Adding UPS to light circuit

[The Daring Dufas]

The computer engineers had to replace tubes in those beasts on a daily basis. ^_^

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

You could attach a circular florescent lamp to a ball cap like it was a propeller beanie and have enough light to work by when you were near the transmitter. ^_^

TDD

[DerbyDad03]

...stuff about transmitters snipped...

We used hold fluorescent tubes near the tower. As you'd slide your hand up and down the tube, it would light up only above your hand.

It was pretty cool to be able to "move" light.

[trader4]

100 watts. What I want to do is to be able to connect my light circuits to the UPS during emergencies like this ice storm that is coming up. Not wor ried about heat or the fridge, I have gas heater backup and not enough in t he fridge to worry about. Are there approved ways of connecting in the UPS that does not involve adding a transfer switch. I was thinking about doing this with outlets and plugs so I could unplug the light circuit and plug it into the UPS.

He didn't say he wanted to plug it in permanently. He only said he wants to use the UPS when power goes out. That mode is no different than using a portable gas generator to power the house which you can do as long as you have a transfer switch or panel lockout kit installed together with an inlet. You then use an extension cord to connect the generator. He could do the same thing with his UPS.

[trader4]

100 watts. What I want to do is to be able to connect my light circuits to the UPS during emergencies like this ice storm that is coming up. Not wo rried about heat or the fridge, I have gas heater backup and not enough in the fridge to worry about. Are there approved ways of connecting in the UPS that does not involve adding a transfer switch. I was thinking about doing this with outlets and plugs so I could unplug the light circuit and plug i t into the UPS.

You're not seriously trying to compare a hanging light fixture with a plug/cord to permanenty wiring in a UPS that is not designed nor rated to be permanently wired into house circuits are you?

I don't see anything wrong from a code or safety standpoint if he makes it a temporary arrangement, just like you'd do if you correctly make provisions to connect a portable generator. I see a lot wrong if he takes a typical UPS that you'd used for a PC, ie with receptacles, bastardizes that and wires it into his light circuits.

[philoÂÂ]

I was in the industrial battery & charger business and UPS's were a side line...but back then ferroresonant was considered pretty good efficiency.

I don't know what the present state-of-the-art is for UPS's but as far as battery chargers...high frequency conversion chargers are now being used. (Of course they were already using them in Europe 25 years ago)

[philoÂÂ]

Back in the 60's when I first got my ham ticket we'd always hear Loran

I figured that now with GPS it would no longer be used, but a quick Google search shows it's still in use.

Sure liked those old days of vacuum tubes.

A friend of mine picked up a couple of WW-II radar sets and converted them to 1296 mhz transceivers. In 1965 that was quite an advanced project.

As to finding high-voltage arc-overs. I still recall watching TV at a friend's house and him telling me that his dad had to put a glass ash tray inside to prevent arcing over!

[The Daring Dufas]

The easiest thing to do is to run a low voltage lighting system using a

12vdc power system and battery charger. A relay to switch on the 12 volt LED lights when the power fails is simple to implement and with a proper low current fuse is quite safe. I bought a little 48 LED light panel meant to replace an automobile dome light from Amazon to play with and it and it puts out a surprising amount of light. The LED panel measures 1-1/2" X 2-5/8" and has double stick foam on the back so it can be mounted easily. I imagine you can make your own panel using 4 to 6of them and light up a room very well. I haven't measured the current draw on it but I found it is quite bright off a 9 volt battery. Low voltage wire such as telephone wire installed with a stapler could be used to wire rooms for emergency light using the little modules. ^_^

+Lamp+Panel+-+White

TDD

[RobertMacy]

Your comments of following code, absolutely agree with!

Not because of fear of prosecution etc, but over time these codes have come about due to some kind of accident. They represent a 'learned' history of errors, thereofe learn from them and follow code.

Therefore, implement the'function' you describe! sounds like an excellent idea. Just be careful, go about 'correctly' implementing that function.

[RobertMacy]

From memory, the 12 Vdc 4 A-hr Powersonics batteries. Bruno, their chief engineer, taught me a LOT about battery chemistry and 'proper' charging and overall care of a battery.

Parbly changed a lot since then. Today, there's not much reason to NOT stick a chip in each rechargeable battery just to make everything a 'system'.

[RobertMacy]

TRUE! I once learned the hard way about how an automobile battery generates hydrogen gas during recharge! as in, BOOM! and no more battery, just acid running down through everything.

