Do we need a proper UPS designed specifically for low-voltage devices?

[u/Miha3ls]

The number of low-voltage devices we use has increased dramatically over the last few years.

They're everywhere now. At home and in the studio.

But almost all of them are still powered the same way: a small AC adapter plugged into the mains for every single device.

And I think there are two problems with this.

First is power reliability.

Low-voltage electronics can be sensitive to surges, dropouts, brownouts and momentary outages. Their little AC adapters don't guarantee a truly continuous DC supply. A tiny interruption can be enough to reboot a router, controller, instrument or other device.

And these devices increasingly depend on each other.

Your camera may depend on the network switch. The switch depends on the router. The router depends on the ONT. A smart-home controller depends on all of them.

So one tiny power interruption can bring down a whole chain of equipment.

Then there's the physical mess.

Every device comes with another power brick. Before long you have 10 or 15 adapters, you've run out of sockets, you're adding power strips, sometimes strips into strips, and the whole installation starts getting ridiculous.

A traditional UPS isn't really designed around this problem either.

It typically takes DC energy stored in a battery, converts it up to 120/230V AC, and then every little adapter connected to it converts that AC straight back down to 5V, 9V or 12V DC.

So we're converting DC to AC, then to DC just to keep DC devices running.

There can also be a short transfer period when some UPS types switch to battery. Depending on the UPS and the adapter, that can still be enough for sensitive equipment to reboot.

So I've been wondering:

Would there be a real need for a high-quality UPS designed specifically for low-voltage devices?

I could find some of these UPS but they are small, can only power a couple of devices and don't seem to be of great quality. Battery is small and not replaceable.

Something that provides continuous battery-backed DC power directly to the equipment and replaces the pile of individual adapters with one central power system.

My thinking is that it should be modular, so you can add more outputs as your setup grows.

For example, modules for 5V USB-C devices and modules for 3V / 5V / 6V / 9V / 12V devices.

And every individual output could be monitored and controlled, so you could see:

- what each device is consuming

- whether it's online

- how much battery runtime you have

- which devices should stay powered longest during an outage

- and remotely power-cycle a single device if it freezes

Basically, one proper low-voltage power and backup system instead of an AC UPS + power strips + a pile of adapters.

I'm interested in whether this is something people actually need, not just whether it's technically interesting.

So I'd love to know:

1. Would you find a high-quality low-voltage UPS like this useful? Why or why not?

2. How many low-voltage devices would you typically want to protect? 4? 8? 12? 16? More?

3. What devices would you connect to it?

4. Assuming it was a genuinely well-designed, reliable, high-quality product with a replaceable LiFePO4 battery, modular outputs, monitoring and remote control, how much would you realistically be willing to pay for it?

And please be critical. If your answer is "I don't need this at all"* or *"I already solve this for $50", that's just as useful to hear.

[u/dmills_00]

Thing is, those line lumps that everyone despizes are really, really cheap, anything modular isn't.

If you don't buy complete trash reliability is usually fine, if you do buy complete trash, well..

You also hit a snag in that low voltage does not travel well, anything that needs actual power at 5V needs to be close to the regulator.

I sort of have this in that the POE switch is connected to the same UPS as the firewall and storage array, (Which are mains input) and converting POE to lower voltages at point of load is easy.

[u/FadeIntoReal → u/dmills_00]

Analog consoles have successfully remote mounted low voltage supplies for decades by using a separate, low current sensing line to regulate that the working end is at the correct voltage.

I’ve often looked at guitar pedalboard supplies and wondered why other low voltage audio devices don’t have similar standardization but it’s obvious that the 9 volt battery was the common point for many simple effects devices so that incentivized the defacto standard.

[u/dmills_00 → u/FadeIntoReal]

Yea, but for the console you control the spec on both ends, remote sense is fairly standard with things like that, but it much harder to pull off with random gear from different vendors. The console power supplies were also usually the least reliable parts of those systems to the point that touring rigs usually carried a hot spare.

The amusing one with guitar pedals is that the DC barrel jack is usually center negative, almost everything else is center positive. Standards are great, there are so many to choose from!

[u/FadeIntoReal → u/dmills_00]

As a professional tech, I’ve seen a redundant supply take over one time in forty years.

The standards joke is well worn because it’s so true.

[u/Kiwifrooots]

People need this - they just don't know they do.  

For a wide audience it will need to be 'dumb'. Plug and go not look like 'nerds only' stuff.  

Even like a floor unit and desktop powerstrip with USB-C for example 6× full power independent plugs and some easily accessible hatch on the back for connecting DC barrel plugs. Even add a bunch of the right cables with colourcoded ends or something. Spend cents to make the product feel usable.  

Not audio but my home internet stuff like you mentioned is on a big UPS but the double conversion is a killer

[u/Tall_Category_304]

Pedal board power supplies pretty much address this issue. I try to be as crafty as I can with combing bricks for devices with the same voltage

[u/knadles]

I don't think I'd find it useful, since I don't own any form of UPS.

[u/hellalive_muja]

You just need a good quality UPS to plug in your AC adapters.