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Your server closet's UPS lasts minutes, outages last days

Rural accountants, contractors, transport firms and co-ops often run their own server, phones and network in a small closet. A typical UPS covers a clean shutdown, not a long outage. This page looks at the gap.

What is actually in the closet

A small business closet might hold a server or two, a network attached storage box, switches, the router and firewall, the phone system and a small air conditioner keeping it cool. Those are steady, modest loads, a small fraction of 15 kW. The real problem is time. A rack UPS gives minutes, enough to shut down safely, but then the business is offline.

What it would keep running

Servers and network storage
Switches, router and firewall
Phone system
Closet air conditioner
Office desks and lighting

Instant, then days

The system's battery and hybrid inverter run in UPS mode, so the switch-over is instant and nothing reboots. Then the fuel cell takes over from stored hydrogen. That keeps the server, phones and network running for as long as the hydrogen lasts, which depends on how much storage is fitted and is something the pilot would size.

A closet's own UPS can stay in place as a second layer. And because the system covers 15 kW, it can carry the office desks, lights and heat pumps alongside the closet, so staff can keep working rather than staring at blank screens.

How it works →

The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

Remember the wider network

Keeping the closet running only helps if the internet link works. Fibre cabinets and cell towers outside the building have their own backup, which may run out. A satellite link at the office is worth considering. Round trip efficiency is 30% or less, so this is standby power, not a cheaper bill. It charges on off-peak power.

Questions

Will it replace our rack UPS?

It does not have to. The system's inverter runs in UPS mode itself, but keeping the rack UPS as a second layer is sensible. Together they cover both the instant switch-over and the long run.

Will our internet keep working?

The system keeps your equipment powered. The internet link depends on fibre cabinets or cell towers outside your building, which have their own backup. A satellite link at the office is one way to avoid that weak point.

Is it overkill for one small server?

For one small server alone, probably. It makes more sense when it also carries the whole office, phones and heating, so the business keeps working, not just the server humming away in an empty, dark office.

Elsewhere

Every use →

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