[Metspitzer]

Let's say the OPs electrical panel is in his open garage. Mount a

1900 box under the panel so it is around 18 inches from the floor. Connected the box to the panel with a conduit. Disconnect the circuit that supplies the lights. Run the feed for the (new) receptacles in the 1900 box to the breaker the lights were on.

Now take a 4 ft length of SO cord and run that cord into the side of the 1900 box. Connect the SO cord to the lighting circuit that came off the breaker that now feeds the receptacle.

Now, what you have is a feed for the lights that can be disconnected by unplugging the receptacle. The receptacle is still in perfect working order.

Plug the UPS and the lighting circuit into the receptacle for 8 hours until the UPS charges. Then, unplug the lighting receptacle from the receptacle and plug it into the UPS.

The UPS has the automatic transfer built in. No back feeding. No jury rigging. Nothing against code I know of.

Anita Snugsnatch

[trader4]

I don't think you'll find SO cord listed in the NEC as an acceptable wiring material for branch circuits, so there's that.

The receptacle that you've now connected to the panel circuit breaker isn't the problem. That's permissible. It's the branch circuit that you've disconnected and what you're doing with it that's the problem.

So now you have a branch circuit plugged on a cord plugged into a receptacle, ie not permanently wired. I'm sure that's a code violation.

Then, unplug the lighting receptacle from the

And there is the next problem. You now have a branch circuit that's on a cord and the branch circuit protection, ie the breaker in the panel, is no longer protecting the circuit. You could take a 15A branch circuit that's wired with 14 gauge and plug it into a 20A UPS or generator outlet. Or another outlet in the house that's 20A for that matter, when the alternate power source isn't used.

And I would think it may violate other sections of the code, for example grounding conductors. I would expect that you'd find that the grounding for light fixtures, circuits, etc calls for a continous uninterruped ground connection back to the main ground at the panel. By inserting a corded plug that can be unplugged, you're changing what should be permanent into something that can be unplugged.

Taking an existing branch circuit off it's over current protection, ie breaker, at the panel and putting in on a cord and plug sure sounds like j rigging to me. And it's clearly against code. Perhaps Gfre or Bud would like to weigh in on this.

[clare]

I cannot for the life of me figure out where the fixation on a transfer switch is coming from. A UPS by it's very DESIGN has a transfer switch built in. Standby UPS even have a spec for "transfer time" - the time it takes to switch from line to inverter - and it is IMPOSSIBLE for the inverter to backfeed the line. Absolutely, 100% positively impossible. BUT the UPS MUST be installed permanently into the circuit in order to function - and this requires a UPS designed for hardwire installation. There are LOTS of them available - but not at your typical WallMart or consumer electronics store.

[clare]

You don't know your code. Around here, anyways, permanently installed house wiring may NOT be connected using a plug. Period. Even getting a furnace to pass being plugged in can be a challenge.

[trader4]

Because that's one code compliant way to use an existing garden variety UPS like it sounds the OP has, ie the type that has a plug, cord, and receptacles, like you'd use with a PC. With a transfer switch or a panel lockout kit and inlet, you can hook a portable generator up with an extension cord and it's code compliant. You can do the same with the UPS he's using for his PC. How practical it all is, and is it worth it, those are different questions.

A UPS by it's very DESIGN has a

Which by all indications in *not* the type he has and wants to use. If he wants to buy one that will be hardwired in, then yes, I agree he could find one.

[trader4]

I think you'll find that telephone wire is probably not rated for use in a low voltage lighting system in a house. There is NEC that applies to those types of installations too.

[The Daring Dufas]

I used to check the output of the two way radios I was working on by holding a fluorescent tube near or touching the contacts to the antenna. CB radio rigs with illegal linear amps would really light one up. ^_^

TDD

[DerbyDad03]

There's not near as much Loran left as there used to be. Here's a video of what happened to the tower I used to hang out under at LorSta Port Clarence...

[The Daring Dufas]

Jesus H Christopher! It's a DIY project not wiring the Smithsonian! Telephone system cable caries 48vdc talk battery and 90vac ringing voltage. It's not high current and neither is the power required by the

12vdc LED modules. The OP could use thermostat wire which is rated for up to 300 volts. He can install his low voltage lighting, measure the current draw then install a proper fuse to protect the wiring which will prevent the magic smoke from escaping. o_O

TDD