UPS BATTERIES

There are primarily two kinds of batteries used in UPSs — valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA), also known as sealed or maintenance-free, and wet-cell (also called flooded-cell). VRLA batteries usually have lower up-front costs but have a shorter lifetime than wet-cell, usually around five years. Wet-cell batteries require more advanced maintenance but have a longer lifetime, up to 20 years.

	*UPS Batteries* VRLA batteries are sealed, usually within polypropylene plastic. They were developed because they have the advantage of containing no sloshing liquid that might leak or drip out when inverted or handled roughly. The term valve-regulated refers to the method of gas release. A VRLA battery is distinguished from a flooded-cell battery by the rate at which oxygen is evolved from the positive plate and diffused to the negative plate, ultimately forming water. This rate is several orders of magnitude faster than a flooded-cell battery. Because water can’t be added, its recombination is critical to the life and health of a VRLA battery. Any factor that increases the evaporation rate or water loss—such as ambient temperature and heat from the charging current—reduces the battery life.
	*Switchgear and Control* Wet-cell/flooded-cell batteries have thick lead-based plates that are flooded with an acid electrolyte. This is a highly reliable design — failures normally don’t occur until halfway through their 20-year pro-rated life, at which time the failure mode is most often a short circuit. This situation is not an extreme emergency because any one shorted cell only affects overall reserve time by a very small percentage. However, while they’re very reliable with a long life, there are downsides to wet-cell batteries. They require more safety measures and a space-consuming separate battery room to use.
	*Battery Racks* Eaton's racks and enclosures enable you to store, cool, power, manage and secure your critical IT equipment. Perfect for Data Centers! Available in a variety of heights, depths and widths, Eaton’s fully welded enclosures also offer a wide array of accessories to meet the specific storage requirements of virtually all IT equipment. At Eaton, we work to future-proof your data center with enclosures configured your way!