UPS SYSTEM AFTER SALES SUPPORT AND SERVICING

Standby Systems has been successfully supplying, maintaining and supporting AROS RIELLO UPS systems all over Southern Africa for over 17 years.

With a wide range of UPS systems from 600 VA to 6,4 million VA (6400 kVA), Standby Systems can support any UPS user, no matter how big or small their UPS needs are, with fast, reliable technical support and services.

Many UPS customers opt for a preventative maintenance contract which guarantees the cheapest after-hours assistance and spare parts availability for the Standby Systems range if UPS units.

With 24/7 UPS emergency support readily available to all regions, these UPS units are capable of being operated in all types of emergency backup applications, from dirty and warm environments in the mining industry for lighting, instrumentation and controls, to home applications for your small PC or electronics backup.

All AROS RIELLO UPS systems that are sold by Standby Systems are backed up with a comprehensive spares parts holding to cover all eventualities.

A UPS makes use of several key components that require periodic replacement:

1.  BATTERY REPLACEMENT

2.  COOLING FAN REPLACEMENT

3.  CAPACITOR REPLACEMENT

1. UPS BACKUP BATTERY

There are a variety of UPS batteries to choose from, but the Valve regulated lead-acid battery, or VRLA battery is the most commonly used battery in 99% of all UPS installations.

These batteries are housed either internally for a short run backup application, or externally for long backup run times.

Usually, the smaller UPS units from 650 VA to 3, 6 and even 10 kVA are available with two types of battery backup chargers.

The internal, short-run, backup time UPS units have a small battery charger as the batteries inside are not very big at all.

When a unit has an external long run-time battery backup, the UPS is manufactured and supplied with a large battery charger to charge the associated big external battery, which is typically housed in a separate battery cabinet or on a stand.

The UPS backup battery is a vital part of the UPS system as it is the source of power to feed the UPS inverter when the power fails and hence keep the connected UPS load running, no matter what happens with the ESKOM power supply.

Battery Life expectancy (Design Life) versus service life

All batteries are designed to last for only so many years and undergo so many power discharges to supply the UPS inverter.

The amount of power time that the battery gives to the inverter each time there is a power failure will also shorten the battery life as each time you take power from a battery you use some of it up.

You can compare a battery to an apple. Each time the battery gives power to the inverter when the mains fails is like taking a small slice off the apple.

So long as you keep the apple cold, it will still last, but the place on the apple where the slice was taken will go dry and hard. So a piece of the apple is gone permanently.

If you leave the apple in the sun, it will not last long at all, but if it's in the fridge, it will last long.

A UPS battery is the same, the higher the temperature it works in, the less life it will have.

As the UPS battery gets older things change inside it, and it slowly goes bad, just like an apple left in the fridge.

Common battery design life expectancy for float use on UPS systems is 3 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years, and 10 years in the sealed battery market which is used in 99.9% of all UPS applications.

Cyclic vs Float Use

IF a UPS battery works every day (this is called cyclic use) to supply backup power during rolling blackouts, the battery will be quickly used up. For a discharge every day, the battery will only last about 300 power failures and then need replacing. Just like if you take a small slice of apple every day, the apple will quickly be used up.

IF a UPS battery works now and again (this is called float use) during occasional power failures or blackouts, the battery will be used up slowly and last for several years. Just like if you take a small slice of apple now and again, the apple will last a long time.

So, in summary, a UPS battery should not be operated in hot temperatures. The ideal is 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. For this reason, car manufacturers put batteries in the boot or behind the firewall to keep them away from the engine heat.

A UPS battery that discharges every day will only last for about 300 power failures and will require more regular replacement.

A UPS battery is a useable item that wears out and does not last forever.

You cannot leave the UPS battery uncharged for too long as it will go bad and you would have to throw it away.

Environmentally friendly batteries

Also, it is essential to remember to be green. There are many battery technologies available for use in a UPS, but a lead-acid sealed VRLA battery is 100% recycled in Africa. None of the others have local recycling facilities and therefore have to be shipped overseas when they are finished, or they end up in a landfill which is very unfriendly to our sensitive natural environment.

A lead-acid battery is kind to the environment when it is used up, like the core of an apple will make compost, a complete green UPS battery backup solution for Africa.

When you use a long backup run-time UPS the battery is usually the highest cost so you must remember to budget a large amount of money to replace the battery.

Depending on the type of VRLA battery, they have different design life expectancies under float application. They are available in 3 to 5 and ten-year design life.

A rule of thumb is that the shorter the time between discharges because of power failures, the shorter the life expectancy. The longer the time between power failures, i.e. battery works less often, the longer the life of the battery.

2. COOLING FANS

All UPS systems use what is called forced cooling. This means that fans are used to remove the hot air generated by the UPS electronics when it is working and replace it with cooler air from outside the UPS box.

Because a UPS generates heat, it cannot be kept in a closed-up cupboard as it will become like a hotbox and, as already discussed, heat damages a battery.

Cooling fans have bearings inside them so they can spin around easily. When the UPS operates in a dirty environment, the dirt will go onto these bearings and damage them more quickly than usual.

All cooling fans inside a UPS need to be replaced about every 4 to 6 years as the bearings wear out. Remember they work all day every day 24/7, 365 days a year.

As with batteries, the better the quality of the fan, the longer the time between changes.

In short, to prevent frequent fan changes, the air that is sucked in should be clean, and the air that blows out should be unobstructed, with at least 300 mm clearance.

3. CAPACITORS

A UPS makes use of capacitors to make the battery charger power clean, so the battery charges with proper battery power, also known as DC power, also called DC caps.

The UPS also uses capacitors to clean the inverter power that is being fed to the load so that the load gets a clean, smooth, Sinewave, AC power supply and is not getting bad power that will damage it — also called AC caps.

A capacitor is built with basic components, such as Aluminium and has a type of oil inside it as well. Over time the oil dries out, and the capacitor doesn't work well. When this happens, the capacitors have to be changed.

If the capacitors are not changed, they will not filter the power, and the battery and the inverter load will be affected.

There is no physical way to tell if a battery needs replacement other than when a UPS service engineer performs technical checks on you UPS. Therefore it is crucial to service your UPS at least every six months.

A capacitor starts drying out from the day of manufacture, so it cannot be kept on the shelf for a long time. Hence, capacitors have a longer delivery time and are not a stock item as they go bad on the shelf. Fortunately, they also fail slowly so it is easily picked up during servicing and can generally be scheduled for replacement at the next service.

Depending on the operating temperature, the UPS is subjected to the Capacitors should last about 8 years before they need replacement.

SUMMARY OF USEABLE UPS PARTS.

Only the UPS battery backup, the UPS fans and the UPS capacitors are useable parts inside a UPS.

Some companies say the power electronic parts such as IGBT's, which are the main components of inverters and battery chargers, need to be replaced. This is an entirely false claim as they can't suffer wear and tear.

To ensure that your UPS inverter load is powered all the time, it is essential to service your UPS at least every six months no matter what size it is.

For small UPS systems that plug into the wall, 650 VA up to 3 kVA, it is far cheaper to drop your unit off at the nearest Standby Systems service centre.

If your UPS is connected directly to your power supply DB, which is the case for all UPS 5 kVA and above, it is necessary to contact Standby Systems to send a service engineer to your installation site to service the UPS and ensure that the useable parts are working and that all the settings inside the UPS are correct.

To locate your nearest technical services outlet contact Standby Systems head office on 011 794 2541 or 011 794 3406

Or leave your details on our Contact form and our technical services experts will gladly contact you.