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Battery backup copes with musical transients

On my street the power goes out around once a month. The average outage is only about half an hour, but knowing the power could go out at any time interferes with my concentration. So I installed a battery backup to supply power when the power goes out. It also supplies power every afternoon when the electricity rate is highest. But would the battery be able to keep up with musical transients? Batteries generate electricity from a chemical reaction which could be slow at the critical moment. There's nothing like having the power company's big honking generator at the other end of your power cord to supply the extra current needed when the music hits a peak. Happy to report the music sounds as good on battery as when it's getting power from the grid.

The battery powers the whole house including air conditioning even when temps hit triple digits. By chance, the power went out for three hours not long after the battery was installed. It was worth it just for that. Now I relax and enjoy the music knowing my listening session can never again be interrupted by an outage.
chowkwan
chowkwan OP
167 posts
 
onhwy61 wanted to know about my audio system and the battery.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7309 

The battery is a commercial product so it is a black box to me. It switches automatically from the grid to the battery at 2 PM. I'm just happy the music sounds as good on battery power which was my concern going in. 

mkgus: the battery is big enough to run the whole house for a day so it bears out the theory about needing a big battery for transients.

millercarbon: There isn't a way to manually disconnect from the grid so cannot try out your suggestion intriguing as it is.


onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,351 posts
 
Thanks for the link.  Awesome setup!  What battery system are you using that can power the whole house?
chowkwan OP
167 posts
 
That is very kind of you to say. So you want to know about the battery.

The lithium battery is forty five inches high, thirty inches wide, eighteen inches deep. In my house the battery is inside, but it can go outside. Inside away from the elements is better for the battery.

The house runs off the battery from 2 PM till 10 PM when it starts charging off the grid. All this happens automatically. After 10 PM is when the electricity rate is lowest so it's shifting power from the cheapest time to the most expensive time. The money I save equates to a ten year payback on the 20K price of the battery backup system (including install and permits).

If there's a power outage outside of the 2 PM to 10 PM window when the battery's on, the battery switches on automatically. The switch takes a split second so you still need to plug your computer and modem into an uninterruptible power supply to cover that split second when it's without power. My audio has enough reserve in its caps to cover the gap without an uninterruptible power supply.


mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Batteries are essentially huge capacitors. The capacitors in even the biggest amp will run out of juice long before a large bank of batteries will.
Of course, the more current you use the faster the batteries will run down.

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