UPS For Grow Tent

Hey guys, I've been eyeing these CyberPower UPS Towers for a while now (1500VA/1000W or the 1500VA/900W) and I almost bought one last night but I stopped myself. Does anyone run their tent through one of these already? How long can you run lights, a humidifier and a wall fan on one of these? Are we talking hours or minutes?

My tent setup is pretty basic. I run 2x 1000W ONEO Full Spectrum grow lights (True Wattage = 220W) through a digital timer with a battery backup, a small 8" oscillating fan through a short cycle repeat timer, a Vicks V4600 humidifier through an Inkbird humidistat, and an AC Infinity T6 exhaust fan (Usually on 6-8 speed, on smart settings).

I want to order one to run my tent for up to two hours to avoid the headache of power outtages, but I don't want to waste my money for an extra 20 minutes of lights. Thanks.

Towelie29 said:

Hey guys, I've been eyeing these CyberPower UPS Towers for a while now (1500VA/1000W or the 1500VA/900W) and I almost bought one last night but I stopped myself. Does anyone run their tent through one of these already? How long can you run lights, a humidifier and a wall fan on one of these? Are we talking hours or minutes?

My tent setup is pretty basic. I run 2x 1000W ONEO Full Spectrum grow lights (True Wattage = 220W) through a digital timer with a battery backup, a small 8" oscillating fan through a short cycle repeat timer, a Vicks V4600 humidifier through an Inkbird humidistat, and an AC Infinity T6 exhaust fan (Usually on 6-8 speed, on smart settings).

I want to order one to run my tent for up to two hours to avoid the headache of power outtages, but I don't want to waste my money for an extra 20 minutes of lights. Thanks.

Click to expand...

I've thought about this a lot. been experiencing outages myself. I don't think it makes sense to try to run your full lamps off the battery backup.

I think the goal should be minimal light to keep from total darkness rather than trying to run the entire tent. then if the power goes out at least you can run for a day with no power instead of just one hr or whatever.

what if you instead added a 1 or 2 strip LED fixture that runs at say 50W. stick in middle of your space. or do 4 led bulbs in the corners etc

ilovereggae said:

I've thought about this a lot. been experiencing outages myself. I don't think it makes sense to try to run your full lamps off the battery backup.

I think the goal should be minimal light to keep from total darkness rather than trying to run the entire tent. then if the power goes out at least you can run for a day with no power instead of just one hr or whatever.

what if you instead added a 1 or 2 strip LED fixture that runs at say 50W. stick in middle of your space. or do 4 led bulbs in the corners etc

Click to expand...

Yeah I guess I could just run the lights, but then I'd be kind of worried about humidity rising and the heat. I'm just curious how long these things actually stay on after the power goes out though. I read about massive pc gaming rigs being able to stay on 15-20 minutes. Maybe some kind of emergency battery backup for medical equipment would be ideal instead... idk

They will only stay on for a few minutes. It depends on your wattage, but if you are using say, 600 watts, like an average computer, a typical UPS will last less than 10 minutes. Just gives you enough time to turn everything off safely. I've had nothing but bad experiences with UPS for my computer, I can't deal with them anymore.

Towelie29 said:

Yeah I guess I could just run the lights, but then I'd be kind of worried about humidity rising and the heat. I'm just curious how long these things actually stay on after the power goes out though. I read about massive pc gaming rigs being able to stay on 15-20 minutes. Maybe some kind of emergency battery backup for medical equipment would be ideal instead... idk

Click to expand...

yeah sorry I meant fans should be on there too. I just meant to only worry about adding a couple small lights to the UPS instead of your full fixtures. that way you can stay out of darkness longer.

ilovereggae said:

yeah sorry I meant fans should be on there too. I just meant to only worry about adding a couple small lights to the UPS instead of your full fixtures. that way you can stay out of darkness longer.

Click to expand...

I'm thinkin a generator might be the way to go but they're super expensive lol... maybe in a few years

Towelie29 said:

I'm thinkin a generator might be the way to go but they're super expensive lol... maybe in a few years

Click to expand...

