How important is the technology of a battery supplying my UPS?

When buying a UPS, the battery it is supplied with, and the technology of the battery used, are as important as the build quality of the UPS. Many types of batteries are used recklessly by some of the “UPS, inverter, solar and backup power experts” that have evolved since ESKOM started falling apart in the 2000s. Unfortunately, many people have been caught when buying cheap “solutions” which are supplied with the wrong or second-rate battery solution. 

Automotive batteries, Nicad batteries, forklift batteries, 200AH gel batteries, lithium Ion or Lithium Iron, Phosphate batteries, and the ever-popular “Deep Cycle” are amongst the favourite buzz words used by these modern-day, technically uneducated UPS inverter, solar and backup power cowboys, in the South African market today, of which there are now thousands.

The main problem is they are not able to support the rubbish they sell when it breaks. They are essentially just trading-houses, opening and closing down businesses continuously. 

At Standby Systems, we get many an unhappy buyer who has been caught by these UPS cowboys with their cheap pricing and empty promises of years of warranties and the rest.

1. AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES /FORKLIFT BATTERIES – The automotive and semi-sealed batteries, although widely used by ignorant UPS companies and suppliers as they are cheap, are a definite NO GO when it comes to UPS units. If used in an emergency power application like a UPS, they come with serious legal and insurance consequences if a person is electrocuted by them and killed or if the battery catches fire and the building burns down.
2. NICAD BATTERIES – NO GO – They cannot be recycled in Africa and must go back overseas at huge expense to get recycled at end-of-life. Who will pay for this? The end-user will become the victim here.
3. LITHIUM BATTERIES – BIG NO GO – They cannot be recycled in Africa and must go back overseas at huge expense to get recycled at end-of-life. Who will pay for this? The end-user will become the victim here. Furthermore, the international NICAD facilities to perform this recycling are also very limited.
4. GEL BATTERIES – NO GO – Gel batteries are designed for a slow, long, deep discharge in Telecommunications applications. A UPS is a high rate, high power application making GEL technology very inefficient and expensive to use on a UPS.
5. HIGH- RATE LEAD ACID BATTERY – THE BEST AND SAFEST CHOICE FOR A UPS, INVERTER, OR EMERGENCY BACKUP SYSTEM. High-rate batteries are maintenance-free, designed specifically for use in UPS float applications, and use Valve Regulated Lead Acid technology, which is 100% recyclable in South Africa. This means there is no additional cost to the user. Instead, there is a lead scrap rebate, a plus for the user at the end of the battery life.
6. SEALED, ABSORBED GLASS MATT, LEAD ACID BATTERY – EASILY USED IN A UPS.
   These batteries are more general purpose and lower rate batteries but can be used effectively in a UPS as per the positives of number 5 above.
7. VENTED LEAD ACID – This is a good battery and is easily used with a UPS. However, it has a very high maintenance cost as it requires the following:

• Rigorous maintenance
• Battery room with specialised fittings for lights, etc., to work in an explosive environment created by the hydrogen it generates.
• Emergency showers, bund walls, and many other things make it a very uneconomical choice when sealed technology is available.