Your uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system is the first line of defense for the data center against power fluctuations (spikes, drops, etc.). Because thousands of dollars (or more) of IT equipment relies on a clean power source, you may not be able to afford to take action after a problem occurs. Before your UPS system takes action, preventive maintenance is essential to ensure normal operation Time and protection of sensitive electronic equipment are crucial.
About two-thirds of downtime incidents can be prevented, and insufficient maintenance is one of the main reasons for downtime incidents. You may not be able to do much to deal with malicious attacks, service provider failures, and unforeseen equipment failures, but you can take steps to ensure that many potential downtimes are avoided. The scope of preventive maintenance spans the entire data center system, and each system has its own requirements. In the case of UPS systems, here are a few tips (in no particular order) that can help ensure that power fluctuations do not threaten your IT equipment.
Preventive UPS maintenance skills
1, Put safety first.
Safety of life and body trumps everything. When you are dealing with power problems, a small mistake can cause serious injury or death. Therefore, when dealing with systems related to UPS (or any electronic system in a data center), ensuring safety is the top priority, including following the manufacturer’s recommendations, paying attention to facility-specific implementation rules and standard safety guidelines. If you do not know how to maintain or repair your UPS system or certain aspects, please ask a professional. Even if you know the internal and external conditions of your UPS system, getting external assistance is still a guarantee.
2. Regular maintenance, stick to it.
Preventive maintenance should be performed on a regular basis, especially considering the potential cost of downtime. For your UPS and other systems in the data center, you should arrange regular maintenance activities (annual, semi-annual or any time frame) and adhere to the schedule. This includes keeping a written (paper or electronic) record list, recording upcoming maintenance activities, and whether and when repairs were performed in the past.
3. Keep detailed records.
In addition to regular maintenance, you should also keep records of the contents of the maintenance (for example, cleaning, repairing or replacing certain parts), and the condition of the equipment during the inspection. Cost tracking is also useful, when you need to show the maintenance cost of a few dollars each time, you can avoid thousands or millions of downtime costs. A list of tasks, such as checking battery corrosion, excessive torque on connecting wires, etc., helps maintain an orderly approach. All documentation can help plan the replacement of equipment or UPS In addition to keeping records, be sure to keep them in a location known to and accessible to the staff.
4, perform regular inspections.
Many of the above methods can be applied to almost any part of the data center. It is good practice to perform safe, regular maintenance and keep good records no matter what the data center is in. However, UPS is special, and some tasks can and should be performed regularly by staff (should be familiar with, at least understand the basic operation of UPS). UPS's maintenance tasks include the following important contents:
A. Visually inspect the obstacles of the UPS and battery (or other energy storage) equipment, and cool the surrounding area appropriately.
B. Make sure that there is no abnormal operation or warning on the UPS panel, such as overload or battery close to overdischarge.
C. Check for signs of battery corrosion or other defects.
D. Check the manufacturer’s equipment guidelines and recommendations. You should perform maintenance (or hire a professional to do so), as recommended by the manufacturer, often or at least in some cases, of course, the more frequent the better.
5. Realize that UPS components will fail
This seems obvious: any probability of failure will eventually fail. Critical UPS components, such as batteries and capacitors, will wear out under normal use. Therefore, even if your utility program provides perfect power, your UPS room is completely clean and at a suitable and stable temperature. Everything is running under ideal conditions, and components will still fail. Your UPS system still needs maintenance.
6. When you need service or irregular maintenance, know who to call. During the daily or weekly inspections, problems may occur, and it may not be possible to wait for the next scheduled maintenance. In this case, knowing who to call can greatly reduce stress. In other words, you must identify solid service providers who can provide services when you need them. If you are in the same place where the UPS is placed, and keep good maintenance records, you will be able to provide useful information when the supplier arrives, potentially saving a lot of service time and service fees.
7. Assign tasks. "Shouldn't you check last week?" "No, I think you should." Avoid this mess: When it comes to UPS maintenance, make sure that the appropriate people know their responsibilities. Who checks the equipment every week? Who calls the service provider and annual maintenance? The specific tasks may vary, but when it comes to your UPS system, make sure you know who is responsible for what.
Many UPSmaintenance details are best left to those who know general UPS, and more importantly, understand your UPSimplementation rules. Likewise, safety is of the utmost importance: the voltage in the UPS system is very important, so it is better to spend a few dollars to hire professional personnel instead of risking your life (and secondly, downtime) to repair it yourself. Preventive maintenance is essential to all aspects of the data center, so many of the above tips can be widely applied, but the UPS system needs special attention, because it is a short-term clean power supply for your IT equipment Guarantee. Regular maintenance can easily prevent unexpected downtime events, which are caused by battery or capacitor failure, air filter clogging, welding relay failure, and even hardware outdated. Taking some organized and planned steps now to implement preventive maintenance can avoid many future UPS headaches.
