Power Back up for computers during long power cuts 5/8 hrs

Pilatus

Member
Location
cotswolds
Do any of you have a power backup system , connected to your computer/s that will keep them powered up during a long power cut , say 5 to 8hrs.
I ask the above on behalf of my wife who is the estate office administrator so has the tedious job of restarting (re booting) the estate office computers after a power cut. The estate and surrounding houses were with out power for 5hrs on Christamas Day and then again today due to the electricity board carrying out line maintenance in the area.
I am sure some other TFF members must have the same problem as above.
 

rollestonpark

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Burton on trent
For that length of time you'd be looking at something very expensive, unless the computers concerned are low power types.
Normally you'd use an APC UPS (google them) which is connected via USB or maybe a server setup for larger installs.
Then once the power has been out for say 10 minutes continuously, the UPS tells the PC(s) to shutdown gracefully.
 

Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
I have an UPS (uninteruptible power supply) for the dairy computer. Before the UPS was first installed a power cut fried some of the milking parlour system. Now if there is a power cut the system uses its own battery to properly shut everything down. I have not had another problem in the 10 years I have been using it. Its an APC unit bought from Amazon not expensive.

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Timbo

Member
Location
Gods County
Do any of you have a power backup system , connected to your computer/s that will keep them powered up during a long power cut , say 5 to 8hrs.
I ask the above on behalf of my wife who is the estate office administrator so has the tedious job of restarting (re booting) the estate office computers after a power cut. The estate and surrounding houses were with out power for 5hrs on Christamas Day and then again today due to the electricity board carrying out line maintenance in the area.
I am sure some other TFF members must have the same problem as above.

When you say "computers" we assume you mean there is at least one location with "some" computers in it (I.e. office) There will also be some form of other peripherals depending on the scale of the office(s) to include switches, routers, access points, printers etc etc. They'll need most of these powered for the computers to actually function together, one little UPS isnt going to cut the mustard.

Depending on the scale and how critical the office functionality is, the usual practice is you would run a dedicated ring main (with red socket fronts & square earth pin) in the building / office rooms for computers etc and this would have its own dedicated UPS (and or dedicated back up generator) and feed from the consumer unit. If your computers, & meriad of peripherals/ networking equipment is spread out over floors or many buildings it requires some fair thinking.
 
You can buy a UPS that you connect a computer or number of computers to, you just put the kettle lead into them as if you were plugging into the mains. They will only give time for the computers to shut down safely though, not several days of use. It should not be that onerous to restart a computer that has been shut down correctly. If they don't like being switched off at all then something is wrong somewhere and you need a techie to sort it.
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
I would think, depending on practicality, that a UPS plus a petrol ‘emergency’ generator outside the building would be a realistic option. It would need to be professionally wired of course and have someone available to start, switch and refuel the gennie. There are lovely low noise ones available. A Honda 2.2kW inverter will cost about £1000+VAT plus wiring. A Hyundai diesel 11kVa silent gen for a larger building would cost less than £5k plus VAT. It would run on red diesel. Automatic transfer switches are available to automatically manage the generator, switching it on and off as mains power fluctuates. UPS would still be needed to keep the computers running while the switch-over from mains to generator happens.
 
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