Battery Back Up Systems

[ElectricGeckos]

I want to get a battery backup for my PC and something I could take if I wanted it elsewhere if I wanted power. So, I wondered if the portable power stations were the same as the battery backs up for computers.

 

Examples of the two power banks:

Battery Back Up: CyberPower CP850PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System, 850VA/510W, 10 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower

Portable Power Stations: EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER 2 Pro, 768Wh

 

My pc is AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, RTX 4080 Super and pc part picker says it runs at 700 Watts, and I have a 850 Watt power supply in it.

 

Also are these both UPS?

[Alvin853]

a portable power station is usually meant to be either charging or providing power, not switching quickly if power fails. that ecoflow does have what they call "EPS", but it's a lot slower than a UPS in switching, so computers might turn off when you lose power. Sure you can turn it on again on battery power, but the whole point of a UPS is to switch over fast enough the PC doesn't turn off in the first place.

[Lurick]

You want the cyberpower or similar model from Eaton/APC/etc and not the portable power station, that's more for camping and the like as @Alvin853 mentioned.

[Needfuldoer]

The biggest advantage a traditional UPS has over a Jackery/Ecoflow/Generac/etc power station is cutover time. They'll switch from wall power to battery fast enough that your PC won't reset when the power goes out. Some power stations can't switch fast enough, so power gets interrupted just long enough to force your PC to reboot. Traditional UPSes also have monitoring over USB, so your PC "knows" how much power's left. They're also surge protectors, unlike a power station.

 

A power station will run your PC far longer than a traditional UPS. The Ecoflow DELTA 2 has a 1024wh battery built-in, a UPS that takes two 12v 12ah SLA batteries will only have 288wh (and far less than that in practice, because of the way lead batteries react to load). A UPS will only promise to carry your PC through a brief outage or give you enough time to gracefully shut down, a power station will give you an hour or more of run time. They'll also have a DC power input, so you can stretch your run time out with an external battery, car outlet (up to 120 watts), or a solar panel. Even if that's not enough to keep your PC running, it can recharge until there's enough power available to run the PC again.

 

However, a power station won't turn your PC into a laptop. Use a meter like a Kill-a-Watt to measure how much power your PC actually uses, then divide that number into the battery capacity of the power station you're shopping for. If you're really pushing it hard by gaming, you'll probably only get an hour or two out of that RIVER 2 Pro. You might get more if it's just for browsing, but in that case I'd argue you're better off with 

 

I have a DELTA 2 that I use for power outages, field work, and lights at a storage unit that doesn't provide outlets. It will run anything you can plug into a standard outlet, but the battery capacity is always a looming deadline. If I'm set up outside, I have Ecoflow's 160 watt solar panel (which is usually enough to more than make up for the load I'm putting on it, or at least slow the drain significantly.

 

Check Ecoflow's eBay store for factory refurbs. They're usually available for a pretty good discount over a brand new unit. Just make sure you're getting a DELTA 2 or RIVER 2, because those have nigh-immortal LiFePo4 batteries.