Prepare your business for a power outage

30 years ago, everyone expected the world to become more and more advanced and more politically stable. Today it seems that there have been many technological advances, but the energy supply is increasingly uncertain.

This is partly because global dynamics have presented us with a much more destabilized oil supply and governments have an interest in raising taxes on energy and water not because there is a severe shortage of resources, but to fuel their habits of consumption. increasing spending.

One strategy that every small business should consider, when owning their habitat or intending to remain in place for the next 10 years or more, is to become more independent and reduce dependence on energy supplied by the grid.

With solar panels at rock-bottom prices and ever-improving battery technology, today’s technology allows for operations driven largely by alternative energy using the grid for backup. For example, a light fixture that has 48 volts DC and 100 to 277 volts AC mains supply can be connected to both systems, a battery-backed DC system supplied by solar or wind power and the grid.

Why 48 volts DC and not any other voltage?

In deciding what is the best DC voltage to use in your home or factory, we came to the conclusion that it had to be:

• within the internationally accepted Low Voltage Directive (LVD) and therefore below 75 volts and
• it also wants to be the highest safe voltage to reduce the cost of copper wiring. Running on half the voltage (24 volts), the current requirement would double and with it the conductor size, doubling the cost of the cabling infrastructure.

Therefore, the most practical and safest voltage is the nominal 48 volts, which happens to be 60 volts fully charged without an electrical load and still below 75 volts for the LVD.

There are suggestions in the field of server farms to use much higher DC voltages than I recommend in a small environment, mainly due to its dangerous nature for electricians and users. Its appeal lies in a much lower cabling cost, however the safety factor should be given greater consideration.

What else is essential?

Canned and affordable energy management systems available on the market are an essential part of the smart use of alternative energy. They allow optimal energy management while providing maximum user comfort through the use of occupancy, temperature and daylight sensors to avoid the use of energy when it is not needed.

Can the air conditioner run on DC?

Yes it can. There are solid state air conditioning systems that can be operated directly from a 48 VDC source. They often require a water circuit to transport heat in and out of the building and may be more practical in a remodel or new construction rather than a straightforward modification. Those systems also rely on highly insulated rooms, as they typically don’t have the overcapacity of conventional air conditioning systems.