low temp/no power notification

[Sarki]

Trying to find a low cost system to install in a second property that will notify me via email/text of low temperature and/or power outage.
No phone line at the property, just internet cable service. Don't want a monitoring system/company that charges a monthly fee. Hoping for a fairly simple plug n play.
Sensaphone offers WEB600 but that only has a 3-5 hour battery backup. That means if power goes out I can only monitor the temp for 3-5 hours until the battery backup is depleted.
Anyone know of a system that can remain powered up for a 1-2 day period in the event of power loss. 3-5 hours doesn't cut it as the power can be out for a few days when a storm hits. I need to monitor the temps when the power is out for an extended period so I can take action and prevent frozen pipes if the inside temp drops drastically.
Sorry for the long post on a boring topic

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Well, some sort of bigger, longer lasting backup power supply. You may have to engineer that yourself to adapt to the sensaphone unit, if it will talk to the internet.

Charles

 

[rkevins]

not sure what they offer but you could also try agri alert, farm alarm or could you add more battery backup to the sensaphone?

 

[Falcon67]

I was going to suggest a big APC UPS, but reading the specs shows that as the load approaches zero (2W in your case) effeciency goes out the window. So maybe a large deep cycle battery bank, and an inverter/charger.

 

[e-tek]

This is actually NOT a boring topic Sarki! There\s quite a few times we could use something like that up here too - where it gets so cold things go bad fast without heat. I always worry about my shop and HotTub getting wrecked if the power went out when it's -30 or -40!
Here's a link to a few different kinds - I see the Sensaphone is on there too. Maybe you have the link, or maybe you'll find something else better. http://www.freezealarms.ca/

 

[MustangRick]

A standard computer UPS will run tests and such so it will not last for more then a few hours even with a small load like this. If you end up with only a hundred watts of draw for the monitor and the cable modem, then you could possibly rely on a solar panel to add to the battery. It won't help at night, or if it is really clouded over but any little bit could help as long as you find a battery that can last through the night.

As for the monitors, smarthome.com sells stuff all around home automation so it may have something like this. I would recommend to get everything DC to run it off of a car battery as stated earlier and just put a battery tender on it. I don't think an invertor is very efficient.

 

[Silver Heels]

I seem to recall home security systems that also monitor temperature, etc and are able to automatically call you if the temp gets too low

 

[KenB]

Some UPS units accept additional battery packs to extend runtime. If you can't find (or don't like the cost of) one of those, you can always daisy-chain small UPS units together. Your monitor would be at one end of the chain and the wall outlet at the other. As one UPS's battery dies, the next one takes over.


Ken
PS- How reliable is the internet connection? Might want to think about a cell dialer instead, coverage is available.

 

[rlitman]

Ummm, how do you expect the internet to keep working during the extended power outage? What's going to power the cable modem and your router/switch, let alone your monitoring device? You're going to have a lot more than that 2W draw.

If you had a real phone line, I'd say to attach a low temperature thermostat to the phone line. Call the number and get a busy signal, and you know it is too cold.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Dewalt mobilelock alarm units do temp, vibration, motion, movement all for $20 a month. They use a cell phone network and will notify you if temp goes below what you set, or if the unit is moved, with the gps included it will show you where the unit went. This works for mobile equipement like Bobcats, welders, compressors etc. I know you don't want a monthly charge but you can start and stop the service as often as you need. Reports to you by email, text message or voice message on up to three phone numbers.

 

[Falcon67]

Chaining UPSs really kills efficiency, changing from AC to square wave and back. They do not cascade well at all. you size them based on the load, then add battery to add runtime. For "days" - not going to happen unless you spend a whale of a lot of money on a system. It's not really a practical solution. Data centers that cannot afford to go down use big UPSs to survive a short while then power up stand alone backup generator(s).

 

[cobratim]

APC has environmental cards that plug directly into the larger floor units that can be configured to send out emails/SMS txts. BUT you still need to power your cable modem up with the UPS itself... If that's the only load then you might be able to get a decent amount of time off a 750 with external batts

UPS
http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SMX750

External Batt Pack
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SMX48RMBP2U

Environmental Card
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=638181&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Run Time Chart
http://www.apc.com/products/runtime_for_extendedruntime.cfm?upsfamily=165

 

[Greatbear]

In my area, the cable internet will not remain operational during a long outage in the general area. For me, that would leave landline telephone, or wireless.