EPS Intro
Emergency Power Supply
Section titled “Emergency Power Supply”Also known as black out protection, this is a very useful feature to include when adding batteries to a home solar system.
A typical set up
Section titled “A typical set up”The standard installation would be to protect 1 power circuit and 1 lighting circuit during a power outage. The power circuit is usually the one the fridge runs from and a lighting circuit to ensure you are not walking around in the dark.
A smarter set up
Section titled “A smarter set up”In an outage, the highest priority is to keep your fridge running. If your fridge is on a circuit that also has a few power points connected, you can plug in your microwave and even kettle for a nice cuppa during a power outage.
A fancy set up
Section titled “A fancy set up”Some people also would like to back up their internet and even the circuit their TV is on to keep them entertained through the storm.
The design
Section titled “The design”To achieve some or all of the above, you need to understand which circuits need to be backed up. This is where a bit of investigation is required.
If you have a 2 storey house, 2 lighting circuits should be backed up, one on each level.
Whole house back up
Section titled “Whole house back up”Many manufacturers offer whole house back up and while this may sound attractive, all it does is potentially drain your battery faster. The point of backing up essential circuits is to ensure your fridge can run for days if you lose power for a lengthy period of time.