I'm leaning towards a 100W solar panel / solar generator. Prices have dropped you can get a 1.2kWh setup for a couple hundred bucks now. I did the math a while back I was thinking literally just a simple 12V 2A strip light would run from the regulated barrel jack output (pretty sure this skips the inverter so u could get a little more juice) and would be able to give you a day or two of light depending on if it was in a veg or flower tent. my issue now is I rent and dont have access to the roof, but its in the plans for when I move.

Don't waste your money. Those are not designed to power anything for any significant amount of time. They're designed for giving you the time to shut down servers and other computer equipment gracefully in case of a power outage or to keep them running in case the power flickers, burps, hiccups, etc... I've dealt with them extensively in the course of my IT career. They will not keep your lights fans, etc... running long enough to even matter if the power goes out.

Towelie29 said:

Hey guys, I've been eyeing these CyberPower UPS Towers for a while now (1500VA/1000W or the 1500VA/900W) and I almost bought one last night but I stopped myself. Does anyone run their tent through one of these already? How long can you run lights, a humidifier and a wall fan on one of these? Are we talking hours or minutes?

My tent setup is pretty basic. I run 2x 1000W ONEO Full Spectrum grow lights (True Wattage = 220W) through a digital timer with a battery backup, a small 8" oscillating fan through a short cycle repeat timer, a Vicks V4600 humidifier through an Inkbird humidistat, and an AC Infinity T6 exhaust fan (Usually on 6-8 speed, on smart settings).

I want to order one to run my tent for up to two hours to avoid the headache of power outtages, but I don't want to waste my money for an extra 20 minutes of lights. Thanks.

Click to expand...

IME the a VA-1500 will only handle that power level for ---- maaaaaaybe 1/2 hour.
--Used to use that model to allow Avid editing bays to be shut-down, rather than crashed, in a power outage.
We'd reduce the system to the CPU, The Avid interface board, and one monitor (CRT!! lol).
Everything else - 2nd monitor, audio mixer, speakers, desk lights -- EVERYTHING else was off of the UPS.

You might be OK with the 2,000, or better yet a 3,000 (20a & 30a respectively) - somebody with more experience than I have will probably chime in anytime now....
IMHO - craigslist a used one and replace the batteries. MUCH cheaper.

One benefit you get even if you only get 5 minutes of down time is power conditioning and surge / brown out (in California....) - may add a few hours to those precious lamps, boards & strips we're paying for.

Lockedin said:

IME the a VA-1500 will only handle that power level for ---- maaaaaaybe 1/2 hour.
--Used to use that model to allow Avid editing bays to be shut-down, rather than crashed, in a power outage.
We'd reduce the system to the CPU, The Avid interface board, and one monitor (CRT!! lol).
Everything else - 2nd monitor, audio mixer, speakers, desk lights -- EVERYTHING else was off of the UPS.

You might be OK with the 2,000, or better yet a 3,000 (20a & 30a respectively) - somebody with more experience than I have will probably chime in anytime now....
IMHO - craigslist a used one and replace the batteries. MUCH cheaper.

One benefit you get even if you only get 5 minutes of down time is power conditioning and surge / brown out (in California....) - may add a few hours to those precious lamps, boards & strips we're paying for.

Click to expand...

Yeah I think a battery powered generator is probably my best bet but they're like $1000-$2000. Plus I'm not sure if they can be programmed for automatic use during a power outage or not. Guess for now I'll just have to do an extra long night cycle if the power goes out this year.

A generator would actually be cheaper than a UPS that could run a grow for a significant amount of time. Those giant commercial UPS's also go through batteries over time even if not being used. Just not worth it for this type of situation.

Doug Dawson said:

A generator would actually be cheaper than a UPS that could run a grow for a significant amount of time. Those giant commercial UPS's also go through batteries over time even if not being used. Just not worth it for this type of situation.

Click to expand...

Only problem is that i can't run a gas generator indoors, but i could run an extension into my garage. But if i don't notice soon enough or if I'm not home then i can't turn it on :/

Towelie29 said:

Only problem is that i can't run a gas generator indoors, but i could run an extension into my garage. But if i don't notice soon enough or if I'm not home then i can't turn it on :/

Click to expand...

Gonna take a guess you're somewhere out here in California. re: We all know that Gov Gav will go to the dispo down the street from the capitol and forget to pay the bill and we'll play the rolling blackouts game - who's screwed today?

