Executive Summary

• One of the biggest misunderstandings about maintenance is that its primary purpose is to identify and address problems before they develop into failures.
• Chris Cutler, Data Centre BDM for Riello UPS, explains the importance of regular, proactive maintenance.
• This article offers five benefits of maintenance including reduced downtime risk, extended system lifespan, improved efficiency, and more predictable costs

 

While an uninterruptible power supply delivers several important benefits such as power conditioning, its primary role is simple: to provide backup power if there’s a disruption to the mains supply.

So if your UPS system is operating normally with no obvious faults or alarms, it easy to assume that everything is working as it should.

However, that mindset overlooks precisely why regular, proactive maintenance is so important.

A UPS is a piece of complex electrical equipment made up of numerous components and working parts, many of which naturally deteriorate over time. Batteries gradually lose capacity, capacitors age, or fans wear out. The electrical connections can loosen. And the software or firmware will periodically need updating to the latest versions too.

Not every one of these issues will trigger an alarm or become immediately obvious to a data centre operator.

Preventive maintenance isn’t simply about fixing something that’s broken – it’s proactively identifying any potential problems and resolving them before they can develop into something far more serious.

Let’s look at five of the main benefits a proactive approach to UPS maintenance can deliver.

1) Reduced Risk Of Downtime

This is obviously the number one priority for any data centre. A UPS offers that essential safety net against power disruption, but it can only do its job if it’s working correctly when an incident happens. An apparently ‘healthy’ unit during normal day-to-day operations might not work as expected when suddenly called upon to support the critical load.

Regular preventive maintenance visits (PMVs) by fully trained and certified engineers identify any warning signs before they develop into failures. 

A typical PMV includes physical inspections for signs of wear and tear, checking batteries for swelling, corrosion, or leakage, examining the electrical connections, and testing the unit in various operating states. The engineer will also review historical alarms and performance logs. 

It’s the old adage – prevention is better than cure. Minor issues picked up during a planned service visit tend to be much easier, quicker, and less expensive to resolve than a fault that grows into an emergency callout. 

2) Extended UPS Lifespan

A UPS, particularly in a large data centre environment, is a significant capital investment. Operators want to get the most out of the investment by getting as many productive years of service as possible.

A regular maintenance regime helps to achieve that. 

The different components that make up a UPS all have different operating lifespans. Just because one part is approaching the end of its service life, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to replace the full unit.

Capacitors, cooling fans, and batteries are just three examples of components that can be proactively replaced. Indeed, capacitors and fans are often replaced together as part of what is commonly referred to as a UPS overhaul.

Similarly with batteries, as a general rule of thumb Riello UPS would recommend replacing 10-year design life batteries in years seven to eight, while five-year design life models are typically swapped out during years three to four.

Replacing ageing parts before they fail helps to keep the wider UPS system operating reliably for longer.

Such an approach can defer the need to completely replace the UPS, which not only potentially reduces an operator’s capital expenditure, but it also avoids the major disruption of installing a new system.

In short, keeping on top of maintenance plays an essential role in effective UPS lifecycle management. 

3) Improved Energy Efficiency

While system reliability tends to receive the most attention in any discussion regarding UPS maintenance, efficiency is another key part of the equation. 

A data centre UPS is continuously processing electrical power, so what on the face of it are relatively small improvements in efficiency could add up to meaningful savings over the course of a year. 

Engineers can assess the condition and performance of the UPS during a service visit, check components and connections, and if necessary, install the latest firmware updates. Keeping the UPS operating as the manufacturer intended helps ensure it isn’t working ‘harder’ than necessary. 

As data centre operators come under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption and operational costs, a well-maintained UPS can help deliver both reliable performance and efficient operation.

4) Better Budgeting & Predictability

Nobody likes an unexpected repair bill – data centre operators are no exception to that. When a UPS fault happens, costs can quickly add up. Depending on your maintenance coverage, an unexpected failure could mean emergency engineer callouts and paying for replacement parts. More importantly, there’s the potentially much greater financial – and reputational – cost of unplanned downtime.

Proactive preventive maintenance provides a greater sense of predictability. Regular service visits highlight which components might be approaching their end of service life. This allows operators to plan – and budget – for scheduled replacements, rather than being forced into a reactive and probably more expensive emergency response.

Ongoing maintenance contracts also offer greater clarity by clearly setting out agreed response times, whether parts and labour are covered, and other key service level commitments in advance.

That enables operators to plan and budget accordingly, rather than waiting for something to go wrong and asking “how quickly can we fix this?”.

5) Greater Peace Of Mind

When it comes to managing critical equipment such as a UPS, expertise matters. Modern UPS systems are sophisticated items of equipment, so it’s vital that the engineer carrying out a service or repair has the appropriate training and the requisite manufacturer and product-specific knowledge.

A highly competent general maintenance or electrical engineer isn’t necessarily a UPS specialist. Understanding the intricacies of a particular manufacturer or model can make a significant difference when diagnosing faults or carrying out maintenance safely.

Any comprehensive PMV should also leave a clear audit trail, including a detailed post-service report outlining both the condition of the system and any recommended remedial works or actions.

This gives data centre operators a much clearer picture of the current health of their UPS estate, which also helps to inform future maintenance, upgrade, and replacement decisions.

Don’t Wait For Something To Go Wrong…

One of the biggest misunderstandings about maintenance is that its primary purpose is to fix problems. In practice, the best – or should that be most effective – maintenance is often the work that identifies and addresses problems before they develop into failures.

Regular servicing reduces the risk of downtime, extends equipment lifespan, improves efficiency, makes costs more predictable, and provides valuable peace of mind. 

Your UPS might be working perfectly today. But proactive maintenance is the best way to make sure it stays that way.