And yet affordable LiFePO4 power stations are everywhere. Am I missing something?
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Cheap and lithium do not go together. Have you seen what happens when lithium batteries fail?
I’m using a UPS that is plugged into a EcoFlow power station which uses LiFoPO4 battery
I’m just re-using my APC Smart-UPS 750 and a pair of batteries like these. Allegedly the BMS / charging circuits in them are designed to work with charging systems that generally charge up 12v lead acid batteries. The pair of batteries I ordered have the exact same dimensions as the lead acid batteries they’re going to replace, and the same connectors in exactly the same location.
I’ve watched a number of videos on YouTube with folks that have done such conversions (using a wide array of UPS models). Even watched a video where a guy did a short circuit test (the battery he used failed miserably, but didn’t catch fire). The cable on my UPS has a built in (and replaceable) fuse, so I’m not worried about an issue with the UPS pulling far more amperage than it should be. Of course, that fuse won’t do much good if something inside the battery itself fails, but I suppose that’s what home owners insurance is for. :)
Lithium batteries are about weight, so they make perfect use for portable uses (like portable power stations). Most UPSes get installed once and stay put until decommissioned. The added expense of lithium batteries makes no sense.
Probably in a dumpster fire somewhere
Was asking myself the same question.
Another annoyance is that all products on the market are labelled in VA and not Wh, which makes it very difficult to compare and understand how long they’ll last at a 20W draw of the standard networking equipment.
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I have a regular UPS for my server+NAS, and a small lithium one (pocket sized) for my low voltage things (basically all my network gear, sans POE). It was inexpensive and works fantastically. The best part was erasing 4 power brick transformers from my network closet and replacing them with just a 5V barrel cable directly to the UPS. I think it’s highest output is 12V which runs my 24-port switch (I think, maybe my router).
The answer comes down to cost. LiFePO4 batteries have enough capacity that they can be held at 80% and still beat SLA on capacity. The problem is that LFP wins on gravimetric and volumetric energy density; two metrics that aren’t particularly important in the context of a UPS. It’s a large brick that sits on the floor.
Vertiv has multiple ranges of Lithium UPS products. They have a small 400VA unit that can be found for about $180.
https://www.vertiv.com/en-us/solutions/learn-about/vertiv-lithium-ion-ups/
There’s also the fact that Lead Acid don’t catch on fire when they go bad like the Lithium based cells do.
Simultaneous charge and supply circuits cost a fair bit to design and implement.
It’s a lot cheaper and profitable to build a basic ‘brick’ that can be sold to hundreds of thousands of 'phone users rather than a premium product for a few computer folk.
APC used to sell a consumer lithium UPS: here’s the price history. $270 for something about the capacity of the $50 lead acid equivalent. Looks discontinued now. They sell a lot of rackmounted options but they are all expensive.
Cheap and Lithium are not two things I want together
Lithium is advantageous for repetitive discharge and recharge cycles which is useless for a UPS installation with a reliable power source. The cost/capacity of lead acid wins out.