Tips From The Top

Back-up Power Systems for a Variety of Needs

With today’s energy needs, an integrated smart home requires sufficient energy backup in case of a power outage. An effective backup power system can also reduce energy costs and is wiser overall home energy management.

Even for a smart home with solar power, a backup power system is essential for grid-connected PV systems – when the grid goes down, the grid-connected inverter also shuts down, leaving the home owner with a serious energy shortage. And while fuel-operated generators can power your home continuously during long outages, the costs of propane or diesel should be considered.

When considering backup power systems, it’s helpful to consider two questions. First, what kind of power outages occur in your area? (Are they short blips of a few minutes or an outage of several days or weeks?) Second, what are your power needs? (Do you need to run an entire household, or just charge cell phones, laptops, and keep the refrigerator running?)

Today’s backup power systems offer a variety of creative options for every need. 

Home Battery System 

A home battery system can store energy and provide your home with power for a limited amount of time. In many cases, these batteries can also connect to solar panels, wind generators, and diesel generators to re-charge the battery during extended outages.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, an emergency mobile battery backup power system can provide power for lights and cell phones for a short period of time (700-1,500 watt hours). Solar-powered battery backup systems can provide power for 5,000-10,000 watt hours.

A new battery storage system made by Orison offers expandable lithium-ion modules. The Orison Tower is a 34” high, 40 lb freestanding unit with 2.2 kWh, a built-in Bluetooth speaker, LED light, and USB charging ports. The Orison Panel is a 38 lb wall-mounted unit.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) could be the perfect match for brief power outages and small power needs, like a computer or cell phone. These plug-in units give 15-60 minutes of energy for a computer or other small electronics and turn on automatically.

Power Management Systems

At Jackson Hole AV, we can also help our customers use Furman’s BlueBOLT Remote Energy Management, a cloud-based platform and application that can monitor and control Furman and Panamax power management products. BlueBOLT is used in integrated electronics systems to manage energy use, monitor network connectivity, send alerts about onsite system problems, remotely reboot problem components, and much more.

A power management system, such as those made by Generac, cycles fuel-generated power on and off as needed for different appliances. A Generac power management system uses up to eight individual Smart Management Modules that work with a transfer switch, allowing the homeowner to select which appliance gets the power at each moment.

To discuss the best available options for your home or business backup energy needs, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to help you find the best backup power system for your requirements.