I know my UPS beeps when the power goes out. Obviously not cheap, but has added utility.
this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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Several of my smartplugs let me know if they stop receiving power. The notification arrives on my phone, so even if i'm out i know there's no electricity to the house. my parents often go away from home for weeks at a time and we use one on their freezer in case anything goes wrong.
How is the notification sent if there's no power to the house? Presumably no internet service then either. Or is it sent by a remote service that loses contact with your home socket?
My guess: the smart plug pings a remote server every minute or whatever. If the home server stops getting pings, it sends a notification.
Could have a dying gasp capacitor which allows the unit enough time to send the message before turning off.
Doubtful because that's a lot of work and expense to implement and useless if the router and modem don't have power.
I could see such a feature if the device was designed to work over cell networks since it's not dependent on other user hardware.
Surely something to look into. Thank you.
What situation is this for?
Dude forgot to pay his power bill but has money to blow on devices that alert him that he forgot?
Maybe they live in Texas and are getting ready for possible power outages during the winter storms. Not sure what it would be for, I always hated that my battery backup for my work computer would beep when the power went out
Lol. Seriously though, even when I'm asleep, if the power goes out I hear it. There's so much fucking noise generated by fans, computers, etc... that when it happens the silence is deafening.
We live in a part of town with very tall trees — when it gets windy, the power goes out due to branches falling.
We have one for our business. Years ago someone had accidently shut off power in a shared electrical panel to a freezer. It had thawed by the time we discovered it and cost us thousands in product. The screechy alarm has saved us a couple times since then.
I don't know of anything commercially, but I have an idea of where to go.
I'm not sure exactly what you're after, so let's say I am living with someone who needs medical equipment to live and it needs.mains power and it's for breathing support or whatever. If there was an extended power outage in the middle of the night, bad stuff might happen if the equipment wasn't manually switched over to battery.
I could make something up using customized components bought from a hobby electronics store.
I would buy a low voltage plug pack, say 9 volts and this would plug into the wall and connect to a low voltage relay kit.
Relays have a common point and a normally open point and a normally closed point. Without power you can run an electrical current through common and normally closed. With power, this changes. The electrical pathway between normally closed and common is broken and common is connected to normally open.(or vice versa, been a while)
The shop sells a low voltage relay kit which I would connect to the plug pack and when it's powered, flips the relay.
I'd wire up a secondary circuit, connecting normally open and common to a battery and piezo buzzer. When the power goes off, the relay flips and buzzer makes noise.
I'd also consider wiring a LED up to the battery as a way to confirm it still has energy and check the batteries monthly and replace yearly or so.
I would have to solder some wires and components to do this, but it wouldn't need an electricians license here as it's a low voltage component.
Hope it helps.
Edit: from the website jaycar.com.au, sample parts are:-
Mini piezo buzzer 3-16v dc 12v dc relay card kit ( picture and description doesn't show me if it has wiring I'd need, but I think so) 12V DC 400mA Ultra-Slim Power Supply 7DC Plugs 4AA battery holder.
I'd also ask the staff for advice when Id go to buy the stuff as you probably want a resistor somewhere in both circuits.
Thank you so much! I was hoping for a How-To if a simple device was not available.
I just remembered something else which can remove the requirement for soldering.
A breadboard is a prototyping board where components can be plugged in and wires used to join different areas and make circuits. It's common in kits for kids to learn about electronics but could also be used for a long term solution.
If you went to an electronics store like jaycar, and said " I'm looking to make a project where a plug pack holds open a relay open so when the power goes out and it closes to complete a battery powered circuit with a buzzer" then they should be able to sort you out with something.
And on second thoughts you do want a resistors between the plug packs and relay and the battery and piezo. If you don't then it could use up more electricity to run.
Why do I find these so cool? Man, something for everything out there.
Would you perhaps be interested in a light that comes on every time I get a boner?