Friday, March 26th 2021
Bizarre/Interesting Tech on Crowdfunding Platforms: Massive BLUETTI 5100 Wh UPS!
I'll admit that I came across this almost immediately after the DUEX dual-screen laptop monitors yesterday, but had to do a double take after glancing at this thing which took a day! Having just moved across multiple oceans, yours truly was in the mood for a UPS for the review test setup and this got my interest in more ways than one. BLUETTI had launched a 2000 Wh energy storage device last summer, which was pretty good timing for all the work-at-home and energy shortage experiences shortly across the globe, and the company clearly saw a need to go even bigger. This time, they have up to a 5100 Wh "portable" UPS/battery that can be charged by AC mains or even solar power.
The portability comes in the form of a fairly compact and energy-dense device on wheels, with the intention being to roll this over to wherever you want. The increased energy density relative to a typical UPS is indeed with a Lithium-ion battery, but one that uses LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry instead. LFP chemistry, for those interested, is relatively new to the battery market owing to challenges until recently in increasing the electrical conductivity, but offers advantages over most other options in not using nickel or cobalt, thus making it more eco-friendly, safer, and less costly, while retaining increased charge/discharge cycles at a usable efficiency. Indeed, the BLUETTI EP500 Pro claims 6000 cycles of use at retaining ~70-80% capacity at this point, which alone means you can run a small house for 15+ years should you find the means to charge it consistently too. The company is providing the means to hook it up to solar charging kits, as well as a fusion panel for 240 V operation from the 120 V units to run high-power machinery. Yes, it's complete overkill for my needs and yours, and at $2799+ on Kickstarter for the SKUs it is priced out for many DIYers too, but it's still interesting tech from a materials and engineering perspective that perhaps may interest some home owners here. Apparently others agreed with this already, seeing as how it met its goals within 24 hours and has a little under 2 months left to go to break some crowdfunding records. Hit the link in the source for more info if you are interested!
Source:
BLUETTI Kickstarter
The portability comes in the form of a fairly compact and energy-dense device on wheels, with the intention being to roll this over to wherever you want. The increased energy density relative to a typical UPS is indeed with a Lithium-ion battery, but one that uses LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry instead. LFP chemistry, for those interested, is relatively new to the battery market owing to challenges until recently in increasing the electrical conductivity, but offers advantages over most other options in not using nickel or cobalt, thus making it more eco-friendly, safer, and less costly, while retaining increased charge/discharge cycles at a usable efficiency. Indeed, the BLUETTI EP500 Pro claims 6000 cycles of use at retaining ~70-80% capacity at this point, which alone means you can run a small house for 15+ years should you find the means to charge it consistently too. The company is providing the means to hook it up to solar charging kits, as well as a fusion panel for 240 V operation from the 120 V units to run high-power machinery. Yes, it's complete overkill for my needs and yours, and at $2799+ on Kickstarter for the SKUs it is priced out for many DIYers too, but it's still interesting tech from a materials and engineering perspective that perhaps may interest some home owners here. Apparently others agreed with this already, seeing as how it met its goals within 24 hours and has a little under 2 months left to go to break some crowdfunding records. Hit the link in the source for more info if you are interested!
38 Comments on Bizarre/Interesting Tech on Crowdfunding Platforms: Massive BLUETTI 5100 Wh UPS!
I WANT IT SO BADDD
Tesla power bank is one example, the difference is the mobility of the Bluetti.
ive always wanted a ups to ease my computer when power goes poof cause i own a ps3 (it dies if it losses power most the time)
but never got around to it but this thing could full on keep the computer gaming when the power goes out
Myself? I'd love to rock a freaking datacenter in my house even if I only used it to play Spider Solitaire :laugh:
I use it to play Doom Eternal though. ;)
However 70-80kg? Who the hell thought it's a good idea?
Right now UPS-es within that target power envelope are between 25 (rack/small cube) - 50kg (big towers). And it's really back breaking work to get those things around. Yes this one has wheel, but how good are wheels when you need to get up/down the stairs when moving. And price, let not even go there. ;)
It suits the company name very well. Bizarre to say the least. I like the design, but not weight and price point (for 2800$ base - just checking - I can get full size 230V/400V 15kVA/12kW/100kg/wheels diesel power generator which will just crush this thing for power delivery of entire house, not just computer or two).
On the other hand... it's perfect as battery backup for MacBookAir. :roll:
6000 full cycles, assuming your place isn't just a blackout hotspot, would easily be good enough for 15-20 years!
I can see miners wanting this for their farms... :shadedshu:
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/raja-koduri-teases-petaflops-in-your-palm-intel-xe-hpc-ponte-vecchio-gpu.280106/post-4485512
Similar devices appear on the market now and then. A couple of years ago I saw several models of 24V100Ah and 24V200Ah LiFePO4 batteries on wheels with a handle (same form-factor as regular marine batteries), and it was only a matter of time before someone attached a solar inverter to it. It was not as pretty, but essentially did the same thing. Sold for awhile, but then disappeared most likely due to low or non-existent demand.
But $3000 for the whole package seems ok (assuming quality matches their claims), and use cases are numerous and not that unusual.
Besides your normal "portable power backup" you get interesting cases, where 5000Wh is enough to, let's say, set up an outdoors projector for a "portable" movie theater (did that a couple of times). Or, run the entire stack of audio equipment for a small outdoor party, which previously required running spaghetti of wires or trying to hide a noisy generator somewhere out of sight. Running boring presentations in non-boring places on a single charge, etc.etc.etc.
I'd imagine schools would have even more use cases for this thing. Though, it would make more sense to have at least some ruggedized parts and IP65 rating. This way you'll be even more untethered from inside or near civilization.Dude, you seriously overestimate how much computers use these days. A couple of years ago my town decided to put some bandaids on our transformer stations, which meant occasional 2-3 hour power outages for nearly 5 months in a row and with barely any positive results for the grid. My old 1500VA UPS(2x12V9Ah) powered my Skylake mini-server plus all networking equipment for 3.5-4 hours and didn't even run out of charge once the power came back on. My former neighbor is an ISP, and he uses just a regular 2.2kW generator for his entire rack(and even that's an overkill), but he also has a big-ass UPS with additional battery pack, and a separate small building for this whole thing. Also don't forget about fuel, noise, exhaust fumes etc.
Yes, power density and performance is way better, but I'd rather have this near my new and shiny 24U rack, than trying to figure out where to put this generator so that my neighbors won't sue me.
Also, generators have their issues too, like latency if you want automatic startup, constant issues with startup process etc. You still need a battery backup, even small one, to be used along with your generator if you want to use it with computers.
i have a couple of 100 ah Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries in my caravan/RV trailer and solar panels on the roof.. useful for off grid use i no longer need a shore power hook up..
trog
With a 2200VA SMT2200 APC UPS supporting it (just the PC tower plus some minor external USB peripherals, as the dual 4K monitors are on another 2200VA UPS - long story) I get between 2 and 2 hours and 50 minutes runtime.
Normally more than enough to ride **most** blackouts, unless I try to play a game during one (when playing Doom Eternal at 4K 120FPS the system pulls about 600W from the wall).
Each 2200VA APC unit weights around 50 Kg, so wheels would actually be a very, very, welcome addition to them when dusting under the table. Damn you, APC! ;)