UPS Maintenance Guidelines
To maintain maximum reliability a UPS, like any other electronic device, needs sufficient maintenance in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. A UPS located in harsh environmental environments, on the other hand, will fail even though it is well-maintained.
With companies becoming more dependent on electricity sources, a power outage can cause tremendous damage, not just because of the disruption but also because of the potentially significant loss of time and resources.
Modern power electronics and production methods have resulted in very high-performance UPS systems. Regardless of whether the UPS is monoblock or modular in nature, the device will provide a variety of control and advanced management systems designed to increase operating performance and working life expectancy.
Although some firmware may contain predictive algorithms, the fact remains that uninterruptible power supplies have consumable parts that must be inspected and replaced on a regular basis.
If consumables are not replaced due to continued operation or maintenance budget constraints, the uninterruptible power supply will fail.
So, below we will go over 4 reasons why you should always stay on top of your UPS unit upkeep:
1. Preventing Data Loss
Extremely sensitive loads, such as personal and confidential data stored in data centres and records bureaus, are vulnerable to damaging power supply lags or sags.
Regular maintenance would help to ensure that the UPS continues to provide instant power and that the switchover from mains to UPS is seamless.
2. Improve the Battery’s Health
The primary consumable for a UPS device is the battery collection. This is almost certainly a valve driven lead acid (VRLA) battery.
While lithium UPS batteries are becoming more popular, a VRLA battery is still the most commonly used. When using Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries in a UPS configuration, they run in a state known as “float mode.” The batteries undergo a constant drip charge in float mode to ensure that they stay completely charged.
The batteries discharge while the UPS need battery reserve power for daily short or infrequent long periods. If a battery is exposed to a high number of deep discharges, its life expectancy would be shortened. They are designed to be used as a standby battery and cycling them constantly will deteriorate their efficiency.
When it comes to lead acid batteries, the timeframe for replacement is determined by many variables, including design life, operating room ambient temperature, and the amount of charge and discharge cycles the battery collection has been exposed to.
Batteries can be checked every 6-12 months to provide a reliable estimate of when the battery’s operating life is coming to an end. In order to include a detailed report on the state of the batteries inside the UPS, the review should include impedance and load checking.
The most simple and straightforward way of measuring the health of a UPS battery is battery impedance testing, which measures the resistance provided by a battery in an electrical circuit. This prevents major issues and ensures that bugs are fixed before they become a true threat.
3. Achieve Maximum UPS Efficiency
The capacitors within a UPS must be maintained at the manufacturer’s recommended ambient temperature, humidity, and cleanliness to ensure optimal efficiency over its lifespan.
Maintaining a secure, tidy, clean, and well-lit environment for the UPS, as well as ensuring that all alarms and indicators are properly recorded, monitored, and recorded, would help to improve its efficiency.
A well-planned maintenance schedule would include the replacement of all major components of the UPS installation, including the UPS, batteries, and, if current, generator.
On a servicing tour, the UPS’s critical instruments should be carefully cleaned and tested to ensure proper operation. Meter readings, as well as local and remote monitoring tables, telephone networks, and indicator lights, should be checked, recorded, and validated for accuracy.
The environment around the UPS should then be evaluated, with any obstructions or debris removed, and the optimal operating temperature with proper air ventilation tested, as well as any air filters adjusted as required.
Any critical component corrosion can be observed after a maintenance tour, allowing for the repair or removal of faulty components to be completed before failure happens.
4. Perform Emergency Repairs
Unexpected faults can occur regardless of how well the UPS equipment is cared for, which is why an emergency call out service is essential. Different forms of emergency insurance are often offered at varying rates to accommodate all forms of cover and cost.
Telephone service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A service engineer should be on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and a call-out should be arranged on a certain date. Stock holding quantities can also be disputed and debated.
Since UPS machines are so critical, they must be serviced on a regular basis to ensure that the internal workings of the units and their batteries are in good working order. A well-planned UPS maintenance program will protect the company from failures and costly ad hoc fixes, while simultaneously extending the life of the UPS.