What a Preventive Maintenance Visit on a UPS and backup battery must Include.

UPS Preventive Maintenance Visits are critical in preventing any unnecessary and unwanted power loss to critical UPS inverter loads. The general recommendation is that a UPS should be serviced twice per annum if it is operating in a clean and cool environment, or four times a year if operating in dirtier and uncooled environments.

The purpose of preventative maintenance is to provide a detailed inspection of the unit, which helps identify and rectify any problems before they become a catastrophe and affect the critical inverter loads. Additionally, it allows service engineers to perform firmware and software upgrades to the latest versions issued by the manufacturer, as well as optimising the performance of the UPS and its efficiency.

A UPS preventative maintenance visit should include physical checks inside the UPS unit, including all electrical connections to check for hotspots caused by loose connections. The best way to do this is by using thermal imaging equipment after a hotspot is detected by touch.

During a UPS preventative maintenance procedure, it is important to inspect all breakers, fuses, fans, caps, and communication pins and terminals for correct connection and fitting.

Battery blocks need to be inspected, terminals checked for tightness, and any signs of hotspots, corrosion, or leaks. Battery voltages need to be recorded, and it is recommended that a battery impedance test is done once per year.

UPS service Engineers will also perform mechanical checks on the functionality of the UPS, as well as noting down the UPS unit’s operational condition and all electronic and electrical data.

Additionally, and most importantly, the UPS system service engineer will perform a download, and a full study will be done at the company’s head office by qualified technical personnel to view event history and performance in the history logs and make sure the latest firmware is installed.

Finally, a service report will be filled out recording all UPS data measured, UPS and battery manufacture dates, and serial numbers with any recommendations if any problems are found.