Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems are critical for providing power to the telecommunications industry, and it?s no secret that the battery in a UPS system is easily the most important part! Practicing good UPS battery maintenance is the best way to make sure that your UPS doesn?t fail — so let?s take a look at some of the best tips for UPS battery maintenance and battery replacement:

• Remember that smaller UPSs and larger UPSs are going to differ simply because of size; as the system itself gets larger, it gets more complicated to increase the battery capacity and support its applications. Make sure to monitor each battery in the string for larger UPSs in order to identify possible problems before that one battery causes issues in the others.
• It?s best to have a schedule for charging your batteries, even if you aren?t using them regularly. Letting batteries sit around unused, and without being charged, causes the battery life to decrease. Try to recharge UPS batteries every three or four months that they?re in storage.
• And speaking of storage, keeping UPS batteries at a nice, cool temperature of 50 degrees (F) or lower will help extend the shelf life if the batteries aren?t being used. UPS battery replacements should always be checked for capacity if they’ve been stored for a long time.
• Even though UPS batteries are designed and tested to discharge and recharge at least 100 times before kicking the can, it?s common for batteries to start losing some of their charging capacity after just a dozen or so discharges. You?ll want to look for batteries that are designed with a long run-time; even if they?re a little more expensive, it?s definitely worth the investment.
• And finally, the typical UPS battery lasts anywhere between three and five years. Make sure you?re keeping track of when your batteries need to be replaced, and never let them go over five years without having a UPS replacement battery or UPS back up battery on hand!