In this latest edition of the UPS fundamentals eBook, we have provided in-depth sections about battery health management, replacement intervals and life-cycle stages. 

Along with a refresher on the fundamentals of a UPS, we’ll be looking at battery management, battery configuration and charging, as well as installation, environmental and safety considerations.

This eBook is for you, the hands-on, technically-oriented people in a business. To ensure we have a shared understanding of the terminology being used, we’ve included a glossary at the end.

Read the uninterruptible power supply paper, Putting the ‘U’ in UPS, to learn about:

UPS 101 – an overview

  • Battery types
  • Monitoring versus managing

Battery configurations in data centers

  • Battery types
  • Installed form factor

Battery charging regimes

  • Intermittent charging
  • Float service

Failure modes in lead-acid batteries

  • Temperature tolerance
  • Dehydration
  • Thermal runaway
  • Cycling ability
  • Overcharging
  • Under-charging
  • Contamination
  • Typical service life expectations
  • The roll of catalysts

Battery environment and safety considerations

  • Impact of the environment on batteries
  • Impact of batteries on the environment
  • Electrolyte
  • Lead
  • Hazardous gas
  • Carbon footprint
  • Other considerations

Battery cabinets vs. battery racks

  • Battery technology
  • Size
  • Number
  • Location
  • Hazards
  • Electrical considerations
  • Convenience
  • Accessibility
  • Seismic considerations
  • Temperature

VRLA installation and commissioning

  • Impact of the environment on batteries
  • Safety considerations
  • Design considerations
  • Receiving and inspection
  • Testing and Commissioning

Monitoring VRLA state of health

  • Battery health terminology
  • Tools used to indicate battery health

Battery replacement intervals

  • Number of cells in a string
  • Maintenance history
  • Parallel strings
  • Monitoring system/record keeping
  • Downtime
  • Testing

Battery standards

  • Difference between a code and a standard
  • Standards important to users of large battery systems
  • Primary publishers of battery standards
  • Most relevant standards to users of large stationary battery systems

Thermal runaway and thermal walkaway

  • Terminology definitions
  • Conditions leading to thermal runaway and thermal walkaway

Providing clean, quality uninterrupted power means having properly installed, monitored and managed batteries. A UPS is the heart of a data center’s backup power, and a single battery cell within a UPS battery string can create a risk of downtime for data center operations.

Regular maintenance of your batteries is critical to make sure you have backup power when you need it, and avoid the costs and other negative implications of a battery-related outage.

PowerShield is certified to ISO 9001 Quality standard, ISO 14001 Environmental management standard and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety management system certification. An active involvement with the IEEE Stationary Battery Committee ensures PowerShield is at the forefront of the industry, continuously working toward providing smarter battery management solutions.

Fill out the form to download your copy of the UPS battery management technical paper.