Any tips for keeping smart home gear stable during outages?

[ZenithDragon]

We’ve had a few random power blips lately, and every time it happens, at least one of my smart devices freaks out like usually the hub or the Wi-Fi switches that lose their settings for no reason. Between scheduled grid maintenance and those unplanned outages, I’m starting to think I need better backup or surge protection for the automation side of things. How’s everyone keeping their systems stable? Are you guys using UPS backups for hubs and routers, or something bigger like whole-home surge protectors? I’m trying to avoid another weekend of reconfiguring everything after a five-second outage.

 

[electr0roy]

Are you guys using UPS backups for hubs and routers, or something bigger like whole-home surge protectors?

yeah, it's important to protect your core network with a UPS. A UPS acts as a battery backup for short term power outages, providing enough time for your router and hub to weather a brief blip without losing power or connectivity.
This prevents the freak out where your switches or bulbs can't find the network when the power suddenly returns.

 

[Braig_Xigbar]

Man, that’s the worst like power flickers always seem to nuke the Wi-Fi switches first. A cheap UPS on your modem and hub usually keeps everything alive long enough to ride out short cuts. If you’re getting frequent blips, adding a whole-home surge protector at the panel might save you some headaches too.

 

[PGB1]

Quite often, after a power failure, there will be a brief period of low voltage while everyones' refrigerators, furnaces, lights, etc. start up at once. It's then followed by a sudden surge. Surge protectors often don't clamp quickly enough to catch it. Electronics die.

The UPS that was mentioned by both people above this post have inverters which do an excellent job of catching the very brief surge that escapes any upstream surge protector. Often these surges last as short as a 1/8 cycle- just enough time to kill an expensive electronic device.

Our home has whole-service surge protection, plus individual surge protectors for any expensive devices. When counting expensive devices, keep in mind cost to replace the electronics in refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, BLDC motor controllers, EV chargers... (My wife calls it "The Dreaded E Word".)

If you're a rich guy, you can use an inverter for the whole house-
I've installed many battery bank powered inverters in the thousands of watts. This is to protect, as an example, a $20,000,000.00 Proton Computed Tomography center drawing 20 Kw or more.

 

[5amuel]

you know, you don't even need a massive UPS for this. a small, 450VA backup is usually under $60 and can keep a router and Hue/SmartThings hub running for an hour. it’s the best insurance you can buy for a smart home