[ale] Re: UPS thread

[tfreeman at intel.digichem.net]

On Sat, 11 Oct 2003, Hogg, Russell E wrote:

> 
> 
> Hmm..
> Pumped flywheel and UPS into Google.
> 
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=flywheel+UPS&btnG=Goo
> gle+Search
> 
> 
> Whole pile off stuff came back.  Some of it's interesting reading

And as I've played with it - I've still got a challenge - where and how 
much to purchase something on the home level? I somehow don't think a $15K 
flywheel system buried in the back yard is going to help me sell this 
house a few years, although it would be _really_ nice to keep the 
refrigerator going next time Duke power drops this neighborhoods power (I 
think we had three sessions of two days or more last winter without 
power.)



<<snip some good reading links>>
> 
> 
> If memory serves, we have hit this topic once or twice before. 'Couple of 
> whimpers/nits/whatever. 
> 
> One of the other posters has wondered why modern devices don't carry 
> enough reserve capacitance to survive a 30 sec power blip. IMHO, I suspect 
> that weight and upfront cost are the culprits - if your vcr is too heavy, 
> Ms. Consumer will not lug same home, and if there is a 2% premium charge, 
> Mr. Consumer will skip over to something less costly upfront. After all, 
> resetting the clock and channels every week or so doesn't cost any money 
> 8-).
> 
> I rather like to see a home UPS based on flywheel technology. Fewer toxins 
> to deal with at the end of life cycle (although recycling lead batteries 
> seems to have gotten much better lately) for one thing, and I suspect 
> longer service life for flywheels. Also, a flywheel should 
> charge/discharge at higher rates without damage indefinitely.
> 
> With respect to battery concepts, I'd love to see some Li ion cells 
> adapted to the computer/electronic power supply. In addition to fewer 
> toxics at the end of the life cycle, they can be produced as fibers, 
> meaning that part of the case could be molded from the battery. (Wonder if 
> there is a way to incorporate a battery as part of the Motherboard circuit 
> board?) Put a largish capacitor early in the power supply to buffer 
> circuits from a local surge, while hanging 2-4 minutes of Li ion batteries 
> off the low voltage DC side to allow for an orderly shut down. The trick 
> would be getting the consumer to pay for such.
> 
> Since the general consumer seems unlikely to pay for such niceties, any of 
> the engineering types here have leads on building your own power supplies 
> and/or UPSs? I'm probably too lazy to do either, but the knowledge of the 
> technology would be of interest anyway.
> 
> 

-- 
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If you think Education is expensive
Try Ignorance
                   Author Unknown
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