How To Maintain Your UPS
With the advancement of technology, we have adapted our lives to depend greatly on computers. They hold valuable information and enable us to accomplish great work and communicate with the people we care about. With so much at stake, it makes sense to protect our data in times of power outages or power surges. Losing data can be costly, especially for businesses. A solution for keeping your information safe is to install an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. A UPS is an electronic apparatus that is able to continue transporting power to your computer even when the main power supply has failed. The device stores energy in a battery back up until the time is needed. There are three types of UPS that accommodate various needs. The offline standby UPS is a common variety that is the least expensive and most efficient. It remains in a standby mode until the main power source fails, signaling the device to respond. The UPS then sends the stored energy to your computer or other electronic equipment. A line-interactive UPS is like a standby UPS but has a special transformer that regulates a smoother transition when power from the back up is required. An online UPS is ideal for equipment that is more sensitive to power fluctuations. It is designed to run continuously so that energy is not interrupted and is considered a true uninterruptible power supply. Although it is less efficient because it is running all the time, it is valuable to more critical applications. Considering how important the uninterruptible power supply is, UPS maintenance seems to be a necessity for the upkeep of such a significant apparatus to ensure the quality that it can provide.
Regular UPS maintenance should occur on a regular basis and include several things. Quarterly, your equipment should be visually inspected for any loose connections and signs of wear. A loose connection can create a fire hazard and cause significant damage to your equipment or surrounding facility. Semiannually you should visually check for any leakage coming from batteries and capacitors. You should also vacuum the equipment enclosures and make sure the temperature and humidity device is functioning properly. Annually you should perform a thermal scan on the electrical connections making sure that they are not loose and generating heat, which can indicate a possible problem. Also, at this time, you should run a complete operational test of the system to determine if any battery cells are nearing the end of their productivity. Biannually you should test items such as the transfer switches, maintenance bypasses and circuit breakers to continue with quality UPS maintenance. If a generator is a part of your UPS system, it should also be tested either monthly or quarterly.
UPS maintenance is a good way to protect your data and prolong the life of your equipment. Although a UPS wouldn’t be hard to replace if it were to malfunction, the equipment and information that might be damaged in the process is irreplaceable. It’s important to take care of your investments and run regular UPS maintenances on the devices that are protecting your computer and other electronic apparatuses. When you take the time to properly care for the things you depend on so much, you will find them to be more reliable in helping you to accomplish the things you value most.