The Enertec Deep Cycle Heavy duty sealed lead acid batteries that we use are designed to last 600 full cycles or if used carefully buy not completely depleting the battery on each charging cycle you can see  years of daily use

Batteries last MUCH LONGER if handled properly.

If you overuse  your battery by  discharging it too deeply, or drawing a very heavy load continuously,  they will only last a few months, no matter what brand of deep cycle batteries one uses.

Make sure that the inverter or UPS you use has automatic  low voltage cutoff set properly to shut off  before your batteries discharge too deeply. Deep discharge will ruin any lead acid battery very quickly. In my experience battery brand is not the main cause of failure, normally unwitting battery abuse is the culprit!!!

Another battery maintenance tip that nobody speaks about is the continuous amperage that you pull from the battery.

A very experienced battery supplier that I have come to rely heavily on, recommends that your continuous design load does not draw more than 15 - 18 Amps from a 12 V deep cycle battery. This 15- 18 Amp target is guesswork, but experience counts in this industry!

Divide your normal inverter load (in Watts) by the voltage of your battery ( probably 12 or 24 Volts) to obtain the current draw on your batteries.

Example

A 240 Watt load on a 12 V system would draw 240W/12V = 20 Amps – which is a bit too high !!!

On a 24 V system, the same load would only be drawing 240W/24 V = 10 Amps which is very low and consequently you can expect excellent endurance from your battery - again as long as you do not discharge it to deeply!

Unfortunately load shedding it is effecting every student, every home and small business equally. The lights go off and everything stops, internet, computer, lights, microwave, stove, kettle, electric gate.

Since Covid, schooling and university/colleges have evolved their methods to rely heavily on the internet for, homework, projects and assessments.

I watch my 15 year old son get back from sport at around 6pm with the pressure of another 2 hours of homework to look forward to, only to have to deal with loadshedding from 6pm to 10pm. And every day the loadshedding schedule changes which adds to the stress.

So what is the solution? A generator, inverter, UPS, solar – or completely off the grid?

Heaven help you if you ask a shop assistants advice- I have found that 99% of the population know very little about Volts, Amps, AC current, DC Current, Watts, VA, Ah, Wh, battery capacityetc.

They know even less about batteries and how to select the best battery for your application.

How do you choose ?

Petrol or diesel generator, inverter, UPS or solar

Lets look at the options in more detail and hopefully bring some clarity into this backup power problem that all South Africans have been thrust into.

The pros and cons of each backup power option for a household:

Petrol Generator

Pros:

• Provides high power output for long periods of time, making it suitable for large power needs or prolonged power outages
• Can power larger household appliances and electronics
• Widely available and can be purchased at hardware stores or online
• Can be used for outdoor activities like camping

Cons:

• Requires regular maintenance and fuel refills, which can be costly and time-consuming
• Produces noise and emits toxic exhaust fumes, which can be unpleasant and harmful to the environment
• Can be expensive to purchase initially, as well as operate and maintain over time
• May not be allowed in certain residential areas due to noise
• Unless you have a covered outside area, rain can stop you in your tracks.

Inverter

Pros:

• Runs quietly and produces no emissions, making it an environmentally-friendly option
• Requires little maintenance and is easy to operate
• Can be powered by renewable energy sources like solar panels
• Portable and lightweight, making it easy to move and transport
• Typically less expensive than petrol generators

Cons:

• Provides limited power output for shorter periods of time, making it less suitable for large power needs or prolonged outages
• Can only power smaller household appliances and electronics
• Requires initial investment in batteries or solar panels, which can be costly
• Unplugging from power source and recharging between usage cycles
• May not be suitable for areas with long power outages

UPS

Pros:

• Provides an instant backup power source during short power outages
• Requires minimal maintenance and is easy to use
• Produces no noise or emissions, making it an environmentally-friendly option
• Can be used to protect sensitive electronics from power surges and outages

Cons:

• Provides limited power output for short periods of time, making it less suitable for large power needs or prolonged outages
• Can only power small household appliances and electronics
• May not be suitable for areas with long power outages

In Summary

For a small office or home usage where the load required to run your essential electronics is relatively low, the convenience of a UPS wins every time.

Basic Inverters are bit more inconvenient than a UPS since they generally require you to alternately plug and unplug your equipment into the mains or the inverter.

For farms, or areas where noise is not  a problem and frequent extended power cuts are common, I would recommend a generator.

And since we live in sunny South Africa, I believe the target for every household should be to move to solar (normally in stages) in a totally off the grid solution.

Loadshedding is playing havoc with all of us. For those working in large offices, you probably have power backup all sorted! But what about the small businessman or woman.

With a small office, cashflow is everything, and for the cash to flow, you need to remain productive.

Small businesses normally operate from home or rented premises making a permanent solar backup system impossible.

Power In A Box was developed for precisely this reason.

How to get off the grid.

Step 1 – Make loadshedding history – buy a Power In a Box unit.

The basic Power In A  box unit plugs into mains power and charges the batteries while the power is on. Then when the lights dip, you don’t.

