Onboard UPS backup power for a modified vehicle
A converted vehicle has to run monitoring, communications and office equipment from the vehicle's charging system while driving, and from stored energy once the engine is switched off. Voltage swings and tight space both had to be dealt with.
A modified vehicle carrying monitoring, communications and office equipment needs a power supply that behaves the same way in two very different states: on the road and parked.
Configuration: 1 × UPS + lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) battery bank
The challenge
The vehicle runs monitoring, communications and office equipment at the same time. While it is moving, those loads draw on the vehicle's own charging system; once it is parked and the engine is switched off, they have to be supplied from stored energy instead. Voltage swings from the vehicle supply and the limited space available for equipment were both problems, and anything fitted had to avoid interfering with the vehicle's existing electrical system.
What we did
We built the onboard supply around a UPS unit and a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) battery bank. While the vehicle is running, its own supply feeds the equipment and charges the battery at the same time; when the engine is switched off, the battery takes over and the load does not see the change. The installation was planned around the three things that matter in a vehicle: placing the UPS and battery where they get airflow, fixing everything so it stays put over rough roads, and isolating the backup circuit from the vehicle's own electrics so neither disturbs the other.
The result
When the vehicle changes between running and parked, the equipment stays up — the transfer is not visible to it. The onboard loads now have the stable supply they needed, and nothing about how the vehicle itself operates had to change.
If you are fitting backup power to a vehicle or a mobile unit, contact us with your load list and we will work out the configuration.