How To Extend The LifeSpan Of Your UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) Battery

Recently my customer called me regarding long beeps of sound in their office. They thought it was their printer because they have recently just change the toner for their laser printer and was afraid that somehow they may have broken something.

To ensure that the printer was working fine, they did some test prints on the printer and it seems that it prints out alright, perfect quality everytime. However, the long beep happens again. They printed again. It sounds again. They remove the toners, shake it, put them back, test print, and it beeps again.

After half-a-day of meddling, they called for me to go to their Tuas office to check for them. So I went.

I think a test print on the printer, and yes, there is a loud and continuous beep that seems to emit from the printer, but that tone don’t sound like it is from the printer, especially a Samsung printer which we have been selling so many of it.

I went to the printer this time and ask somebody to test print something, and the beep happens again, and there, I noticed, that the LED indicator on their UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) turns red and when it turns red, the long beeping sound appears.

That sound did not come from the printer, it came from the UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply), which is located under the desk where they placed their printer!!

I looked at the UPS closer and the indicator signals that during that time, it was actually under-voltage, and that’s why it beeps!!

I looked at all the connections and found that someone has reconnect the printer power source to the UPS output socket, meaning that the UPS is actually powering the printer itself!! This is a definite no-no because by doing so, it’ll drain the power from the UPS battery very fast and it cause the battery to have a very much shorter lifespan.

I asked and they told me probably their CCTV cable cable guys have swiped the cables without bothering when it came from and where the power is going to.

So, just to share the knowledge with you, if you want to extend the lifespan of your UPS battery, you must at least do the following:-

1. Make sure that you keep your APC UPS in a dry location with plenty of ventilation. Leave roughly one to two inches on each side for proper airflow.
2. Keep your UPS in a cool temperature. Ideally, the temperature where your UPS is kept should not exceed 75° F (24° C). As a guideline, every 8 Deg C (15 Deg F) rise in temperature will cut the battery life in half. A battery which would last for 6 years at 24 Deg C (75 Deg F), will only be good for 3 years if operated at 33 Deg C (95 Deg F). Do note that the battery temperature inside your UPS will always be warmer than the ambient temperature of the location where the UPS is installed.
3. Only perform runtime calibrations on your UPS one or two times a year, if necessary. Consistently performing battery calibrations can significantly decrease the life expectancy of your UPS battery.
4. If you buy UPS batteries for spare, make sure you do not store the  batteries for extended periods of time. New batteries can be stored for 6 to 12 months from date of purchase. After this period, the battery should be used or it will lose a great deal of its charge . It is not advisable to store batteries that have already been in use.
5. Do not utilize your UPS above 80% of its rate capacity. Once you exceed it, your runtime battery life will be shorten and if there is a power failure, a fully loaded UPS will drain and discharge much faster, and the lifespan of the batteries will also be shorten.
6. The final point, and most important one, NEVER connect your laser printer to your UPS battery backup outlets. You MUST connect them to the “surge-only” outlets of your UPS. If you do not have a “surge-only” outlet, consider getting a separate surge suppressor for your printer.

If you do not have a UPS or if your UPS do not have a “surge-only” outlet, do contact us to purchase at least one for your computers.

1. 4 Tips For Maintaining Your Servers | Consulting Mate says:

   November 15, 2016 at 12:48 am

   [...] then the connected devices will also fail. You can see how to protect the life of your UPS systems here. You will also want to perform maintenance on your UPS systems as well to prevent any inadvertent [...]

   Reply
2. Ryan says:

   June 20, 2017 at 4:47 pm

   One good factor to be considered is the temperature. If the UPS is enclosed in a small storage then this will result in overheating that might cause disturbance in work or even fire. Best to keep your UPS well-ventilated to avoid early damages.

   Reply
   • Pacific LANWorks says:

     August 23, 2017 at 11:25 am

     You’re right. Thanks for the comment.

     Reply
3. madhu says:

   August 18, 2017 at 2:54 am

   Can I put extra visual indication light for low battery? If yes, hot to put,

   Thanks
   Madhu

   Reply
   • Pacific LANWorks says:

     August 23, 2017 at 11:24 am

     Usually there are LED indicators on the UPS to show you the status of the battery, there is no need to purchase any other visual indication.
     Also, if you get those SMART UPS, there are software that comes with the UPS which you can then use to monitor the status of the battery.
     Last but not least, yes, for some commercial types of UPS, you can purchase additional monitoring tools to monitor the UPS.

     Reply