When an online warehouse loses power, it’s not just lights and sockets that go off.

It’s picking, packing, dispatch, scanners, network equipment, and the systems that keep orders moving. If the grid drops and the site can’t stay online, the operation stops immediately.

This is the exact problem we helped solve on a recent warehouse backup project — and the design logic behind it.

The Problem: Warehouses Need Power and Continuity

Most warehouse backup conversations start with battery capacity (kWh).

But in practice, the real failure points are usually:

• Not enough inverter capacity (kVA/kW) to run the site under load

• Poor resilience planning (single point of failure)

• No charging redundancy (solar-only or generator-only)

• Outdoor installs that ignore temperature and safety requirements

The goal isn’t “backup power” as a concept.

The goal is: keep the business operational when the grid can’t be relied on.

The Solution: A Layered Hybrid Backup System

For this site, the right approach was a hybrid system designed around three layers:

1. Instant response when the grid fails (battery + inverter)

2. Sustained runtime through solar charging

3. Guaranteed recovery via generator backup

That combination is what turns a backup system into a resilience system.

What We Built (System Summary)

This pre-built Callidus board was supplied to one of our trusted installers to provide full backup capability to an online warehouse.

⚡ System highlights

Backup power output

• 90 kVA total via 6 × 15 kVA Victron Quattro units
  

Storage

• 180 kWh of PYTES lithium battery storage

• Fully outdoor-rated

• Built-in fire suppression

• Integrated temperature control

Charging sources

• Solar charging

• Generator backup for total resilience

Why This Works: The Design Logic

1) Start With kVA, Not kWh

Warehouses don’t just need energy storage.

They need enough power conversion capacity to actually run the site.

A lot of “backup systems” fail because they have plenty of battery capacity, but the inverter can’t support:

• Start-up surges

• Peaks from multiple loads

• Real world load diversity

By building around 90 kVA of inverter capacity, the system is designed to carry the operational load reliably, not just theoretically.

2) Use Parallel Inverter Architecture for Resilience

Using 6 inverters in parallel isn’t just about scaling.

It’s about reducing risk.

This architecture gives you:

• Better surge handling

• More stable output under changing loads

• A system that can tolerate faults or servicing without total shutdown

Design principle: If uptime matters, avoid single points of failure.

3) Treat Outdoor Battery Installations as a System Risk

Lithium storage is not “fit and forget”, especially outdoors.

This build used fully outdoor-rated battery storage with:

• Temperature control (performance + lifespan)

• Fire suppression (risk mitigation)

• A contained, managed environment

That reduces installation complexity and improves long term reliability.

4) Solar + Generator = Real Continuity

Solar only backup can work, until it doesn’t.

Seasonality, weather, and load spikes can turn “solar resilience” into a runtime gamble.

Generator only backup works but it’s inefficient and can become a single dependency. Never mind the fuel costs.

This is why the system uses:

• Solar as the primary charging pathway

• Generator backup to guarantee recovery and continuity

Mechanism: Batteries handle the instant changeover. Solar extends runtime. The generator prevents the system from ever being trapped in a low state of charge scenario.

What We Did to Solve It

For this project we supplied a pre-built Callidus board to support the installer with:

• Clean system architecture

• Reliable commissioning outcomes

• A faster, smoother install process

• A system designed to stay online under real warehouse conditions

This is the kind of build where design discipline matters because the cost of downtime is higher than the cost of hardware.

The Practical Takeaway

If you’re designing backup power for a warehouse, don’t start with the battery headline.

Start with:

• What must stay running

• The kVA required to run it under real conditions

• How you remove single points of failure

• How the system recharges in worst case conditions