Living in SA we have this load shedding issue which has been around for many many years, probably going to be around for many more years.
Security system backup becomes a challenge because they are designed to trickle charge the battery, to prevent over charging resulting in excessive heat, which will drastically reduce the battery life span. One of the solutions to keep the system running during load shedding or other outages (very common in some areas) is to fit a separate power supply with an 18 amp/hr battery. You move all your peripheral devices over to the bigger battery, which also has a higher charge current.
This solution is great for 2 days of load shedding, however if the the load shedding continues for 3 days or more, then you are faced with a problem. The charger will not be able to keep the battery topped up, eventually the battery will drop below 120.5 VDC and drop out. You will have to contact your armed response company and they will send out a technician to replace the battery at a cost of around R800 and add to the thousands of 7 amp/hr batteries being dumped.
I get a lot of calls requesting a router backup solution, if you have an 18 amp/hr power supply, generally the routers are 12 VDC, just connect it directly to the same 18 amp/hr power supply your alarm is using.
I have been trying to find a solution to this 7 amp/hr problem for a while now. I have considered using a lithium battery replacement, however I cannot get credible data out of the lithium battery supplier which will support their theory that it is a plug and paly solution, considering the charge characteristics.
I have spoken to one of the local alarm manufactures, but they have no intention of modifying or upgrading their systems to charge a lithium battery.
Then we look at another solution, an inverter with a lithium battery. A cheap plug and play 3 kva lithium setup is going to set you back around R30k, very few people would even consider outlaying that kind of money just for the security system.
There is also the option of adding a relay, if the power drops the relay closes and the system is fed from the 18amp/hr battery. Then you could do away with the 7 amp/hr battery.
Another option would be to fit a smart charger (not sure if this work work) to the alarm system and connect it directly to the lithium battery, then you have charge current available and the backup as when required, you could also double up the battery or use a bigger lithium battery. I dont know that you could have the power supply/charger power from the alarm and the smart charger connected at the same point.
The other option would be to use a solar panel and a charge controller also connected directly to the battery wit the alarm power/charger circuit.
I would like to hear your thought or suggestions.
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