qUPS-P-BC – a Raspberry UPS HAT with Battery

The long operational time UPS solution for Raspberry Pi with Li-Ion, LiFePo4 and Sodium-Ion battery support.

Goal – What we wanted

Create a UPS solution for Raspberry Pi or compatible product, which has long operation time and wide range of battery technology support. Battery should be installed and replaced easily. Capable of powering the system with 12V or 24V power source.

Raspberry UPS HAT with lifepo4 battery

Design Considerations – how we were thinking

  • From Factor

    For easy assembly, qUPS has HAT form factor. Simply connect it via the 40 pin header.

  • Wide range of Battery technology

    qUPS has to be compatible with Li-Ion, LiFePo4 and Sodium-ion battery. Ability to choose the best technology for the given application.

  • High Efficiency

    For increasing the limited backup time, we have chosen a high efficiency boost solution for feeding the Raspberry Pi.

  • Minimize inline energy loss

    Offline topology is very efficient in inline state, but if the input power is down, system has a very short power loss (< 1ms). Raspberry Pi is sensing it, but there is no effect on its operation.

  • Stackability

    Pins on the connector are long ones, all can be accessed from the top of the product.

  • 12V or 24V power source

    Capability to power by higher voltage power source

  • Communication Capability

    Capable of warning the Raspberry Pi, for having enough time to shutdown itself safely, avoid any crash of the operating system. It happens, when the main power is off, and when the energy level of the system is getting critical.

  • GPIO communication

    Programming is easy for beginners. In most of the cases I2C limitation is the bus capacitance, avoid an extra load on it. There are lot of GPIO ports on the header, and there are 3 options to choose from.

  • Disable communication

    All GPIO ports can be used for other purpose.

  • Reliable connection

    Massive, soldered pin header for power and signal connection. Pogo pins are not reliable.

  • Zero firmware

    Everything is done by hardware.

  • Battery protection

    Reverse polarity and thermal (NTC) protection for saving the battery and increasing its lifespan

  • Shutdown issue handling

    If the power is coming back, when the Raspberry is already in shutdown mode, it can stuck in this state. qUPS is able to handle this situation properly.

  • Safe boot

    If there is power outage when the energy level of the supercapacitor is very low, the Raspberry Pi has not enough time to boot and shutdown properly. In AUTO mode it won’t be powered if energy level is low. This level is adjustable.

  • Avoid restart cycle

    If the qUPS’s energy level is too low in backup mode, it can’t power the system. Without a load, it restores 5V, causing the system to restart repeatedly. In AUTO mode, the qUPS switches off power below an adjustable energy threshold.

  • On mode – fast start & max capacity

    In AUTO mode, the Raspberry Pi doesn’t start immediately, and the supercapacitor’s full capacity isn’t used. ON mode solves these, but safety features are lost.

Parameters – what we have designed

Energy storage device

Battery Type

Li-Ion

LiFePo4

Sodium-Ion

Capacitance

No limit

Charge cycle

1000

3000

5000

Operation temperature range

0..+40˚C

-20..+60˚C

-20..+60˚C

Expected operating time with Rapsberry Pi 5 full load (4000mAh)

x min

158 min

x min

Physical parameters

Form factor

Raspberry Pi HAT

Stackable

Yes

Replaceable battery

Yes
Electric parameters

Charging current

1A or 2A (adjustable)

Maximum discharge current

7,5A

Maximum load current

2,5A

Output voltage

5V

Power supply

Input voltage on main connector

5V

Input voltage on auxiliary connector

6V-28V

Raspberry Pi 5 official power supply (PD) compatible

Yes
Connectors

Main power input

USB-C

Auxillary power input

Yes

Reset

Yes
Communication

Method

3 GPIO port

Number of optional GPIO triplet

3

Disabling option

Yes
Setup

Mode option

AUTO-ON-OFF

Adjustable level threshold

Yes

Adjustable input voltage threshold

Yes
Safety

Reverse polarity protection on auxillary input

Yes

Reserve polarity protection on battery connector

Yes

NTC

Yes
Control

External control of the power of Raspberry Pi

Yes
Indication

Input Power

Yes

Battery reverse polarity

Yes

Supercapacitor voltage level

5 LEDS

Software

Control software

C++ and Python

Documentation – Where you can find more information

Github

More information, user manual and control software (C++ & Python) can be found on Github.

Download the control software
Read the user manual
See information

Images – how it looks like

Resellers – Where can you buy it

Find AQEX Products
Find AQEX Products