As you might have picked up from previous posts, I am clearly not a fan of what’s going on in South Africa with this Power Shedding - where we have no electricity 3 times a week for a period of 2 hours per time and we are considered lucky - in Johannesburg, there is no electricity for 4 hours per time !

Anyways, I have looked and the various options that are out there namely Generator, UPS, Inverter and here is my 5 cents worth on these…

 

1. Generator -

• PROS - fire it up and as long as it has Petrol/ Diesel it will supply electricity, can be plugged into the house/office/ restaurant’s DB board and will kick in to supply power to the “essential” circuits.
• CONS - the price of these Generators has gone insane, the running cost of fuel is a serious concern, with everyone and their Aunty importing Generators from China and who know where else from there is a serious concern about parts/ service/ danger etc., noisy and pollution
• Recommendation - if you need to power up lots of plugs and lots of high-power-usage equipment (ovens, stoves, tools etc.) this is a good choice. Make sure you buy a brand name with the correct backup service.

 

2. UPS (uninterrupted power supply)-

• What is it ? - This device has a built in battery or two which you keep charged during the time that you have electricity. It then allows you to hook up the essentials like a computer, TV, PVR and some lights to it when there is no power
• PROS -neatly packaged, without putting too much load on it it can provide decent clean power so you can continue to operate, quiet so can be placed inside the office/ house
• CONS - limited to what you buy (buy small ups = shorter power supply), bigger UPS are expensive but more importantly very hard to source. Usually stores have a 3 to 4 week waiting period.
• Recommendation - good device if you are not a techie and just want to plug something in something that will allow you to watch CSI and charge your laptop

3. Inverter/ Battery combination -

• What is it ? - This device converts battery power in to power that your “electricity devices” can use. It is hooked up to a deep cycle battery which is what gives you the power to hook up the essentials like a computer, TV, PVR and some lights to it when there is no power
• PROS - without putting too much load on it can provide decent clean power so you can continue to operate, quiet so can be placed inside the office/ house, relatively cheap, can expand the amount of hours you get out of it by simply adding more batteries (or having another battery charged on standby). Finally, the inverter also has the appeal of being portable so it can be plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter and power up your regular devices (like laptop or a TV).
• CONS - a bit technical to set up, doesn’t look great/neat
• Recommendation - good option if you want to continue to operate but don’t want to spend a fortune and allows you to expand and grow as your needs grow

 

What did I go for ?

The generator was an option but after investigating the costs and the hassles and what I want to run of it, it didn’t make sense anymore.

The UPS was an option but after checking that out, it turns out that I don’t have the patience to wait 4 weeks and also the price was over the top.

I also discovered that the UPS contains basically what I am putting together by myself - I went for the Inverter/ Battery combination !

The reason I chose that option is because for what I want to run which is the laptop, TV, PVR, some lights - I can do it all using my little setup.

How did I set it up ?

I basically connected the deep cycle battery to my inverter (connect the RED cable to the RED point on battery and the BLACK cable to the BLACK point on battery). The inverter comes with a built in 2-pin plug and a regular plug socket. I added a small gang of plugs which plugged into my inverter and to that I connect my devices.

I also connected a trickle charger to my battery so that during time where we have power, it keeps the battery charged.

My next step is to find a plastic box that I can put all of this into so it doesn’t look messy and my kids won’t play with it…

 

Simple solution to a serious problem !

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