This mini Raspberry Pi server comes with built in UPS and OLED stats display

The Raspberry Pi is such a versatile platform that can easily power any IoT device with minimal power requirements, yet still retain essential functionality features. Sometimes minimal TDPs do not really matter when there is no power at all, so a UPS could really come in handy, but what if we were able to fit a miniaturized UPS inside a Raspberry Pi-powered server?

We do not actually have to wonder what that would look like, as Michael Klements from The DIY Life already built a working prototype integrating a UPS module plus a mini OLED screen coupled to a Raspbery Pi 4 board, all neatly fit into a 3D printed case with transparent side panels. The board itself features a 32 GB micro SD card for storage and is cooled by a low-profile Ice Tower heatsink with a fan mounted on one of the side panels.

For the UPS, Klements used a GeekPi V5 Plus module in tandem with two 2500 mAh Kiminors Li-Ion rechargeable batteries. The UPS is placed under the Pi board and is connected to the GPIO pins via spring-loaded pogo contacts. A fully charged UPS can provide enough juice to run the server for around 1.5 hours.

There is also that mini OLED screen with a 128 x 64 resolution connected to the I2C interface via GPIO pins. It displays relevant UPS battery stats, plus IP address, CPU load and temp, memory load and available disk space. Both the UPS and the mini OLED screen, as well as the Pi 4 board are powered through the USB-C connector.

Additional storage can be added through the USB-A 3.0 ports easily accessible on the front of the 3D printed case, plus there are more ports on the side. Klements also mentions that the system is using special scripts for automatic shutdown protection when running solely on the UPS. Furthermore, the UPS can also power an external display, but the battery life would significantly be reduced in this case.

Buy the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 8GB board on Amazon