Frequently Asked Questions

Onsite solar power generation sometimes referred to as “behind the meter” power generation is highly compatible with the Respond! Power System.

Before Respond!, all onsite power had to include an expensive inverter and transformer to convert the DC power generated by solar into 120V AC power. Inverters and transformers are not 100% efficient and some of the power is lost to inefficiency. When using laptop computers, you also need a power supply (the “brick”) to convert AC back to DC power. This is also an inefficient use of power.

The net result is some well-intentioned systems are not as capable as they could be if the design was all DC. There could be over 20% losses due to design inefficiencies.

Respond! can be seen as a tool that enables power engineers to create onsite DC microgrids. In other words, power can go directly from the solar panel to a workstation or battery without the losses incurred using AC designs.

Each charging center is equipped with eight 70W power supplies that each charge three batteries. Each battery requires 200W to fully recharge if they are completely depleted.

Therefore, if you are charging three batteries using one power supply, and if they are completely depleted, it would take approximately 9 hours to recharge them.

Because there are eight power supplies in the Respond! Charging Center, a full complement of 24 fully depleted batteries requires 9 hours.

This feature enables you to recharge using lower-cost, off-peak power in most locations.

If you are charging only one completely depleted battery per power supply, it would take just under 3 hours.

If you have ever tried to connect to a non-reversible port, you know how frustrating it is to fumble around to turn the connector over.

You are probably also aware that your charging cords seem to wear out or your connection ports stop working. Reversibility increases the life of your cords and ports.

If they fail and you want them to be replaced, ours can be easily repaired. We know of other designs where the failed connection can not be repaired and the entire battery product must (expensively) be replaced.

Yes. Here is a video from LI-Cycle introducing you to their recycling business.

An inverter converts DC power to AC power. We use them when you have an application for a legacy product that does not have the option to connect via USB-C.

We do not advise using them to simply create AC power from DC power so users can revert to AC plugs rather than use the USB-C connections. Inverters are expensive and should be specified only when other choices are not practical.

Whenever you connect any device with a battery to a USB-C connection, every battery in the connected devices will synchronize their charging level.

Check with your tax professional to determine the eligibility of your investment.

Each computer uses different amounts of power. Here are some typical specifications on newer laptops:

The LED lights on the face of the QIKPAC CARRY display the operating status of the power system. For a complete explanation regarding operation, go HERE.

It depends on usage, however, the control system inside the QIKPAC battery charges to 90% of the maximum and depletes the battery to 10% of the maximum.

Our 10-90% programming increases the "charge cycles" from a typical consumer value of 500 to a more commercial value of 3000-5000, before capacity drops to 70%

If we assume that batteries are charged 250 business days per year, and 70% capacity takes 3000 charges, then it would take 12 years to reduce capacity to 70%.

This depends on a number of factors.

If your team has older computers that use more power, you need more QIKPAC CARRYs. If your team has newer computer equipment, you need less.

If your team typically uses multiple monitors, you need more QIKPAC CARRYs. If you use single monitors, you need less. For many organizations, an investment in newer single-screen, multiple-window, wide screens might be a consideration. One monitor consumes less power than two.’

We have a blog post devoted to this issue. Go HERE. A careful selection of monitors can save on energy and reduce your investment in batteries and charging facilities.

If your organization uses computers with advanced graphics capabilities, such as might be found in an engineering CAD environment, you might need more QIKPAC CARRYs.

As a starting point, we suggest 1.5 per user. This would enable 1/2 of your team to swap batteries once per day and still use off-peak power for charging. If you charge batteries during peak hours, you are limiting the savings you might realize.

You can do a simple calculation by just considering the differences in cost per Watt-hour (Wh) per user.

Greater savings might be realized if you consider the overall impact on your facility.

In many cases, peak demand in one period (typically a month) determines the electric rates for the next period. Utilities usually record “15-minute data” and look for the highest 15 minute period to set the rate.

If you can reduce peak demand, you reduce the cost of electricity used by every part of your facility, not just the consumption at workstations. Lighting, HVAC, elevators, etc. all consume power. Reducing the rates you pay for power may be financially lucrative.

