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Forum Discussion
Run Orbi off battery?
I want my WiFi to keep running when the power goes out. Orbi runs off a 12V brick, I want to know if the unregulated output of a 12V UPS (about 12-13.5V) is sufficient or if it needs exactly 12V? ...
I doubt that anyone on this community forum can provide an authoritative response, although my guess is, "sure, why not?"
On the other hand, the Orbi has to be connected (eventually) to the house electrical supply. My solution was to purchase an inexpensive UPS and plug the Orbi into it. This gives me (a) surge protection and (b) protection against the typical power surges from temporary electrical outages. In the case of an extended outage, the UPS will drain and the Orbi will go dead. Whether the UPS is 110v or 12v is immaterial. If the power is out for days, any consumer UPS will eventually be used up.
CrimpOn wrote:In the case of an extended outage, the UPS will drain and the Orbi will go dead. Whether the UPS is 110v or 12v is immaterial. If the power is out for days, any consumer UPS will eventually be used up.
The inefficiencies of converting 12V to 110V back to 12V are substantial - over half the energy is lost. Given that Orbi consumes just over 5 watts continuously it does make a difference. If I could power straight off my 90 WHr UPS battery I could get 18 hours of run time (all day), versus only several hours at best at 110V. If I add a second battery and a solar charger I can swap back and forth indefinitely.
I've got a basic switching ups. it has a built in switch/circuit that switches from 110v to the 12v supply whenever it senses a drop in voltage. I tested the usage when I bought it because I was concerned about energy usage as well. when it was charging the battery, yes it used more power, but once the battery was charged it maybe pulled anywhere from 2-10 watts of power. I imaging most of thats for maintenance. And the last time I looked that the orbi I use, it supplies up to 42 watts of power. (version 1 power supply is a 12v x 3.5amp power supply). Thats not a 50% drop in power. The efficiency of your conversions depends on the power supply that you get (large power supplies tend to be less efficient and require more maintenance supplied) and the quality of the power supply you get. No power supply is 100% efficient but they make 95-97% efficient power supplies.
If you buy a line-interactive UPS, then it does convert from AC-DC-AC and you do use more energy due to the power conversions going on.
so I guess it depends on the power supply that you buy.
I suppose a person could monitor the output voltage of the Orbi power supply. Line voltage fluctuates quite a bit during the day. If the output voltage fluctuates along with it, that might give a hint toward what the Orbi is able to tolerate.
I have a dim memory that this question has come up before. Maybe a search of the forum will turn up someone who has already explored this topic. I would think at a minimum the modem also has to have power, as well as any device that will be used with the Orbi. In an extended outage, the utility providing internet service may go out as well.
