Posts Tagged ‘ups power supply’
APC Batteries – Do They Last Long?
For alot of people / company’s an APC battery is the foundation of their workstation. This is particularly true when your primary ups power supply is, in fact, less than entirely reliable. For instance, people who live in areas where storms are a regular occurrence. The not knowing of how long your APC battery will last, can nonetheless, leave you feeling very vunerable and insecure. To help keep your APC batteries in check we have provided a simple guide for you.
Always play safe, is an important tip to remember when relying on APC batteries to keep your computer, network or work station up and running. What this means is that you should be ready and willing to replace your APC batteries before they expire, and not after.
An APC battery is meant to be used as an emergency power supply, and as such, different rules apply than if you were talking about some double A batteries for your remote control. You can replace your remote control’s batteries when they run out because not being able to change the channel is hardly an emergency situation.
APC batteries need to be replaced regularly just as you would regularly replace the 9 volt battery in your smoke detector, whether you know the battery to be expired or not. It might or might not be expired. If it’s still working, it might save your life in the event of a fire, but if it’s not, then the only way to find out is to have the smoke detector fail to make a sound when there is a fire.
The best way to go about replacing your APC batteries is to use the warranty as a rough guideline. Most APC batteries will last beyond the warranty, simply because that’s the only way to stay in business (you won’t last long in any industry if you find yourself living up to every warranty you issue). Once the warranty runs out, you can usually expect the battery to be reliable for some time after, but it’s wise to replace it as soon as is convenient.
The warranty, then, can be seen as a “minimum possible performance” guideline. An APC battery that is made well, is only guaranteed to last as long as the warranty, but in reality, it will probably outlast the warranty.
Most manufacturers and retailers, that are reputable, will in general, will offer a one year warranty. Some may offer shorter or longer warranties, but one year is generally considered to be as long as the average APC replacement battery should be expected to last with any degree of reliability.
In short, treat your emergency power supply like your emergency safety kit. The batteries in your flashlight might still be okay, but if they’ve been in there for a year, the last thing you want is to find out they’re dead when a hurricane knocks your power out. Have power solutions to hand for your ups system before anything major goes wrong.