How to backup power for spread out IT equipment
Equipment in legacy remote offices is often scattered across different wall racks and tables, but connecting them with extension cords violates fire codes. Relying on individual tower UPS units at each spot is unreliable because they lack remote outlet control and drop all power when their batteries die.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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How to backup power for spread out IT equipment
- 1Placing small unmanaged tower UPS units near each cluster of devices.Did this help you?
- 2Using long power strips or rackmount PDUs run to the different locations.Did this help you?
- 3Swapping small towers for wall-mounted UPS units with network cards at each spot.Did this help you?
- 4Using devices that send early low-battery warnings.Did this help you?
- 5Using lithium cells instead of standard batteries.Did this help you?
- 6Installing locks with large 10,000mAh battery packs that only require charging twice a year.Did this help you?
- 7Keeping a traditional physical key as a backup.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Smart locks are convenient, but keeping them powered can become a hassle, especially when they're installed at a property you don't visit regularly or when you're helping elderly family members manage their home remotely.”source ↗
“We have many legacy locations with MDF's that has equipment much more spread out. Wall mount rack with some network equipment in one spot, wall mount phone system in another spot, NVR system in another spot, etc, all spread out throughout the room.”source ↗
“The historical solution for this is to just place a 1000/1500 "tower" ups near each area of devices. These lack remote outlet control, and also typically will lose all power when the batters go bad, and just generally arent a great experience.”source ↗
“We've gotten dinged by local fire marshal's before for using extension cords.”source ↗
“But most of our remote offices are also spread out to a wall rack and a crummy two post rack and maybe even a table in the corner.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How do I take over home tech and cameras when my partner is gone?
- 5How to keep a sump pump and medical gear running during a power outage
- 4How to manage remote IT infrastructure without a dedicated team
- 3Not enough electrical outlets in the room
- 5How to handle rapid laptop and desktop deployments for mixed workforces?
- 3How to plug multiple devices into a single wall outlet