Establishing what you actually need.
WHY START HERE
Most power spending is wasted because the requirement was never measured.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What you must keep running What can stop without consequence How long an interruption can last before it costs you What an hour of downtime actually costs
WHY THE LAST ONE MATTERS MOST
It sets the budget. Spending more on backup than the downtime costs is irrational.
WHAT TO MEASURE FIRST
How many hours of grid supply you actually receive, daily, over a month.
HOW
Record it, rather than estimating.
WHY RECORD
Recollection exaggerates both good and bad periods.
WHAT ELSE TO MEASURE
What you consume, in watts, item by item.
WHY ITEM BY ITEM
Total load determines everything you buy afterwards.
WHAT CATEGORIES TO SORT EQUIPMENT INTO
- Must never stop: servers, security systems, refrigeration
- Should not stop: lighting, computers, network equipment
- Can stop: air conditioning, water heating, non-essential machinery
WHY THAT SORTING MATTERS
It lets you back up a small load rather than the whole premises.
WHAT THAT SAVES
Most of the cost.
WHAT MOST BUSINESSES DO INSTEAD
Buy a generator large enough for everything, and run it for a fraction of that load.
WHAT THAT COSTS
Fuel, wear and money, continuously.
