Beat the Power Cut
You might have read the newspaper reports on unscheduled power cuts that have been planned. That affects us Bangaloreans too!
Few go for inverters, but many people resort to rechargeable lights. And these are available at reasonable prices. But hey wait, many people nowadays have computers at home and most of them buy a UPS too. Is it possible to use the UPS the same way as an inverter ? I had mulled over this fact for quite sometime, and had enquired with an electrician too. He had replied that tubelights will not work with the power supply given out by the UPS. However, he had opined that CFLs should work.
The benefits of using a UPS for home lighting in emergency conditions are many. A CFL consumes a measly 14 watts in comparison to around 100 watts for just my CRT monitor! The overall power consumption of my computer is around 300 W. And I am supposed to get backup for 12 minutes for my computer if the power goes. So, with a CFL you will get a lot of "backup" time. Theoritically, the UPS should be able to power a 14W CFL for (((300/14)*12)/60) = 4.5 hours approx! By that time, hopefully the power supply would have resumed...
And this, by spending very less additional money (assuming you already own a UPS). You only need to buy a two pin plug, long enough electrical wire and a bulb holder ! I spent just 31 rupees 🙂
Due to all these considerations , I was toying around with the idea of powering a CFL using my UPS. The newspaper item finally forced me into action. So there it is !
So, what would be cooler still ? Using a laptop as a power source !!! If you try it, let me know 🙂
April 27th, 2006 - 14:40
Hey Shree,
Great idea man. Real cool one. You shoud patent it. If not, let me know :-).
April 27th, 2006 - 17:03
Shree,
really good idea, let me know if you have purchased any invertor, iam also looking for alternative to these regular power cuts , pl. mail if you you have any specific deatails.
badari_somayaji@rediffmail.com
Badri
April 17th, 2007 - 08:38
Hello! I figured it would be nice if I signed your guestbook. I just thought that I would visit your homepage and see what all you have been up to, well – it’s awesome!
April 25th, 2008 - 22:30
I don’t think it is a great idea but an useful idea.I have seen this quiet sometime back people selling cheap chinese CFL’s on the roadside using UPS as a power source to demonstrate the product.Not worth to be patented as someone pointed here 🙂
Regards
Abhinay
April 26th, 2008 - 20:10
Hi Abhinay – yes it’s a useful idea. Kailash (a friend) was just joking when he said “patent it”. AFAIK, if you want to patent an idea, you apply for a patent first, and then publicize it 🙂
October 16th, 2009 - 05:52
once a scientist is always a scientist 🙂
October 19th, 2009 - 11:03
That’s a veery old post 🙂 Now, nobody will believe anybody who calls
me a ‘scientist’ !
September 21st, 2010 - 23:17
Very coool
January 5th, 2011 - 21:22
Hi very very ccooooooollll ; )
August 9th, 2020 - 06:56
Hey! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do
you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My web site looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying
to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem.
If you have any suggestions, please share. With thanks!