3 Tips to get the most out of your Single Phase UPS investment

It is not
uncommon for IT Managers that install small rack and tower UPS equipment throughout a facility
to pay less attention to the maintenance and service of that
equipment when its out of site and away form the main data center or
network closet.  Relying on the users to report alarms or
potential problems puts the organization at risk for an untimely
failure.  

With proper
maintenance and service of your small UPS equipment, the life cycle
of your UPS can be lengthened and up-time can be preserved. Most
small UPS equipment manufactured in the past few years includes
easy-to-read alphanumeric displays that provide critical information
such as battery life and real-time status updates.  

However, those
displays, while user friendly, are less effective when they cannot be
seen or are not being watched. In those cases, consider managing your UPS remotely by
installing a network management card in the UPS and connecting it to
the network. This allows real time updates to be pushed to a
centralized interface.  In addition to push notifications, your
equipment can be remotely managed so you can shut down or reboot the
UPS remotely.  These centralized management and monitoring
capabilities place control of remotely installed equipment
back in the hands of the IT Manager.    

Below are some
specific suggestions for managing your Single Phase UPS equipment to
optimize life cycle and reduce overall cost of ownership.
Please feel free to contact
me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Guy Lacerte

Power
Solutions, LLC 

86 21 5859 8677 ext. 702

glacerte@alphaenertech.com

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SMALL UPS EQUIPMENT – REPAIR OR REPLACE
When do you replace the batteries and when do you replace the whole
UPS?   

Frequently considered disposable, small UPS units (6kVA and under) are
often tucked away under a desk or in a closet out of site and,
frequently, out of mind – until there is an untimely failure.

Keeping track of
battery life and replacing aging batteries is the key to preserving
run time in the event of an outage. While the exact duration varies
upon environmental conditions and usage, most single phase UPS
equipment has a battery life of 3-4 years. With some smaller single
phase UPS equipment (3kVA and less), it’s often more cost effective
to replace the UPS when the batteries
reach the end of their useful life.  

For larger UPS
units and extended run battery frames, replacement battery cartridges
are available to allow users to easily replace batteries.

However, before
you replace your UPS or batteries, it is important to take a look at
how the demands on your power equipment may have changed since
original purchase. Its possible that your requirements are different
now and a one for one replacement may not be the best option for your
organization. Has your overall load size increased? What about your
run-time needs? Have you migrated some of your servers off-site or to
the cloud making your networking equipment more critical?

While individual
UPS units are inexpensive compared to other power and cooling
equipment installed at your site, prolonging the useful life or
ensuring the proper equipment is installed can result in significant
savings over time or in high quantities.

Have
questions?  Contact me