The absence of a battery backup system in these times can put you and your family in a dire position during emergency situations, such as blackouts, which will only increase with time. A battery backup system will store the excess energy output produced by your solar panels for a safety net during calamities, such as periods of high energy demand, ensuring consistent energy supply that will keep things up and running.
Stay One Step Ahead from Everyone with a Battery Backup System
If you’re into DIY, and looking for a battery backup system, look no further as this easily digestible article will provide you every bit of information on building a battery backup system by yourself from the comfort of your home. The important factors discussed are:
- Determining your power needs by calculating individual units in your home and adding them up.
- Choosing the right components for your battery backup system.
- And, some futile mistakes to avoid.
Determining Your Power Needs
Knowing your energy requirements during an outage is the way to start. Common household appliances, such as refrigerators and light bulbs, are some of the essentials that need to be identified and calculated.
Here is a table listing a few common appliances, and their related and starting watts.
|
Household Appliance |
Related Watts |
Starting Watts |
|
Light Bulb |
25-100 |
0 |
|
Ceiling Fan |
75 |
0 |
|
Television |
80 |
0 |
|
Microwave |
600-1000 |
0 |
|
Refrigerator |
700 |
2200 |
|
Air Conditioner |
1500 |
2200 |
|
Washing Machine |
1200 |
2300 |
To be on the safe side, confirm the related and starting watts of the above appliances installed in your home.
Calculate Total Power Consumption
Once you have identified the electrical appliances you will be needing during an outage, make a list of them like the one we’ve made above, and calculate their individual related and starting wattages. Then, add them together depending on how many you will be needing. Not too difficult, eh?
Identify Appliances; Which Ones are Critical
Critical appliances are necessary to sustain a normal life during an outage, although there is nothing normal about such situations. But still, heating and cooling appliances, medical equipment, and security systems, including many others that are vital for your family’s well-being, should be considered. This way, your tailor-made energy requirements will suit your specific needs.
What’s Your Required Backup Capacity?
Now that you’ve identified your energy requirements, it’s time to plan your backup power capacity. Do not underestimate your consumption, always leave a margin. Your battery backup system’s capacity should also include surge capacity alongside running requirements.
Surge capacity is the additional power required by heavy appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, upon starting.
Choosing the Right Battery
The battery is the MVP of your battery backup system, so choose it wisely with great consideration. An entire house battery backup will require you to add multiple battery packs. Now, follow the critical practice of choosing every appliance, and multiplying its power requirements with the amount of time you’ll be using it.
For example, a microwave requires 1,000 W to run. If you’ll be using the microwave for an hour, you will multiply its wattage by one to get its total kWh rating, which will be 1 kWh in this example.
When choosing a battery, it is a good practice to go for one that has twice the total battery backup capacity to your home’s electricity requirements.
According to our research and experience, the BLUETTI AC500 + B300S is the ideal battery for “rolling with a rolling blackout.” It is jam-packed with smart and safety features, fully modular (customizable), and terrifically convenient.
For starters, you can easily control your battery backup system with BLUETTI’s Smart App, which operates via WiFi or Bluetooth connections. Since you won’t be needing a single unit for your entire home, you can scale the total battery capacity, by adding extra units, to a whopping 18,432 Wh from 3,072 Wh, which is received from a single battery unit. Such abundant capacity can power your house for up to a week during outages! Lastly, the 5,000 W rated power alongside 10,000 W surge control are commendable numbers in the industry.
In terms of practicality, AC500 + B300S nails it with its ability to charge in 6 different ways, including:
- AC charging (Max. 5,000 W)
- Solar charging (Max. 3,000 W)
- Generator (Max. 5,000 W)
- Lead-acid charging (12V/24V)
- Multi-charging, AC+Solar (Max. 8,000 W)
- And, you can even charge it with your car’s cigarette lighter
You can charge your AC500 + B300S LiFePO4 battery 3500+ times before it drops to 80% capacity — quite impressive. Additionally, you also get the BLUETTI Pure Sine Wave Inverter, which has a 5,000 W rating and accounts for 10,000 W of surge. This is enough to ensure consistent electricity to your appliances, allowing them to operate at their highest capacity, and protection from surges.
With simple financing options, an immensely competitive price, and a 4-year warranty, this battery backup system is a no-brainer.
Choosing the Right Inverter
Your home’s main plugs dish out alternating current (AC), which runs all appliances. Unfortunately, your battery pack can not charge on AC current as it needs direct current (DC). This is where the inverter comes in. Since you can’t directly plug your battery pack to your home circuit and appliances, you need an inverter to convert the battery’s power into AC.
Now that you’ve calculated your home’s total energy requirements, choose an inverter that matches your battery’s voltage and supports the total wattage of appliances you require. More importantly, choose an inverter that matches the combined surge of all your heavy appliances.
Choosing a Battery Charger
Charging your batteries the proper way is an art, as you want to strike the crucial balance between charging your battery for all your needs, but not overcharging it — overcharging has a negative impact on your battery’s health.
For this, you need a regulator with your battery charger.
Design the System
Now that everything is in place, wire the components together using thick wires and fuses. First, connect the battery to the inverter, charging regulator, and charging source. Finally, connect your battery backup system to your home’s main wiring using a transfer switch.
I recommend you employ professional help to assist you through this process, as it can get a bit tricky, increasing the chances of error that may have detrimental consequences — no one wants to play with electricity.
The following video will be of tremendous help to you in setting up your battery backup system:
Common Mistakes to Avoid in DIY Home Battery Backup System
DIY is a great way to save money and practice your creativity with problem-solving skills; it is far more rewarding as well. However, people confuse DIY with maximizing savings. You need to install high-quality equipment, such as wires and components, that mitigate several risks.
Underestimating Your Consumption
This is where the calculation of your household electricity requirement becomes pivotal. If you underestimate your energy requirements, your backup system will not suffice during an outage. So, it is better to slightly overestimate your energy requirements than underestimating them, as there is no harm in the former option.
Choosing the Wrong Components
A LiFePO4 battery pack is the standard nowadays. It is safer, more effective, less prone to heating, adept to high energy density, charges faster, and longer lasting. Other battery types, including Lithium-ion and Nickel Cadmium, are outdated.
Doing It Yourself Entirely
Since we’re in the world of DIY, doing it yourself is encouraged and should be the case. However, with electricity, several intricacies come into play that can pose numerous risks to you and your family. So, if you’re stuck on a step, or you’re unable to connect the components together and to your home’s main source, acquiring professional help is always recommended.
Final Thoughts
Given the deterioration of existing infrastructure of power grids and severe climate change, never has the risk of power outages been greater. To safeguard yourself and your family from this electrical drought, it is imperative that you set up a battery backup system as soon as possible.
If you’re choosing the DIY route, which is widely recommended, ensure you execute every step of the process with prowess. Safety is the utmost priority, so use the best equipment, such as BLUETTI’s AC500 + B300S, and never shy away from taking professional help.
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