You can’t predict downtime, so make sure you have systems in place that you can rely on to prevent disruption. The leading culprit of UPS failure, leading to the consequent downtime of your entire infrastructure, is its batteries.
The 3 main factors that UPS Batteries Fail:
Temperature: Most UPS batteries are lead acid, and the leading cause of UPS battery failure is incorrect temperature or temperature changes. For optimum performance, the ideal temperature for UPS batteries is 72-75ºF. Any variation alters its performance. Increased battery capacity is reached between 72-75ºF but whilst this enhances battery performance, it also reduces the battery life – so there is a fine balance between battery life and battery performance, and it is important this balance is understood and managed correctly
Did you know that your battery life is halved for every for every 46.94ºF temperature rise above the ideal 77ºF! If your battery is operating at 33ºC you are at risk of having your battery life expectancy halved, and with a lead battery life generally being between 3-5 years this can have a significant impact on the life of your battery.
End of Life: Even if all guidelines to maintaining UPS batteries are followed; their natural ability to store and deliver power steadily decreases over time. All batteries require maintenance and eventually need replacing.
Discharge Cycle: During a power failure, your UPS will operate on battery power. When power is restored or the switch to the generator is complete, the battery is recharged for future use. This is called a discharge cycle. Each discharge and subsequent recharge reduces the relative capacity of the battery by a small percentage. The length of the discharge cycle determines the reduction in UPS battery capacity. UPS batteries can only undergo a maximum number of discharge/recharge cycles before the batteries must be replaced.
Battery-Lite uses IEEE 1188 Standards when determining UPS battery maintenance. Because batteries are such critical elements of your standby power system, it is crucial that you are aware of what their operational capacity is and how much deterioration there has been since new. You will also want to know that your batteries are fully charged.
