Studio Matrx Monthly · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · July 2026
Amogh N P
 In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary 
Standby battery sizing

Access-Control Battery-Backup Calculator

When the mains fail, the standby battery has to keep your readers, controllers and monitoring alive for as long as your strategy needs. Enter the total system current, the backup hours you want, the battery chemistry and the system voltage to get the required battery Ah, the next standard size to buy, and the real runtime it delivers. Planning figures; runs in your browser.

Battery chemistry (usable capacity)
Batteries are never fully usable and age — we derate to stay honest.
System voltage
Ah is sized at the battery bus — match the battery to this voltage.
0.0 Ah
Required battery capacity @ 12 V
0 Ah
Next standard size
0.0 h
Real runtime it gives
Drawing 4 A for 4 h on a sealed lead-acid (0.7) battery needs about 22.9 Ah. A standard 26 Ah battery covers roughly 4.5 h when new.
Life-safety — read this

Egress must always work. A fail-safe lock on an escape route releases when power — and the battery — run out; that is the correct behaviour for egress. The backup is there to keep readers, controllers and monitoring alive, not to hold a door shut. Never rely on the battery to keep a fail-secure lock locked forever, and never wire a fail-secure lock on an escape door. The building code and fire strategy govern how every egress door must behave.

Planning estimate only — battery capacity falls with age and cold, so a battery that once gave the full runtime will give less after a few years. Replace standby batteries every few years, test the real runtime, and confirm against the battery datasheet. The building code and fire strategy govern egress behaviour.