If part of your essential IT infrastructure includes an uninterruptible power supply then you are planning already for something unexpected to occur.
A UPS system is there to eliminate the risk of experiencing unpredictable interruptions on your load. To maintain maximum uptime, it is critical to plan UPS battery replacements and carry them out on a regular basis.
We all are aware that UPS batteries don’t last forever. That is why it is so important that that the condition of your batteries be monitored as part of your overall maintenance plan. Servicing on a regular basis allows your service engineer to conduct impedance tests on all of the batteries. This helps to predict when a UPS battery is going to need replacement and makes it possible to schedule replacement in advance without suddenly losing power.
What You Need to Know
When done properly, replacing UPS batteries is an effective and safe procedure. However, there are significant risks that are associated with replacing UPS batters that you need to be aware of.
The UPS can cease to protect the load. Faulty cabling may cause a rectifier or inverter breakdown. Switching to an auxiliary (bypass) supply can leave the load unprotected.
- The possibility of a fault may be increased by electrolyte leakage that is associated with handling the battery improperly.
- Personnel can become seriously injured when electrolyte spillage occurs in areas that surround the battery installation and UPS battery.
- Not using the right PPE also might also result in serious on-site injuries.
- If a battery’s charger calibration is not right there is a risk of explosion, fire, or thermal runaway.
Failing to dispose of batteries in accordance with strict guidelines can result in legal proceedings being brought by the central or local government against the offending party. That can result in heavy financial penalties that must be paid.
Source UPS is a Yuasa Batteries Approved Distributor.
We specialise in integrating batteries within battery replacement safety procedures and UPS equipment and dealing with the data centre fit out.
Our engineers are qualified and experienced to perform battery replacements in all UPS makes and models from IkVA up to ImVA and over. We can carry out the replacement outside or during regular working hours without disrupting the connected load. We can also handle removing old batteries and certified disposal in compliance with the WEEE Directive from the Environmental Agency.
If your UPS has failed batteries, you can stop by our UPS Battery Shop and purchase new batteries online. Or you can contact us today to learn more about our annual UPS maintenance contracts or battery replacement service.
How To Choose Replacement UPS Batteries
After you have identified failing or failed battery blocks, then it is very important for you to consider what the battery set’s overall age is. Battery string or set performance drops to that of the weakest of the battery blocks. Just replacing an individual block might not be cost-effective. Over the long term since performance will be reduced to the next weakest block. That is why it is the norm to replace the complete battery set or battery string.
Whenever you are replacing batteries it is critically important for the new battery configuration to match the one that is being taken out in terms of its DC bus voltage (Vdc). There can be a different battery Ampere-Hour (Ah) if an increase or reduction in back-up time (runtime) is needed. The type of battery (technology) needs to match as well. A sealed lead acid battery set needs to be replaced with another sealed lead acid battery set. If you need to change the type of battery, you might need to reconfigure the UPS firmware to set the appropriate charging regime.