Potential power outages this winter
- Thread starter JamesH85
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I’ve been considering a UPS as well
I’m not sure if they will last long enough. If I wanted something that could provide 200w for 5-6 hours then I probably need something else.In 2 minds. Will be a waste if I don’t need it.
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I considered a UPS, but I don't think it wouldn't help keep my Virgin Media SuperHub connected if power to the street cabinets was also cut. I do know that some of VM's cabinets have battery backup, but not all.I’ve been considering a UPS as well
In 2 minds. Will be a waste if I don’t need it.
In all fairness, minimal internet usage would be possible by using my phone as a hotspot. I also have a laptop which be fine for basic games, watching movies on and the odd internet use.
Sometimes it's crazy thinking this could potentially happen in 2022/23. All for appeasing the tree huggers. I never see them screaming about it anymore except the looney oil protestors gluing their hands to everything.
For the stuff that could have been put in place in 2010 could have been coming online now.
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It does seem really expensive for some battery storage like a portable power station type thing. I’ll likely end up sitting in the electric car and using that to keep the power going.
Its not the cheapest option but I like a good brandname 'solar generator' like Ecoflow, Jackery, Anker, and Bluetti. Its the sort item where I'd avoid random chinese name junk.
These are basically a portable unit which has a lithium battery, mains charger, solar charger, car charger, pure sine-wave inverter all in one.
I have an Ecoflow Rivermax which I use for camping and backup power for home - I went for this one as it supports pass-through power kinda like a ups - its not constantly drawing on the batteries and recharging when its plugged in the wall, so won't degrade the batteries. This model has a 600w inverter, and the battery is 576w/hour.
It also has a powerful mains charger built in - no external brick. It will recharge to 80% in just an hour and to full in less than 1.5 hours. Some makes your looking at 6+ hours as they have low power chargers.
As a test I've run my fridge/freezer on it and it would have lasted over 6 hours.
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Many people already have a circa 100 Amp plus capable generator in their car, so 12 volt lamps run off the car battery via a hefty extension lead could be an answer to some peoples lighting needs. An inverter could then power some limited demand mains appliances. That's if you have off street parking and trust no one is going to nick a running vehicle...
While true, that's an extremely inefficient way of producing power. It would be something in a life critical one off but not something I would consider otherwise.
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One likes to think reliable supplies of affordable mains electricity will return in the not too distant future, if not long term maintenance of 1st world living standards in the UK will take a beating. (Says Wilson, scouring the ads for a medium sized tractor power take off driven generator
)UPS aren't designed to provide continuous power, just enough power to allow you time to shut things down properly or switch over to a generator.
I suppose it could be done but you'd need a huge and very expensive one to power a router pc and screen for 3 hours.
I suppose it could be done but you'd need a huge and very expensive one to power a router pc and screen for 3 hours.
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I am well outside my comfort zone, so please excuse a probably naive question. If the local area mains power goes down, but one has a mains generator capable of running your property "as normal", would that necessarily ensure the internet stayed up? Would not the power outage be likely to affect the local infrastructure supplying internet services, too?
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You mean Three 5G masts don't have emergency battery backup?
I was under the impression most mobile phone masts have backup now - but I'm not sure if they'd handle getting battered as everyone tethers all their gear to their phones.You mean Three 5G masts don't have emergency battery backup?
You mean Three 5G masts don't have emergency battery backup?
For 4g masts the number that have emergency power is quite 'shocking' ! This is from a 2019 ofcom report,
"Both EE and Three have 6 hours or more of
back-up power at around 3% of their sites. EE
has a further 4% of sites which can continue
operating for five days or more during a
power cut. The vast majority have no back-up
power"
"Of the sites which Vodafone
provides, which broadly speaking cover the
west of England and Wales, around half have
four hours of back-up power. The remaining
Vodafone sites have between 1 and 2 hours.
O2 protects its hub sites, which account for
about 5% of its total sites, with 4 hours of
back-up power. Most of its remaining sites
have no protection, with an unspecified
number of larger coverage sites having 10
minutes."
Those numbers are really quite grim.