Power Supply

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katekath

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I need to ensure a continuous power supply at home to care for my mum, who has a trach and most likely need to be put back onto the bipap.

What is the difference between an uninterruptible power supply and a generator? I am sorry if this is a basic question. I am not familiar with electrical stuff. :X
 
Generator VS. UPS

I need to ensure a continuous power supply at home to care for my mum, who has a trach and most likely need to be put back onto the bipap.

What is the difference between an uninterruptible power supply and a generator? I am sorry if this is a basic question. I am not familiar with electrical stuff. :X

Hi,

A generator can generate power when you need it to. Generators come in several configurations, some work on natural gas, some on regular unleaded and some on diesel. If it's wired into the panel of the house, it can run the house for a very long time. Generators come in different capacities to suite the required load. For example, one of our customers installed a 4 cylinder generator to power the basic necessities of his house. There also small and portable generators for mobility.

A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is powered by batteries and can provide power during a power outage. A UPS is powered by batteries and is usually used on computers, servers, atm's to provide emergency power during an outage.

UPSs can be configured in many ways to provide enough run time to shut down computers safely or to allow for a certain amount of run time to operate.

UPSs also provide filtered power and surge protection to appliances. A lot of people have a generator and a UPS installed to make sure that their equipment is receiving clean power as some generators output power that isn't good for computer/appliance power supplies.

If you're looking to back up an appliance you should first figure out how long you need it to work for. Then you should look into how much wattage the appliance consumes. If it's small enough, you could probably power it for a long time with a UPS, and it would be cost efficient.

If the appliance consumes a lot of power, you're probably better off going with a generator right away as it will be more cost effective and less space consuming than installing a UPS with many batteries to provide the run time required.

Also, find out if the power supply on the appliance requires clean power or can it operate off a generator?

If you have any questions, please feel free to post I would be more than happy to answer!

Yours truly,
Tony
 
Sorry to hijack

I don't post much but reading here is very helpful. This disease sucks and *only* people experiencing it can truly understand.
We are dealing with the 'power' issue right now. My dad is on bipap and has become sort of 'very' dependent on it...Like my mom switches his mask at night and can't do it fast enough for him. We are now very concerned if there is a power outage and last night was very windy! We have a generator for this purpose but even the time it would take to get it going would be very stressful to dad. We don't want him struggling at all with breathing...this is his biggest anxiety since diagnosis...
SO, could you, Tony, please tell me exactly the UPS I'm looking for for a Bipap machine using AC 100-240V, 50/60HZ or DC 12VDC . I have no idea if that's the power info you need but it's in the manual! We have no idea where to even look for one...The bipap and respiratory companies are not helpful which is so odd and distressing!
Thanks in advance for any info....
 
The easiest and cheepest solution is to go to a good computer store and purchase a UPS from them. I would suggest a 1500 watt unit as it will give you 6 to 8 hours of continuous use with your Bipap. Cost will be in $250.00 range.
 
Many thanks for all the info, everyone. I truly appreciate it all. I haven't got the time to go around to look for one in my country, but hope to do so soon.

Joel: Thank you for the direction to a computer shop. There is this place in Singapore that specializes in selling computer stuff, so I will start from there.

Tony: When you say "find out if the power supply on the appliance requires clean power", do you mean that if the appliance does require that, the power backup should be a UPS?

ses76: I am sorry you have issues with your power supply too. There are construction going on at where I live. They are re-building elevators that serve every level and have to shut down the power supply during certain times and it worries me. I hope your issue get solved soon.
 
Hmm, I don't know what you might have access to in Singapore. A natural gas back-up generator (Generac brand) will cost about $7,000 to purchase and install in the U.S. When I was riding down a river in Southeast Asia, I noticed a lot of people who lived in houseboats (they floated downstream as the river rose each year) had some sort of portable generator. I think that they were adapted from car batteries, but I'm not sure. I haven't been to Singapore, but my understanding from those I've met from Singapore is that it's really advanced...I would think you could find anything there that we can find here. You might also look for rechargeable lithium backup batteries. Those can usually run for about 6-8 hours, depending on the strength.
 
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