UPS needed for Mini PC running HA?

Hardware
1

I'm considering using a mini PC to run HA for one or two Reolink cameras, just capturing motion alerts and for live viewing. Do I need an uninterrupted power supply? I do get blackouts sometimes but I have a generator that reliably turns on within around 10 seconds or less after the power goes out. I've heard that UPSs are more crucial for Raspberry PIs with SD cards than for SSDs, because SDs tend to corrupt more easily.

The reason I don't want a UPS is because $$ and because I've heard that the battery sometimes needs to be replaced every few years, and it might not be necessary for my use case.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

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I have a UPS but I think it is more important to be able to recover from any failure. See: Disaster Recovery Planning.

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Great write-up and advice, thank you.

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The biggest risk from even a 2 second drop of power is file corruption - mostly the HA database. So having a good, frequent backup can minimize that issue. At the very least get a quality power strip with surge protection to protect from the surges that happen when the power just 'flickers'. If you do get a UPS make sure to create an automation that detects it and gracefully shuts HA down before the UPS battery eventually can't keep it powered.

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UPS are crucial for ANY system that is constantly writing to a database..

HA is basically a state machine riding a database it's constantly writing to.

== UPS is critical if you're serious about operating HA and are even asking this question. That plus understandinf and practicing backup / restore will save you from most potential issues.

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If you are in an area where you need a generator, you really do need some kind of a UPS as well - especially your described 10s gap is worse for computers, than longer term hard cuts. There are some small diy boards on the various market places which would otherwise be insufficient as UPS, but which might be good enough to cover these <30-60 second gaps (and the associated surge!) until your generator kicks in for low-power mini-PCs (with 12V or 19V DC input, so between external PSU and the mini-PC on the low voltage side). If your haos system needs more (mains-) power, you can't avoid a full-featured UPS.

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If your mini pc runs on 12V you can get one of THESE (that's what i did). Add 7.2Ah gel battery and you're good to go. Just select model according to needed power.

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Thanks everyone, I will consider getting a small UPS.

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Good idea but all of my computers run on 19V, so an APC UPS has to suffice.
BTE, OP- My batteries last about 5 years.

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My nuc runs on 19v, too, so i added THIS step-up converter.
However, battery monitoring is non-existent here... so esphome module will follow soon--

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11

Thanks for the tip.

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I have one of these Eaton 3s (around 100.- bucks) connected to my

  • PC (HA server)
  • Modem
  • Router

It will provide 230V to these Gadgets for about 30 min in case of a power outage, and works like a charme. I use the NUT integration in HA to monitor it and to shut down HA controlled in case of a longer power outage.

The battery comes up on 3 years and I do not see any degradation yet.
But if it needs to be replaced, we are talking 15.- bucks - well worth it.

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Good to know, thanks.

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Thank you for sharing your setup!

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