TECH TALK
Ensure your
power backup
doesn’t let
you down
UPS systems with a battery backup
can be a business lifesaver in the event
of power failure. Ignoring the planning,
installation and maintenance required
for such systems can be a costly mistake,
explains Kevin Norris, Consulting
Solutions Architect at the Jasco Group.
P
ower problems are a reality in
South Africa for the foreseeable
future, and many organisations
have implemented solutions to
minimise downtime and ensure
business continuity. One of the most
common solutions that people turn to
is the use of an uninterrupted power
supply (UPS) with battery backup.
UPS systems can provide enough time
to safely shut down equipment that
may be damaged by sudden power
cuts, they can provide continued
power supply to the load while a
transfer from utility supply to standby
generator power takes place, or they
can supply the extended backup time
required for the duration of the power
failure itself. Essential to the success or
failure of a UPS system, however, is the
battery bank.
Unfortunately, many organisations
fail to take into account the specific
planning, installation and maintenance
required by batteries in standby mode,
to ensure that they deliver the required
power to the load, and don’t fail when
they are needed the most.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Battery systems need to be engineered
to the type of application they are being
utilised for; for example, you cannot use
just any battery off the shelf for UPS
applications. Batteries need to meet the
demanding requirements of a standby
power environment.
Typical standby batteries, called deep-
cycle batteries, need to be charged
according to the manufacturer’s
specifications. As most modern-
day battery systems are of the
maintenance-free type, your quickest
typical recharge time is approximately
10 hours. This is usually the fastest
recharge time one can expect, and
most average UPS systems have a
slower recharge time. One of the design
requirements for a battery system is to
establish how much backup time the
customer requires and how much time
they need for the battery to recharge
back to full capacity, based on the
type of UPS being specified. Once
this has been established, there are
three fundamental conditions that will
directly affect the life span of a
battery system:
Temperature
Most standby batteries are performance
rated at 20ºC. For every 10ºC that the
battery operates at above the 20ºC
mark, a half-life ageing takes place. For
example, the most common standby
battery used in UPS applications has
a specified lifespan of 3–5 years;
however, if it is operated at an average
temperature of 30ºC, the life-span
reduces to between 18 months and
“For applications
where uptime is
mission critical, it
is recommended
that a permanent
online monitoring
solution be
installed on all
batteries.
www.intelligentcio.com