There are consulting companies that can do modeling of your facility and fold in every aspect of consumption and rate structures.

You can do “what-if” scenarios if you have a model. You can consider the impacts of onsite solar, LED lighting, newer computer equipment, and an entire range of other solutions and options.

Since the Respond! Power System is based on batteries, it will continue to operate as long as there is a sufficient charge in the battery.

If you work in an area where there are frequent or long-duration outages, it may be prudent to invest in extra QIKPAC CARRYs.

Tthe system will provide many of the same benefits as a UPS (Uninterrupatble Power Supply).

Yes. If you contact us we will add a power supply and a cord to your Console Desk.

This solution is useful for situations where there are only one or two desks in service. We can imagine situations such as a home office or classroom where there is easy access to 120V power and a user that also wants power to be portable.

No. Your computer will detect a USB-A connection and indicate that you have insufficient power available.

Always use a USB-C to USB-C cable for connections.

There could be several legitimate reasons.

The wireless phone charger operates using a magnetic field. Not all mobile devices are equipped with internal electronics to use wireless charging.

If you have anything metallic near the charger, it could impact the magnetic field.

Wireless charging also generates heat inside your mobile device. If the device detects overheating it will suspend charging until the device sufficiently cools.

Charging with a cable to our Qikpac Carry is more efficient. Wireless charging is more convenient.

We like the concept of standardizing on one or a few cluster shapes, either 2 or 3 workstations in a cluster, as shown on our Wallies page in the Products Section of this website.

We also suggest that our Candystore products are part of your thinking as tools and supplies for any individual can be kept separate from the cluster. Your employees can use any workstation and have their work tools with them.

Respond! has products that support both approaches equally. Both sizes are supported in our Console Desks, Repoze Lounges, Sectional, Seating, and Configurable Screens.

Obviously, 72” versions provide more workspace and 60” versions allow for more workstation density (better real estate utilization).

The choice might be made by considering the character of the workforce. Organizations that have many employees with multiple monitor workstations might opt to plan with 72” Console Desk versions as the basis for their approach. Organizations that invest in some of the newer widescreen monitors might use 60” versions.

Yes.

Everything in the Respond! product line has been designed with mobility in mind. We put large, 200mm casters on every product to make movement easy and smooth.

Unless you design spaces using overly large cluster shapes, everything can usually fit through a standard doorway without little lifting or carrying required.

We added a hinge to our Wallies products the clusters that can fold for transport or reconfiguration.

We expect some users will rearrange their work area during the workday.

You can specify the color of your Candy from our selection of paint choices because you like something about the appearance of the workstation.

Another way to think about using the colors has to do with Lean Thinking. A Lean expert will use color to indicate something about workflow.

For example, let’s suppose you are designing an accounts receivable workstation. The invoices in a green tray might indicate readiness to be entered into a business system, a yellow tray might have the invoices waiting for matching receiver paperwork, and a red tray might indicate invoices that need discussion with a supplier.

At a glance, a manager can walk through a workgroup and instantly assess the need for more (or less) resources, backups, and issues in the paperwork flow.

In Lean, this is also known as a “Gemba” walk. It is an activity performed by managers to be able to quickly see and react to workflow issues.

The two most impactful places for finishes are on the Console Desk worksurfaces and the upper modules of the Configurable Screens.

We designed our wood components so they can be finished with woodgrain or solid color appearance. We put these into families suggesting they could be mixed into the same workplace.

For example, you might use woodgrain on the Console Desks and the solid color on tables. We also expect some designers will mix different woodgrains from the same family in the same layout plan. Or they might mix choices from the Sterling and Nightshade options.

While some of the choices in our Fabric Options and Paint Options are neutrals, the majority are meant to “pop” against the neutrals and metallic finishes found elsewhere in the system. Furthermore, we also paired the contrasting fabrics with a choice in the contrasting paints. We deliberately avoided trying to create direct color matches between materials as slight variations cause problems we want to avoid.