After having defined the problem, I had to study the alternatives for solutions. I had several solutions to think about, the first of them is to do NOTHING :). This way I will save the cost for my backup system, the time to study and implement it and also I will not pay for the time when I used no electricity.
My engineering hunger didn't left me do so, unfortunately.
So I had to think about UPS to power my devices for the power outage time. It will cost much for a big enough UPS and will need batteries replacement every about 3 years. It charges from electricity (the grid), but it is a tested and proven solution with plug and play feature.
Second thing I thought about is to use renewable energy source as my UPS system. It will also require also enough batteries (which needs replacement every 4-5 years) for powering my devices for the power outage time. It will require another hardware that will cost in total more that an equivalent UPS. It is not considered a plug and play like the UPS, and it charges for free
Solar energy and wind energy were the available and feasible solutions to use. Knowing the fact that wind is not too much in my area, and also knowing that sun is shining almost all year round, then solar energy will have a plus.
I can do a small comparison according to criteria as follows:
My engineering hunger didn't left me do so, unfortunately.
So I had to think about UPS to power my devices for the power outage time. It will cost much for a big enough UPS and will need batteries replacement every about 3 years. It charges from electricity (the grid), but it is a tested and proven solution with plug and play feature.
Second thing I thought about is to use renewable energy source as my UPS system. It will also require also enough batteries (which needs replacement every 4-5 years) for powering my devices for the power outage time. It will require another hardware that will cost in total more that an equivalent UPS. It is not considered a plug and play like the UPS, and it charges for free
Solar energy and wind energy were the available and feasible solutions to use. Knowing the fact that wind is not too much in my area, and also knowing that sun is shining almost all year round, then solar energy will have a plus.
I can do a small comparison according to criteria as follows:
- 1. Feasibility
UPS is used mostly to save a backup power for PCs or lighting. To be able to power a fan, AC or any inductive load, I need to get a true sine wave output UPS, which is more expensive in contrast to square wave output or modified sine wave output.
Solar energy also will need a power inverter to change the DC voltage from the panels to AC voltage to power my normal home appliances. Also power inverters' output is divided into square wave, modified sine wave and pure sine wave.
So, both systems are applicable and can be inline with my goal. Also both systems can supply enough power to my target appliances as I will discuss later.
What are the available wave forms?
Most of PCs and devices have power supply that change AC to DC and can take square wave or modified sine wave without problems. Other devices like fans and pumps can also be powered using square wave or modified sine wave, but they will draw much power, heat much more, buzz much louder and shorten their lifetime. Devices like TVs can have distorted image.
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