If that's your scenario - you might be outta luck - a growmie of mine in LA went 10 hours last August

Solar / battery bank is another option - a pretty expensive option though - at least it's scalable from a house light to a whole house.
--- fwiw - I know a guy who decided to test out his new solar array for his boat & lived off-grid for months at a time.
(We did nick-name him Caveman though....)

Lockedin said:

Gonna take a guess you're somewhere out here in California. re: We all know that Gov Gav will go to the dispo down the street from the capitol and forget to pay the bill and we'll play the rolling blackouts game - who's screwed today?

If that's your scenario - you might be outta luck - a growmie of mine in LA went 10 hours last August

Solar / battery bank is another option - a pretty expensive option though - at least it's scalable from a house light to a whole house.
--- fwiw - I know a guy who decided to test out his new solar array for his boat & lived off-grid for months at a time.
(We did nick-name him Caveman though....)

Click to expand...

Actually in Saskatchewan lol. We don't really get rolling blackouts in my city but it has gone out for up to an hour and a half at a time during my last grow. No hermies, lots of anxiety lol

Towelie29 said:

Actually in Saskatchewan lol. We don't really get rolling blackouts in my city but it has gone out for up to an hour and a half at a time during my last grow. No hermies, lots of anxiety lol

Click to expand...

You might be able to buy yourself some decent time depending on your lights.
Maybe a lower-wattage board like a 120 - maybe even a pair of 120s - would go that far.

Just tell your girls that the sun is behind a cloud!

I'm not in LA county - but close enough that we hear about it on the news all summer long.
After a few decades of this you would think they'd figure SOMETHING out! lol.

Towelie29 said:

Only problem is that i can't run a gas generator indoors, but i could run an extension into my garage. But if i don't notice soon enough or if I'm not home then i can't turn it on :/

Click to expand...

Yeah, the fix would be to have it wired to automatically kick in when the power goes out but that would be an expensive undertaking.

Hey dudes , self taught engineer with some education to support it.

The ups would only work for a very minimal led light , like a single cob out of a flashlight.

Your best bet, and ive just spec'd this out for a house i am looking at , is a generac.


These run off natural gas. So you dont need to get gasoline. They cost 1999.99 for the generator AND the transfer switch.

They manage 50 amps. max. An hps at 1kw is about 10 amps Your heavyduty exhaust / carbon filter is about 2 amps. Your small fan is about 1 amp.
The standard GE dehumidifier is 7 amps.

This means you need about 20 amps for one fan, one exhaust , one light , one dehumidifier. This also happens to be what most residential breakers are at or below. 15 / 20 depending on how old your house is. You can check the breaker for the room your grow is in to see for sure what you are below.

If its a 20 amp breaker you are under 20. If its 15 you are under 15. If your grow is in 2 rooms the math changes if they are on different breakers.



Point is , the smallest generac generator for 1999.99 will do the job. It wont do much else. If you have an electric stove , or drier it wont do it. It will also do your furnace . So you could have the grow, maybe your fridge , your lights in a room, and furnace wired to the generac.


When power goes out they fire up, the transfer switch activates your chosen items and it runs off natural gas. I calculated its about 24$ to run this for 24 hours. with my util costs. That can be upwards of 3.50 an hour to run at full load, or 2.50 to run at half load, using national average utility costs.


soooooooo

a generac costs 2000. 24 $ per day to run. Itsdangerous to install so if you arent smart pay someone. You will need to do electrical permits, plumbing permits to establish the gas hookup. But at the end of the day these things are maintnence free just about. They fire up once a week / month to keep themselves in good shape.

its a 400$ kit for cold weatherizxing them.



The alternative is a very low power LED , running off a ups which would still cost about 500 with a good ups. and would last very short time.

Ive considered a solar battery farm but the batteries cost as much as the generac and go bad .

Worth mentioning the genrac website auto calculator, wont ever suggest the 1999 one . It always starts at the 4k$ one.


for what we are doing , if you are following along my math, the smallest one should run a rooms light, the grow, the fridge, the furnace. This will keep you alive in winter and the plants from herming. ITs sufficient for what we are doing on small grows.

please check your dehumidifier for recalls. Just google. The ones we tend to use start fires .