Ensuring Uninterrupted Connectivity: Load-shedding solution for ISPs with Shoto and Victron

July 28, 2023
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As an Internet Service Provider, it is crucial to ensure continuous network availability, especially during load-shedding. Power outages can severely impact services, lead to dissatisfied customers, potential revenue loss, as well as damage to sensitive networking equipment due to higher inrush voltage when the grid is restored.

To address this challenge, we present a robust solution that incorporates Shoto's 4.8kWh LiFePO4 battery as well as Victron's Multiplus II, hybrid inverter to provide up to 4 hours of uninterrupted power supply during load-shedding.

Understanding the components:

Shoto 4.8kWh Lithium Battery: This Lithium Iron Phosphate battery from Shoto with built-in BMS (Battery Management System) offers a high-capacity, long-lasting energy storage solution. The battery allows for an 80% DoD (Depth-of-Discharge) meaning that your usable energy capacity is 3.8kWh at 48VDC. With charge and discharge current rated at a maximum of 100 Amps and higher energy density, faster charging time, longer lifespan, and higher cycle life make this battery is ideal for providing continuous power during load-shedding events.
Victron Multiplus II: The Victron Multiplus II is a state-of-the-art hybrid inverter that combines the functions of an inverter, charger, and transfer switch into a single unit. A hybrid inverter means that the inverter can be grid-connected as well as solar input. The inverter can seamlessly switch between grid and battery, ensuring a smooth transition during load-shedding. The inverters' advanced power management capabilities optimise battery usage and enable efficient energy conversion.
Additional Components:

a) Victron MPPT Charge Controller and Solar Panels: As the Victron Multiplus II is a hybrid inverter, it means that you can have grid input as well as solar power input with the battery backup

b) Victron Venus GX: The Venus GX is the communication center of your installation. The device allows you to talk to all components in your system and ensure they are working in harmony. monitoring of live data and changing settings is performed using your smartphone, laptop, or Desktop via the free-to-use Victron Remote Management Portal (VRM).

Calculating your load capacity:

To determine the appropriate battery capacity for your network, you need to calculate the total load that the battery and inverter must support during load-shedding. The simplest is to get the Wattage of each device and add this all together to get your load Wattage. Keep in mind, if you are using PoE switches to power up devices, you don't need the Wattage of the device and the switch. Rather just use the Wattage from the PoE switch.

Load Capacity (kWh) = Total Load (kW) x Duration (hours)

Let's consider the following example to illustrate this calculation. The total load of your network is 0.9kW or 900W. To provide 4 hours of backup, the load capacity is 0.9kW x 4h = 3.6kWh.

In our scenario, the Shoto 4.8kWh battery with a usable capacity of 3.8kWh would be suitable as it is slightly more than the load capacity.

Battery Backup duration:

With the Shoto 4.8kWh and the Victron Multiplus II, ISPs can achieve up to 4 hours of backup. The actual backup duration may vary based on factors such as the load's consumption, the number of batteries connected in parallel, and the battery's age and condition. You can extend the backup duration by installing multiple batteries in parallel further enhancing your network's reliability.

Final Note:

As service providers using sensitive networking equipment, the following must be kept in mind when building a battery backup solution for your network.

The time between grid failure and switching to battery backup may be anywhere from 5ms to 20ms. This means that your network will go down during this transition. One solution is to add either an online or offline UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to the mix, as the UPS will keep the network operation as soon as the grid fails and up until the inverter switches to battery power.

Something else to consider is to ensure your customer's equipment also has a form of backup power by using the Acconet Mini UPS, with PoE out to power up external radios or DC output jacks for ONUs and home routers.

Why not book your spot for this year's IP-CON hosted at Vodacom World events, Midrand from the 31st of August to the 1st of September 2023 where you can interact with our brands, sit in on technical deep dives and learn more about all our products and solutions.