Five Leading Causes of UPS Battery

Failure
The bulk of UPS failures can be traced back to a battery failure. Despite the fact that batteries are
prone to premature failure, you don't have to be a victim. We'll go through the top five causes of
early battery failure, as well as how to avoid them.

UPS batteries are electrochemical devices that slowly lose their ability to store and transmit power
over time. When your batteries reach the end of their life cycle, no matter how properly you
manage, store, or use them, they will need to be replaced.

A normal Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery has a three to five-year service life. However, a
battery's life can be influenced by a variety of environmental, chemical, and user-related factors.
These are the main blunders to avoid if you want to get the most life out of your UPS battery.

What Is Battery Life?

Battery life is a metric for battery performance and lifespan that can be measured in a variety of
ways, including run time on a full charge, as measured in milliampere hours by the manufacturer, or
the number of charge cycles until the battery reaches the end of its usable life. A battery's average
lifespan is 3–5 years, but this can vary substantially depending on ambient conditions, the number of
discharge cycles, and proper maintenance.

Batteries can fail for a variety of causes, including incorrect float charge voltage, loose inter-cell links
or connections, electrolyte leakage, high and uneven temperatures, as well as age and neglect.
Because batteries are so important to the operation of your UPS system, battery monitoring and
maintenance should be a top concern.

FACTORS THAT CAUSE PREMATURE BATTERY FAILURE

There is nothing that can be done to keep a battery from approaching the end of its useful life.
However, avoiding the following blunders will help you live longer.

1. Poor storage of unused batteries – Even if a battery isn't utilised, its lifespan starts to dwindle.
Because lead-acid batteries discharge small amounts of energy automatically, this is the case.

We recommend charging a battery every three to four months of storage to extend its life. If you
don't, you could lose your capacity permanently in as little as six months. You can also extend the life
of an unused battery by storing it at a temperature of 50°F (10°C) or less.

2. High ambient temperature – Every battery's rated capacity is calculated at 77°F (25°C) ambient
temperature. Any change, but particularly an increase in temperature, can have an impact on
performance and lifespan. As a general rule, the battery's projected life is reduced by 50% for every
15°F above the recommended ambient temperature. Regular maintenance checks can aid in the
detection of heat hotspots and the verification of proper ventilation.

3. Over-cycling –The discharge cycle occurs when a UPS operates on battery power during a power
outage and recharges the battery for future use. When a battery is placed, it is fully charged and
ready to use. However, each discharge and subsequent recharge diminishes the battery's capacity
gradually.
4. Improper float voltage – The charging voltage ranges for each cell design will be specified by the
battery manufacturer. If a battery is charged outside of these boundaries on a regular basis, it can
suffer serious harm.

Sulfate crystals can form on the battery plates due to undercharging or low voltage. These crystals
will gradually solidify, reducing the battery's usable capacity over time.

Overcharging with a high float voltage can result in excessive hydrogen and oxygen gases, as well as
internal dryout, which, if accelerated, can result in thermal runaway, failure, or even fire and
explosion.

5. Incorrect battery application – UPS batteries are designed exclusively for UPSs, just as other
batteries are for their respective appliances. UPS batteries are designed to provide exceptionally
high energy rates for a limited period of time, usually up to 15 minutes.

Other batteries, such as telecom and switchgear batteries, on the other hand, are meant to run for
extended periods of time, often four to eight hours. If a user runs a telecom programme on a UPS
battery, the battery will be forced to run for considerably longer than it was designed to. The plates
of the battery may overheat and fail as a result of this.

An open circuit is the most common failure mode of a VRLA battery, which is most often caused by
cell dryout. A SERIES linked battery system is often used in UPS systems to supply a high current to
the UPS System DC Bus. If one cell in a string opens, the entire string's current will be disrupted. In
other words, a single faulty battery cell can bring your entire system down.