10 tips to extend the service life of UPS power supply

1. Tips for charging UPS for the first time

After purchasing a new UPS, plug the UPS into the 220V mains power grid and charge it for at least 12 hours to ensure that the battery is fully charged. Otherwise, the actual available capacity of the battery will be much lower than the nominal capacity of the battery. If the UPS is not used for a long time, it should be turned on for 24 hours every 2 to 3 months to allow it to be fully charged, and the UPS should be kept in inverter working state for 2 to 3 minutes to ensure the normal life of the battery. Once the UPS is connected to the mains, it will start charging the battery pack. Press the power button for more than 1 second to turn it on, that is, turn on the inverter.

2. Reasonably choose the UPS power supply installation location

A good installation location is very important. The place where the UPS is placed must have good ventilation, be away from water, flammable gases and corrosives, and the ambient temperature must be kept between 0 and 40 degrees. If it is disassembled and used at low temperatures, water droplets may condense. Once the ambient temperature exceeds 25 degrees, the battery life will be shortened by half for every 10 degrees increase. At present, the batteries used in UPS power supplies are generally maintenance-free sealed lead-acid batteries, and the design life is generally 5 years.

UPS power supply should not be placed sideways, and the air inlet and outlet should be kept unobstructed; when connecting the load to the UPS power supply, the load must be turned off first, then the wiring, and then the loads are turned on one by one. It is strictly forbidden to connect inductive loads such as electric and copiers to the UPS power supply to avoid damage. When the UPS power supply is connected to a dedicated socket with an overcurrent protection device, the power socket used should be connected to the protective ground terminal; regardless of whether the input power cord is plugged into the mains socket, the UPS power output may be energized. To make the UPS power supply have no output, the switch must be turned off first, and then the mains supply must be cancelled.

3. Startup and shutdown sequence when using UPS power supply

The correct startup and shutdown sequence should be to turn on the UPS power supply first, and then turn on each load, so as to avoid damage to the UPS caused by the instantaneous current impact during startup. The shutdown sequence is exactly the opposite, and each load should be turned off first and then the UPS. When the city power is interrupted and the UPS is used for power supply, you should save your data and information as soon as possible and then turn off the computer, otherwise using the UPS power supply to work may cause the UPS to over-discharge, thereby shortening the service life of the UPS.

4. UPS power supply cannot be idle for a long time

Excessive discharge of batteries and long-term open circuit and idleness of batteries can increase the internal resistance of batteries and deteriorate the charging and discharging performance. For UPS power supplies that have been idle for a long time, let the UPS power supply use the charging circuit inside the machine to charge for 12 hours before connecting the load. For backup UPS power supplies, it is best to let the UPS power supply work in inverter state for 2 to 3 minutes every month to activate the battery. In addition, it is also necessary to strictly control the charging current of the battery and not exceed the maximum charging current allowed by the battery. Because excessive charging current will shorten the service life of the battery.

5. Use of AC voltage stabilizer

After using UPS power supply, there is no need to add AC voltage stabilizer. If it must be added, it should be added before the UPS power supply, that is, the city power first passes through the AC voltage stabilizer, then through the UPS power supply, and then to the load.

6. Avoid overloading the UPS power supply

When using a UPS power supply, you must also calculate the size of the load to avoid excessive or too small a load. Excessive loads will cause the UPS power supply to work in an overload state for a long time, thereby shortening the service life of the UPS power supply; if the load is too small, the working circuit of the UPS power supply will work in an abnormal state for a long time, which is also harmful to the UPS power supply. The reasonable load should be controlled between 50% and 80%. Practice has shown that it is best to control the output load of the UPS power supply at around 60%, and the reliability is the best. When the UPS power supply is overloaded or the inverter fails, it will switch to bypass mode. At this time, the UPS power supply does not have a backup function, and the power used by the load is directly supplied by the power system.

7. There are some tips for balanced battery charging

The valve-regulated lead-acid batteries (VRLA) currently used in many UPS power supplies have been called maintenance-free batteries from the beginning, which gives users a misunderstanding that this type of battery is both durable and completely maintenance-free. When the battery in the UPS power supply encounters the following situations, the battery should be balanced charged: when the terminal voltage is lower than the rated voltage specified by the battery due to excessive discharge. For a 12V small sealed lead-acid battery, the discharge rated voltage is 10.5V; for a 24V battery pack, the discharge end voltage is 21V; for a 96V battery pack, the discharge rated voltage is 85V. The battery is not charged in time after discharge; the battery is idle for a long time. When the city power is interrupted, the battery that is continuously float-charged will discharge nearly half of its capacity.

8. Don’t use diesel generators

UPS power supply should not be powered by diesel generators, because their frequency often changes suddenly and unstable, affecting the normal operation of the UPS power supply.

9. Pay attention to the safe operation of operators

You should also pay attention to safety when connecting the output power to the UPS. Since the output voltage and current of the UPS are relatively large, you should also pay attention to safety when connecting the output power to prevent electric shock accidents.

When replacing batteries, first turn off the UPS power supply and disconnect it from the mains. Use a screwdriver with an insulated handle. Do not place tools or other metal objects on the battery. When connecting the battery wires, it is normal for small sparks to appear at the joints. This will not harm personal safety or the UPS power supply. Do not short-circuit or reverse the positive and negative poles of the battery. When replacing batteries, it is not advisable to replace them individually. It is best to replace them as a whole. In addition, it is forbidden to use batteries of different amperes and brands in combination.

10. Carry out real-time monitoring

At present, intelligent UPS power supplies all have operable performance characteristics such as communication with microcomputers and program control. Install the corresponding software on the microcomputer, connect the UPS power supply through the serial/parallel port, run the program, and then use the microcomputer to communicate with the UPS power supply. Generally, it has functions such as information query, parameter setting, timing setting, automatic shutdown and alarm. Such as Winpower. Then connect the UPS power supply to the computer through a dedicated serial port control cable, and then communicate through RS232 and RS485 protocols to realize the function of automatic shutdown when there is no mains input and low power. And it can monitor multiple UPS power supplies connected to the serial port at the same time.