

 

[rabbit_39]

5 to 6 hours of coverage is beyond typical UPS system's design point. At 200 watts sustained power you need 1kwh of usable energy. Which means you need at the very least 1.5kwh of total lead acid battery capacity. About w million rupiah just for the battery.

Use this inverter to make sure your CPAP machine's motor don't burn out too quickly: http://www.wholesalesolar.com/26300...ningstar-suresine-300-300w-220v-50hz-inverter

About 5 juta so far in total. Now you need a charger that takes 220vac. Another 1.5 juta if you want anything more than a trickle charger. Plus cables and bits. About 7 juta.

 

[wombat]

Generators, from cold start, cannot provide power fast enough to qualify them as *uninterruptable* power supplier (unless one special kind of generator that uses inertia flywheel and sophisticated electronics but it is way too expensive). Computers would not tolerate power outage or voltage dips more than a few millisecond let alone half a second. Laptop has battery and thus would be able to ride out power outage as long as the battery last

Will this kind of generator immediately provide power instantly? Have you try it on computer? Half-a-second power failure would mean a restart for a desktop computer. I would say a UPS is what he needs.



You don't need UPS for laptops as long as the laptop batteries are okay. The laptop battery will provide immediate power if it lost the AC power (as long as the battery is attached).

For the two desktops... I would say it's better if you buy two 600VA UPS. One for each desktop.

 

[Jaime C]

You can find a lot UPS units in the US for $100-150, that would seem to cover my needs. Of course, I don't know if the 115vac units could work with a converter with 220-230vac.

 

[rabbit_39]

Plenty of those UPS on bhinneka website. Again, typically small batteries that can only give minutes of backup.

 

[nd_eric_77]

You can find a lot UPS units in the US for $100-150, that would seem to cover my needs. Of course, I don't know if the 115vac units could work with a converter with 220-230vac.

None of those units will get you anywhere near 6 hours of continuous battery operation. Do power outtages in Bandung routinely last that long?

 

[Supir Angkot]

^ Traveling Cpap with battery back up (some may come with dual voltage converter) can last up to 5 nights between charges.
This is good for Indonesia’s notorious listrik bray prêt /brownouts or camping off the grid.

 

[Jaime C]

None of those units will get you anywhere near 6 hours of continuous battery operation. Do power outtages in Bandung routinely last that long?

There are enough times that I've had to stay up a long time, that I'd consider it. I'd guess 3-4 times a year we have 6+ hours eithout juice. And probably 12 times of an hour or more. The extended ones are 80% between 9pm and 3am.

My cpap really doesn't use that much juice, unless I have the heated humidifier on. Indonesia is so humid, I've never needed it there.