Stubborn Balance Lite logo

Stubborn Balance Lite: The Hybrid Supercap UPS for
Raspberry Pi

The Perfect Balance of Power Density and Endurance. Engineered for the edge. Balanced for stability.

Why Balance Lite?

Tough Tech. True Balance.

Stop babysitting your power supply. Standard UPS solutions rely on batteries that are the "weakest link"—they degrade in heat, swell over time, and eventually fail when you need them most. The Stubborn Balance Lite was engineered to break this cycle.

Industrial Resilience meets High Capacity. By utilizing Hybrid Supercapacitor (HSC) technology, we’ve found the perfect equilibrium. You get the high energy density needed to bridge power gaps, combined with the rugged durability of a capacitor.

Close-up view of the Stubborn Balance Lite UPS HAT assembled on top of the Raspberry Pi

Thermal Endurance

While Li-Po batteries struggle above 40°C, our HSC chemistry remains stable in extreme environments.

Decade-Long Service

Built for 24/7 industrial uptime with a lifespan that matches your hardware, not just a single season.

Safety Without Compromise:

Inherently safer than lithium-ion cells—no thermal runaway, no swelling, no fire risk.

Stubborn Balance Lite: Design Choices

Dual-Stage Efficiency

Offline Topology: Near-zero energy loss during normal operation. High-Efficiency Boost: Advanced converter technology extracts every second of backup time from the energy storage when it's needed most.

Built to Last

Hardware-only control. No jumpers, no firmware, no complex setup. It works immediately.

Solid Connection

Massive, soldered 40-pin header. No pogo-pins, reliability isn't a gamble.

Anti-Stuck Shutdown

Eliminates 'zombie states.' If power returns during shutdown, the hardware forces a power cycle to ensure a clean reboot.

5V USB-C Optimized

Simplified power path for standard setups. Cooler operation, lower cost.

Direct GPIO Signaling

Easy programming. Avoids extra load on the capacitance-limited I2C bus. Uses only 3 dedicated GPIO ports for clean, instant status signaling.

Silent Watchdog

Alerts your Raspberry Pi on power loss and low battery for graceful shutdown.

No Restart Loops

Prevents infinite boot cycles by waiting for a safe power threshold.

Stacked Power

Keeps all GPIO pins accessible for other boards.

Avoid SD Corruption

Prevents file system damage. RPi only powers when sufficient time is available for a graceful power cycle.

Scalable Protection

Tailor the backup time to your needs. Available in 850F and 1100F configurations. Choose your capacity to match everything from minor glitches to heavy-duty edge computing.

Manual Override

High-Performance "ON" Mode: Instant power-up and maximum capacity for power users. Note: Safety features are lost in this mode.

Stubborn Balance Lite: User Interfaces

Top view of the Stubborn Balance Lite UPS HAT for Pi
1
2
3
4
7
6
5
8
Pi Header2x20 pin header for Pi connection
ResetButton or any external contact can be used.
Input ThresholdPotmeter for input threshold setup.
USB-C Power5V supply and charging port.
Feedback LEDsBattery Level Indicators.
Mode SelectorAUTO-ON-OFF logic control.
Power LEDInput power status indicator.
HSC Capacitor Built-in.
1
PI HEADER

2x20 pin connector.

2
RESET

Reset.

3
INPUT THRESHOLD

Potmeter setup.

4
USB-C POWER

5V supply & charging.

5
POWER LED

Input status.

6
MODE SELECTOR

AUTO-ON-OFF.

7
FEEDBACK LEDS

Level indicators.

8
HSC Capacitor

Built-in.

Stubborn Balance Lite Pin allocation

13579 1113151719 2123252729 3133353739
2468101214
16
Power Good / GPIO 23 Input: External power status.
18
Limit Low / GPIO 24 Input: Low battery warning.
20
22
Shutdown / GPIO 25 Output: OS Halt confirmation.
24262830 3234363840

Stubborn Balance Lite Technical specs

Energy storage Device

Energy storage
Hybrid SuperCap
Charge cycle
50 000
Operation temp.
-20..+65 ˚C
Available capacities
850F
RPi4 idle*
41 min
RPi4 full load*
14 min
RPi5 idle*
28 min
RPi5 full load*
13 min

* in case of 850F capacitor

Physical parameters

Form factor
Raspberry Pi HAT
Dimensions
65x56x15 mm + 11mm header
Stackable
Replaceable SuperCap

Electric parameters

Charging current
2A
Maximum discharge current
7.5A
Maximum load current
3.5A
Output voltage
5V

Power Supply

Main Input (USB-C)
5V
Auxiliary Input
USB PD (RPi5)

Communication

Method
3 GPIO port
GPIO port allocation
1 option
Disabling option

Connectors

Main power input
USB-C
Auxillary power input
Reset

Setup

Mode options
AUTO-ON-OFF
Adjustable level threshold
Adjustable input voltage threshold

Control

External control of the power of Raspberry Pi

Indication

Input Power
Battery voltage level
4 LEDs

Software

Control software
C++ & Python
Open source
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Stubborn Balance Lite Manuals & Resources

Stubborn Balance Lite 3D view & Model

Download STEP model

Stubborn Balance Lite Purchase Options