Stability During Blackouts: Trionika's Experience

The traffic business depends on electricity and internet. Not everyone was prepared for the blackouts in October 2022, and this paralyzed operations for some time. This year, there is also a high probability of mass outages. Even without infrastructure strikes, a deficit in the system may arise due to a sharp spike in consumption. 

We invited Trionika — a company that built itself an autonomous office back in 2022 — to share their experience. We asked them about internet connectivity, Starlink, generators, and other essentials. Read on and take note of the useful insights 👇

Power supply: how to choose the right capacity to keep your office running

Mass outages began in October 2022. Were you prepared, or did the office grind to a halt for a while? 

Of course, we had done some preparation for the outages, but we were definitely not fully ready. We were lucky that after COVID, most of our employees had gotten used to remote work, so transitioning to that format after the full-scale war began was relatively easy for us. 

During the October blackouts, most of our staff were already working from home or coming into a coworking space we had rented for them.

What floor is your office on? Do you rent or own the space?

By the time the outages hit, we had already given up our permanent office and moved into a coworking space in Kyiv. About a month later, we acquired a house, made it fully autonomous, and named it the "House of Resilience."

How many workstations do you have, and what are your approximate power needs — how many kW do you need to generate daily? 

At that point, the "House of Resilience" had around 30 workstations. You could also stay overnight if needed — the house had water, gas, a basement as a shelter, a 5 kW generator for outage periods, food, and so on. 

The coworking space could accommodate 10 people and had everything necessary for a productive workday. 

Do you mostly use desktop PCs or laptops? 

All of our employees use laptops.

What else did you need to power besides computers — lighting, appliances?

At the coworking space, that wasn't our responsibility — the landlord handled all of that. At the "House of Resilience," we additionally powered lighting, internet (Starlink), a boiler for heating, and several household appliances: a refrigerator, a security alarm, and so on.

In 2022, IT companies tackled power issues in different ways. The most common solution was an EcoFlow–generator combo. What setup did you go with?

As we mentioned, at the coworking space we didn't have to think about it. They had generators there, and we brought our own batteries and a UPS for Starlink. The batteries were a backup — in case the power went out everywhere or their generator failed and employees needed to charge their devices.

At the house, we ran a petrol generator continuously and used a fiber-optic internet connection. The batteries powered the server room, laptop charging, and kept Starlink, the router, and the heating boiler running.

What batteries did you use?

The batteries were 12V 100Ah. We chose them based on the principle of "the higher the capacity, the longer it runs without recharging." We modified a UPS to work with our battery and connected it to Starlink — there was no other way to hook it up. It ran overnight. We had a second one as a backup, also slightly modified for the batteries.

Did you get the autonomous setup right on the first try, or were there issues after purchasing the equipment? If there were any failures, how much time and money did they cost you?

It wasn't smooth from the start. First, we initially didn't think about the fact that the generator couldn't run at night due to neighbor complaints, so we needed an alternative. As soon as we ran into that problem, we bought batteries — they were sufficient for overnight needs since almost no one stayed in the house at night. But we still needed to keep the boiler running to maintain heat in the building.

Second, we tried to set everything up ourselves at first, and we managed quite a lot. But there were issues we struggled with, so we eventually brought in outside help — for example, properly connecting the boiler to avoid interruptions, and configuring the generator to power everything correctly the moment it kicked on.

Once we'd handled the simpler connections ourselves, we brought in a professional electrician, as we realized the boiler and generator needed to be connected correctly and safely.

Did the generator interfere with work? Was it too loud?

It was kept in a separate dedicated room, so during the day it didn't bother us or the neighbors. 

How much fuel did you stock up on? Were you worried about getting fined for storing it?

The generator wasn't very large — 5 kW, so we didn't need that much petrol. We had 5 canisters of 20 litres each. During the blackouts, we refilled them about 3 or 4 times.

Internet: ensuring a stable connection

IT companies have two options for maintaining uninterrupted internet during outages: fibre optic and satellite internet. Did you go with Starlink?

