PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Backup power system BPS 04/12 from ASP

Since March, Swiss inverter manufacturer ASP has been offering the stand-alone backup power system BPS 04/12. The system consists of a charge controller for a 12 V battery and a sine inverter with a power rating of 400 W, which converts the direct voltage into AC voltage of 230 V.

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All-in-one: There is also room for a battery within the casing of the backup power supply system BPS 04/12.

The BPS is for use in event of a power outage or a disruption in the power supply. After around 20 milliseconds (and at maximum 50 milliseconds), the backup kicks in to power computers, emergency lighting, or medical equipment with electricity from a battery. When the grid electricity supply is available again, the emergency power supply cuts out. The battery then can be recharged (to a maximum of 60 A) through the grid if it is working, or by a PV system, which then must be connected to the battery through its own charge regulator. Different types of batteries are available. On the data sheet, ASP recommends using a battery with a 65 Ah capacity, which would deliver approximately 90 minutes of power to a 400 W load.

The BPS 04/12 was developed for use especially in Southern Europe, which has a more unstable power grid. It comes at a net retail price of €1,800 ($2,165) and with a guarantee of two years. ASP products are distributed by various wholesalers.

At the Intersolar trade fair in Freiburg in June, ASP announced various further inverter products to be developed under the name Satis. According to Patrick Schmid from ASP, the highlight of the innovations is an on-grid inverter with a back up. This switches to its own individual power source in the event of a power outage either automatically or manually, according to how it is configured. The stand-alone operation is primarily carried out by a solar generator. An integrated battery ensures that power can be provided during a power outage when there is not enough solar irradiation – even over the course of an entire night. Furthermore, an increased maximum power is possible for a short amount of time, for example when switching on loads. The Satis unit is to be presented at the PV Symposium in Staffelstein, Germany next March.

datasheet

ASP AG
Hauptstrasse 36b
8637 Laupen ZH, Switzerland
phone +41/55/24641-14, fax -16
www.asp-ag.com
aspinfo@bluewin.ch