Daily Battery Monitoring

How Often are Your UPS Batteries Tested?

Proper maintenance and monitoring are vital to preserving the life of batteries in any UPS system. Over 75% of unplanned power outages can be attributed to a battery failure. These battery failures can happen over the course of two weeks or as little as two days. Implementing a daily battery monitoring system will not only enhance the reliability of the data center but also help reduce maintenance costs over the lifetime of the UPS. With daily battery monitoring, a failing battery can be quickly diagnosed and replaced before it strains the remaining “good” batteries in the string. This process will prolong the life of the remaining batteries as well as help to make sure any power outage to a facility will be properly controlled by the UPS system.

While most UPS systems are purchased with a maintenance contract that guarantees semiannual battery testing, the rate at which any battery could begin failing leaves the UPS at risk during the months when the batteries go untested.  During those months, if one or more begin to fail the entire string will begin to over compensate for the failing batteries.  This causes the “good” batteries to lose health and begin failing as well.

What is Daily Battery Monitoring?

In the event of a power failure, knowing the current health of the UPS’s battery string is vital to the data center’s reliability. Daily battery monitoring offers an all-encompassing look at the UPS’s battery string. This should include:

• Ohmic values

• Voltage readings

• String current

• Pilot and ambient temperatures

• Inter-cell resistance

• Float voltage

With an easy to read history chart, a daily battery monitoring system will give your data center the status of the batteries over time, ensuring that the UPS is at full strength.

Proper Battery Maintenance Procedures

Our IEEE 1657 trained technicians will always suggest the proper maintenance procedures to our customers. If 10% of a battery string begins to fail, budget for a full replacement of all the batteries in that string. This is due to the strain exerted on the remaining non-failing batteries. The remaining batteries have now all been compromised and could start failing one after the other quickly after. Any string of batteries is as healthy as the weakest battery

With your data center’s availability on the line, should you settle for anything less than daily battery monitoring?

For more information about how Johnston Technologies, Inc. can help with your Data Center’s Infrastructure, visit our website www.johntech.com.