Battery Life of the UPS
The service life of a UPS battery depends on factors such as the operating environment, maintenance, and how the company treats its older UPS units. If the efficiency of the UPS is low, the capacity is insufficient, or if it’s exposed to poor conditions like high temperatures, excessive dust, or humidity, the battery life will be shortened. Inadequate maintenance also significantly reduces battery life.
Typically, the maintenance-free batteries used in UPS systems have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years. However, some models are designed to last longer, with lifespans ranging from 8 to 10 years, and in some cases, even over 20 years. Under normal, proper use and regular monthly discharge for maintenance, a UPS battery can last 5 to 8 years. After that period, its capacity will decline significantly, and it may be time to replace the battery.
Proper Use and Maintenance of a UPS
1. Environmental Requirements
- The UPS should be placed in a stable position, ensuring enough ventilation space between the chassis and the surrounding walls.
- Keep the UPS away from heat sources, direct sunlight, and ensure it is in an environment with normal temperature and humidity. The room should also be kept clean to avoid corrosion.
- Avoid overloading the UPS. To extend its service life, it should not run at full load for long periods. For backup UPS systems, the load should be between 60% and 70% of the rated power, and for online UPS systems, between 70% and 80%.
- Ensure the UPS has effective lightning and grounding protection. UPS systems are vulnerable to lightning strikes due to the sensitive electronic components like CMOS modules and control CPUs. Even with good shielding and grounding, power and communication lines should still have lightning and overvoltage protection.
2. Usage and Maintenance Tips
- Do not connect inductive loads to the UPS output. Always follow the product manual’s instructions to ensure the live wire, neutral wire, and ground wire are correctly connected. Do not change their order.
- Follow the proper startup and shutdown sequence. Sudden changes in load can cause significant fluctuations in the UPS output voltage, leading to improper operation.
- Avoid frequent power cycling of the UPS. After turning it off, wait at least 6 seconds before turning it back on. Failing to do so can cause a failure to start, where neither mains nor inverter output is available.
- Although UPS systems generally have battery discharge protection, the battery may recover some voltage after a shutdown. However, it should not be restarted immediately, as this could cause over-discharge. Ensure the battery is fully recharged before use.
- A new UPS or one that has been stored for some time must be charged before use to guarantee sufficient backup time.
- If the UPS is not exposed to power failures for an extended period, it should be discharged every 3 to 6 months and then recharged. This helps prolong battery life and prevents damage to both the UPS unit and the battery.
- Regular maintenance is essential. This includes cleaning dust from the unit, measuring battery voltage, checking fan operation, and adjusting UPS system parameters.