Having a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for the PC is always a good idea, since this device not only protects your precious hardware from electrical problems, but it will help you so that the equipment does not suddenly turn off if there is a cut of light. However, as a device that depends on a battery for its operation, it requires us to take a series of precautions and measures in order to maximize its useful life. In this article we are going to give you a series of tips to take care of a UPS battery so that it lasts in good condition much longer.
The battery of a UPS, like any other battery, is expendable, which means that there comes a time when it has worn out so much that we will have to change it (if the UPS supports changing the battery, of course). UPS manufacturers usually recommend changing the battery after three years of use, but by following a series of guidelines, as a general rule we can keep it in good condition for much longer.
What you should NOT do with the UPS battery
Before telling you what you must do to keep the UPS battery in good condition, we must go into assessing the things that must be avoided, since there are certain things that can spoil its operation by leaps and bounds.
To begin with, you must be aware that a UPS is a backup element , not a battery. With this, what we want to tell you is that it should only come into operation when necessary (that is, when the power goes out) and you should never use it to keep the PC on without being connected to the power, as if it were an external battery. Doing this will unnecessarily drain the battery, since when we have the device connected and working normally, in reality the battery is not working, the UPS bypasses so that the PC works as if it were directly connected to the electrical current and, therefore, , the battery does not suffer any wear.
Another thing you should never do is open the device to access its interior , not even to clean it inside. Even if it is disconnected from the mains, these devices have a large capacity battery and especially high discharge power (if they are able to keep your PC running for several minutes, you can imagine), so it is dangerous to “gut” them. You should only do it in the event that you are going to replace your battery, and in that case make sure you take the utmost care and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter.
The third advice that we are going to give you regarding what you should NOT do is to allow the battery to discharge completely. If the power goes out in your house, the UPS will allow the PC to remain on for a few minutes, but these are not a few minutes in which you can continue using the PC normally, rather it is designed to give you time to pick up the automatics , or to turn off the PC safely to prevent anything from being damaged . If you let the battery run out, its capacity will gradually decrease and it will give you less and less autonomy.
Maintenance tasks that YES you must do
In reality, there is only one maintenance task that is recommended to be done on a PC UPS, regardless of its power, brand or type. As we have mentioned before, when the UPS is working normally, the battery is not working, but the device is bypassing so that the PC works with power from the electrical outlet and not from the battery. For its part, and even if it is not in operation, the battery discharges little by little (just like when you leave a mobile phone or a portable console in a drawer for weeks and when you turn it on the battery is discharged), so there is times when it is necessary to “provoke” a full load of it.
Many UPSs do this automatically (as a general rule, when they detect that the battery is below 90% they perform a full charge autonomously) and you won’t have to worry about anything, but you can also force this to happen in a controlled way and manual.
To do this, with the PC on (or not, depending on how rushed you are, having the PC on is so that the battery drains faster) you must unplug the UPS from the mains so that the battery can start working. Normally, the device will start beeping to warn you, and these beeps will start to be much more frequent (and even continuous) when the battery is low and it has little autonomy; It is at this moment that you should plug it in again so that the battery begins to recharge (and, as we told you in the previous section, you should never let it run down completely).
Simply with this you will have already carried out a battery charge cycle, thus maximizing its useful life. How often should you do this? Once a month or even every two months is more than enough.