We had both. We used Starlink much less frequently — only in emergency situations when the wired internet could go down. We had Starlink Gen.

How long did it take from purchasing the terminal to establishing a stable connection?

The terminals were purchased and delivered before the blackouts began. We later bought additional units as backup, knowing there were delivery delays. Eventually, we shared the reserves with the Armed Forces of Ukraine — they needed them more.

What was the average internet speed on work devices?

Starlink

• Under ideal conditions: 80–90 download, 15–20 upload.

• Under normal conditions: 60–70 / 10–15. Starlink requires good weather, no cloud cover, etc.

ISP

• 1 GB/s channel
• Speed on devices capable of handling more than 100 MB was around 560/570 MB.

Did you buy the terminal second-hand or order it from Europe?

We ordered the terminals from Europe. We initially purchased terminals for the company's own needs. Then our charitable foundation "Dopomogator", which we support as sponsors and partners, also procured terminals in Europe for the needs of the Ukrainian military.

In various chats, IT workers often complained about connection drops. Did you have any issues with Starlink?

Yes, a few. Starlink is enough for around 10 people, but if someone joined a meeting and turned on video, the connection could lag for others.

How did you power the Starlink?

Starlink was powered by the generator or a battery overnight.

The cost of going off-grid and plans for the future

Did you calculate how much you spent on ensuring autonomy: the generator, batteries, Starlink, and related equipment?

Honestly, we didn't count it down to the last hryvnia. But we can say that we spent over 250,000 hryvnias on ensuring autonomy. This includes generator rental, battery procurement, and Starlink: hardware plus subscription. We also purchased power banks and new laptop batteries for some employees.

Did you have to repair any equipment?

Fortunately, no.

Did you calculate the cost of 1 kWh from the generator?

No, we didn't calculate that either.

Did you bring in a professional electrician to set up the off-grid office, or did you handle everything yourselves?

Yes, we did. The electrician configured the generator's operation, set up the switchover from the grid to the generator during power outages, and configured the heating system — the building had a gas boiler whose pump needed to be started by the generator.

He also connected batteries to the boiler so the pump could run overnight, and hooked up all the UPS units — modified to use higher-capacity batteries — to power the router and other appliances (the fridge, for example).

What plan are you on for the satellite internet? Have you paused the subscription now, or are you still paying monthly?

We've paused the subscription now, so we're not spending anything on it. Back then, we were paying up to $100 per month.

Are you preparing for potential outages this autumn-winter season? Have you purchased any additional equipment, or will you make do with what you got last year?

Of course, we prepared for outages this season in advance and are already ready for them. This year we won't have an office building — we're renting 2 coworking spaces on 2 sides of Kyiv. These are 2 autonomous offices fully equipped with everything necessary, and they're also safe during air raid alerts, as they have solid shelters. 

Additionally, for those who find it inconvenient to come to the offices or work outside of Kyiv, we reimburse the cost of working at any coworking space or café that suits them, we replace laptop batteries with higher-capacity ones, and provide power banks when needed.

We also have a stock of Starlinks.

What advice would you give to affiliates who are currently preparing for outages? Where should they start? How can they protect themselves from mistakes?

We recommend choosing several workspaces for use during outages, in case something goes wrong at one of them. Every workspace — whether it's at home or in an office — should have a reliable internet connection: fiber optic or other options from a provider that has invested in generators and backup batteries.

We also recommend stocking up on battery packs or power banks that can provide 4–8 hours of backup power. Find an alternative workspace near your home that you can reach quickly: a café, a coworking space, or a resilience hub. 

It's also worth replacing old, low-capacity laptop batteries with new, more powerful ones. And if you plan to work from home — think about how to secure an additional power source: EcoFlow, home generators, and so on.

Thank you to Trionika for sharing such valuable experience. From the photos alone, you can tell their offices have a warm, cozy atmosphere — the kind of place you don't want to leave an hour into the workday.