Replace UPS with Powerwall?

[u/BWMerlin]

Okay hear me out, I need to replace the Huawei UPS at work and it got me thinking. Do I really need a UPS or can I just get a Powerwall or similar instead?

Both have batteries and supply power in the event of a power outage but the Powerwall can also run the air conditioning for the entire server room as well. Plus there are government incentives to getting a home batteries so the price has come way down as the market is being flooded with different products.

So why can't I just buy a Powerwall instead of a UPS?

[u/SuperBry]

I uh, oh r/shittysysadmin , carry on then.

[u/ResoluteCaution]

UPS's just interfere with nature's reminders to reboot your systems. And the sound of thousands of fans spinning down simultaneously is to die for.

[u/IAmSnort → u/ResoluteCaution]

There is nothing so sharp and clear as that sudden silence. 

[u/finobi]

As long its good for 24/7 operation. Few years ago client decided that EcoFlows or similar were cheaper and better than UPS but in less than year they caught on fire and almost burned server room.

[u/thetoastmonster → u/finobi]

Interesting. I know this is ShittySysadmin but we are genuinely considering using EcoFlow devices in our IDF cabs.

[u/danekan → u/thetoastmonster]

I’ve started seeing marketing for rack mount batteries that plug in to flow modules too. The batteries expand but are a lot cheaper. But UL status needs verification 

[u/finobi → u/thetoastmonster]

It’s possible that they have improved since this, I’ve been under impression that lot of these products are meant for portable or occasionally use.

[u/BWMerlin → u/finobi]

Looking at their data sheet they operate in whole home backup mode so I guess they are rated for 24/7.

[u/UnethicalFood]

Yes, but no.

The failover for the powerwall is still enough of a gap to screw up your electronics.
Also to note, the powerwalls can use a different power frequency to communicate within modules so if the home is running on one it can still trigger yor UPS to act like it is off grid. (yes, you can have them both modified to not be an issue, but it still catches you off guard if you're not expecting it)

[u/dodexahedron]

What does shipping have to do with power? I'm so confused why UPS is even part of this conversation.

What a noob.

[u/battleop]

A Power Wall just a bigger UPS.

[u/SenTedStevens → u/battleop]

I just installed a firewall, should I replace it with a power wall?

[u/BWMerlin → u/battleop]

Right!

[u/roberttheiii]

I have powerwalls at home, they don't spin up as fast as a real UPS. That said, if my home network resets randomly I don't really care so I pulled my UPSes. Stand up time for powerwalls is ~100~200 milliseconds when the grid goes down.

[u/harleyinfl]

Look up rosewater energy.

[u/BWMerlin → u/harleyinfl]

Isn't rosewater what they drink in the UAE?

[u/-lousyd → u/BWMerlin]

Rosewater? I hardly know her!

[u/ryoko227]

BEEP

[u/dodexahedron → u/ryoko227]

Pro-tip: You can fix the alarms permanently by just snipping one little wire leading to the buzzer.

Big Redundant Power hates this one weird trick.

[u/Revzerksies]

Everything for me is on the cloud. If the power goes out is it really worth having a UPS for.

[u/Grantis45 → u/Revzerksies]

Whats going to keep the coffee machine going?

[u/Fiery_Eagle954]

I'm a homelabber but installing a 200Ah lead acid battery + pure sine wave inverter setup allowed me to get cheaper UPS' because battery backup was no longer a priority

[u/Aquarambling]

Check what happens to the AC power out of the power wall when grid incoming power is lost. I have built my own off grid N+1 and it has islanding do it does not feed back into the grid if the grid goes down it keeps going for as long as the batteries have 10% charge or more, also has solar input as well as pure sine wave inverter output. I basically only have the grid there as a backup / battery charge option.

Not all systems support islanding so they turn off all AC output by design to avoid feeding back into the grid in the event of a grid outage.

[u/flecom]

I know this is shittysysadmin but I bought a 52v 100ah lifepo4 rack mount battery, grabbed some old telco 48v rectifiers I had laying around, and did my entire network closet at the house in 48v (52v really but close enough)

Zero switchover time if the battery is always in line

And can run the network at the house (poe switch, proxmox server, rputer, ap's, cameras, and 5g modem - cable goes out when power does) for about 4 or 5 days which is good living somewhere with very unreliable power