In this video, I unbox our entry level unit (Power in a Box – Small office and Home) so that you can see all the components and how simple it is to install.

To avoid your battery running dry before the power comes back on, and to ensure that the battery lives up to its design life, it is vitally important that you select the correct model.

• Total up the power requirements of all your absolutely essential equipment such as PC, Laptops, celllpone charger, desk lamp. If you don’t have a power meter ( Who has ?  ), check the each item to see its power input requirements – normally stamped underneath each item.  
• In our example used in this short video, we totaled 96W for 1 desktop PC, 1 screen, 1 PC, 1 lamp, cellphone charger, WIFI and an emergency lamp.
• The entry level Power In A Box comes with a 12 Volt, 80Ahr heavy duty, deep discharge, sealed lead acid battery. In your capacity calculations, always plan on using only 50% of the total capacity to ensure that your  battery does not expire early. I liken using all of your capacity to over revving your car between every gear. That car wont last very long. Experience has taught us to use only 50% capacity.
• To work our how many hours your small office will safely run while Eskom has put you in the dark, you will need to remember some school electricity… or just follow these steps.

Usage = 96W, battery 12V 80Ahr

Amps draw on your battery = 96W/12V = 8 Amps.

Half capacity of the battery is 40 Ahr.

40 Ahr/8 A = 5 hours

This means that with a constant load of 100W, you can safely run for 5 hours.

In this short video, Eskom obliged me by providing a blackout as precisely the correct time to demonstrate the uninterrupted power the Power in a box supplied

Step 2  Beat the blackouts – get your office off the grid.

Our aging electrical infrastructure was not designed to switched on and off 8 times a day. As a result we frequently experience localized blackouts for 2 or three days at the time and sometimes even longer. The answer is to connect your Power In a Box unit to solar power.

This is far easier than you might think. The Power In A Box unit comes solar ready, simply plug an play as shown in the video below.

Using the above example of 96 Watts to run your office essentials, we recommend a solar panel of between 100 and 350 W. The bigger your panel, the quicker your battery will charge up. But since you are only using 96 Watts, a very good bang for your Buck is a 200W solar panel .

  Unboxing the Solar panel.  

In the video, it is clear that on a normal sunny day, your small office can run completely off the grid. During sunny hours the solar panel will supply all your power requirements with more than enough left over to charge up your batteries. When the sun sets your battery takes over, giving you an additional 5 hours.

This 5 hours is easily extended to 10 hours by installing another battery in parallel to the first one, giving you 80 usable Amp hours.

On a cloudy day, you will have the option of connecting to the grid and relying on Eskom to charge your batteries between Loadshedding events.

Load shedding is having a significant and adverse impact on South Africans in many ways.

1. Load shedding disrupts daily life, causing inconvenience and frustration. Scheduled power outages mean that work is disrupted, you are unable to cook meals, use appliances, do your homework, access the internet.
2. Small businesses: Load shedding has a significant impact on businesses, with power outages causing disruption to everyday work activities. When the power dips, so does your productivity and you lose income.
3. Security:  Load shedding can result in increased crime as security systems, alarms and streetlights are disrupted.
4. Health concerns: Load shedding can affect life-saving medical equipment like respirators for the sick frail and aged.
5. Loss of perishable goods: How much food have you lost due to loadshedding ?
6. Emotional stress: Load shedding causes emotional stress, with people feeling anxious and uncertain about when power will be restored, how to meet deadline, how to finish your homework causing a sense of powerlessness and helplessness.
7. It is essential to address the Loadshedding problem as it is here for the foreseeable future, I am afraid.

The Solution

So what are the options for a household or a small business ?  What if you work from home, since so many South Africans are working from home or running a small business from home.

The obvious solution is to install a substantial solar power system and get off the grid completely, get control back and stop being subject to the dreadful inefficiencies and inconvenience of Loadshedding. But unfortunately for most South Africans, this costs a small fortune upwards of R400 000.

A phased approach 

Step 1

Load-shed proof your home office, your students, your entertainment like TV and internet.

Get a Power In A Box – Home and Student  UPS. Its a great cost effective solution, which stays plugged into the grid while supplying you power that is uninterrupted when loadshedding kicks in.

This short video demonstrates the capabilities of Power In A Box, and as providence would have it, I was loadshed while filming which provided a great live demonstration of the system.  

Step 2

Purchase a single solar panel sized between 200 and 350 Watts and plug  it directly into your Power in A Box. 5 or 6 hours in full sun is enough to keep your battery charged and supply you with electricity all day. This will take your basic home office/entertainment/student essentials completely off the Grid.

Your delivery options are:

Collections: In person or by Uber from our Sandton office. Corner Republic and Woodlands Ave, Hurlingham, Sandton

Courier:  Please email your delivery details to obtain a quote you on delivery cost.

The UPS Inverter carries a 12 month carry in Guarantee on working parts subject to normal usage and connections as per user manual.  Overloading and reverse polarity ( connections) will or broken seal on the body of the UPS will void the guarantee.

Batteries carry a 6 month carry in Guarantee provide it us used only on this UPS, subject to standard usage with the Power In The Box.