HACKER Q&A
📣 LinuxBender

Small solar generator that is also a double-conversion UPS?


I have given up asking on Amazon because nobody knows what I am talking about. I am looking for a small solar generator that powers devices using the inverter 100% of the time and never ever passes through power from the commercial AC charger. When the batteries and input power are unable to power the inverter, it turns off. When power is restored either from commercial AC power or the batteries or solar, the inverter turns back on. At no point is commercial AC power to ever touch my devices.

Use case: I want to replace my expensive vertiv liebert gxt4 double-conversion UPS with a Solar Generator for my network gear, having its own dedicated expansion batteries and dedicated solar panels. The gxt4 itself uses a bit of power and my understanding is that the newer solar generators are more efficient.

It seems none of the Solar Generator vendors cover this topic. The only other option I can see is to get one of the dedicated pure sinewave inverters, separate batteries and charge controller but I was hoping to keep the equipment sprawl in the network racks in my home to a minimum and have a portable device that could be used for other emergency purposes.


  👤 tlb Accepted Answer ✓
If you really want a clean system, get network gear that runs off 48 volt DC power and avoid the AC stage completely.

As a bonus: inverters always make a slight buzz, while 48 V systems can be silent.