Why is Preventive Maintenance Important for Industrial UPS Systems?
Just installing a UPS (uninterruptible power system) doesn’t necessarily ensure that a commercial or industrial facility’s equipment is duly protected from distortions and fluctuation in power supply. Engineering and maintenance managers have to make sure that the UPS systems on the facility are regularly tested and maintained too. This will help the installations be in an optimal working condition and all the critical systems will function properly and be well-protected too.
An uninterruptible power system is a series of batteries that maintain power to all the critical pieces of equipment which need to function without any power interruption. This system protects your equipment from frequency variations, voltage variations, transient disturbances and power interruptions.
With constant advancement in technology, a larger number of equipment now need uninterrupted power supply; this makes a reliable and high-quality UPS increasingly vital in any facility. In case a facility loses utility power, it can often take at about 10 seconds/more for the site generators to start-up and their power to get transferred right to the emergency source. Most current day equipment won’t be able to withstand more than a few of these power disruption cycles without shutting down.
UPS Maintenance – Some Facts
Minimising power source disruptions begins during the designing phase. A reliable and consistent power system depends on reliable structuring and high-grade equipment. A UPS should be designed in a way that it protects the high-tech, critical equipment on your facility. Aside from this, the design should allow for planned outages; this enables technicians to perform regular maintenance. There are a number of benefits to this approach:
- Designing a detailed and customised risk management approach and a preventive maintenance program ensures that all the critical services will be available when required.
- When the UPS system is tested at regular intervals, it helps the technicians identify all the potential issues and minimise problems that are caused by crippling power interruptions.
- In the past, it was far more difficult to test a UPS; there was no system via which the technicians could be notified of low battery capacity. This also meant the technicians were unable to pin-point any potential equipment failures until there actually was a loss of utility power.
Today most UPS are modular and certain components of this unit can be replaced without interrupting its full-backup function or the loads required for the intended duration. In short, there is no reason why UPS can’t be regularly tested and maintained.
UPS testing schedules
Regular equipment testing is a very important part of your facility’s UPS maintenance program; this could include:
#1 Quarterly check
All the equipment will be visually checked for burned insulation, loose connections or other regular signs of wear and tear.
#2 Semi-annual check
- Conduct a visual check for contamination from the capacitors and batteries
- Vacuum and clean all the equipment enclosures
- Check the HVAC equipment & performance connected to humidity & temperature
#3 Annual checks
- Thermal scans on the electrical connections to ensure there is no heat generation and that they all are tight. If a loose connection is identified, the technicians will re-torque the system
- A complete operational test of the system will be conducted
#4 Biannual checks
Test circuit breakers, UPS transfer switches and the maintenance bypasses.
If your facility has a generator installed as part of the structure’s emergency power system & feeds the UPS that too would have to be tested on a monthly and quarterly basis. UPS are sized to carry loads for shorter periods of time. However, a backup power generation unit will be required to maintain all critical services. Since every facility is unique and has unique operational needs, the maintenance managers would have to develop a customised maintenance schedule to match those needs.
If you want any information about our power products and services, don’t hesitate to contact us at KaRaTec Power Supply Pty. You can give us a call at 612 9808 1127. You can also fill in this contact us form and we’ll reply as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Karatec Power Supply Pty
612 9808 1127