Stubborn Balance Zero: The Hybrid Supercap UPS for
Raspberry Pi Zero
The Perfect Balance of Power Density and Endurance. Engineered for the edge. Balanced for stability.
Why Balance Zero?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 Zero 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.
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 Zero: Design Choices
Hybrid Power. Zero Compromise.
We chose Hybrid Supercapacitor (HSC) technology for its extreme 20,000+ cycle life. It provides the safety and rapid charging of a capacitor with the energy density of a battery—offering a maintenance-free, 10-year power shield for your Pi Zero.
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 450F, 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 Zero: User Interfaces
2x20 pin connector.
Reset.
Potmeter setup.
5V supply & charging.
Input status.
AUTO-ON-OFF.
Level indicators.
Built-in.
Stubborn Balance Zero Pin allocation
Stubborn Balance Zero Technical specs
Download the DatasheetEnergy storage Device
- Energy storage
- Hybrid SuperCap
- Charge cycle
- 50 000
- Operation temp.
- -20..+65 ˚C
- Available capacities
- 450F, 850F, 1100F
- RPi Zero2WH idle*
- 46 min
- RPi Zero2WH full load*
- 13 min
- RPi Zero2WH idle**
- 90 min
- RPi Zero2WH full load**
- 22 min
- RPi Zero2WH idle***
- 105 min
- RPi Zero2WH full load***
- 28 min
* in case of 450F capacitor
** in case of 850F capacitor
*** in case of 1100F capacitor
Physical parameters
- Form factor
- Raspberry Pi Zero HAT
- Dimensions - 450F
- 65x30x21 mm + 11mm header
- Dimensions - 850F
- 65x30x24 mm + 11mm header
- Dimensions - 1100F
- 65x30x24 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
Stubborn Balance Zero Manuals & Resources
Github
More information, user manual and control software (C++ & Python) can be found on Github.
Stubborn Balance Zero Gallery
