Sunday, March 14 is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time in the United States. At 2am, our computer connected clocks, cable boxes, and cell phones will all "spring forward" an hour for the summer months. Any other timepieces we have may have to be manually reset.
We are often encouraged to check the batteries in our smoke detectors and fire alarms at this time of year, but it is also a good reminder to check the batteries in your UPS system.
UPS batteries are made to be recharged by the system when power is coming through from your utility. However, over time they will gradually lose the ability to hold that charge, and you have only two ways of finding out. You can do a battery test on the unit regularly (like when you reset you clocks) or you can have it fail when the power goes out.
Regular testing of the UPS is easy and takes only a few moments. The exact procedure is usually given in the manual that came with it. If you've lost the manual, you can probably find one online these days ( if your UPS is so old that the manual is no longer online, you need to replace the batteries, if not the whole UPS).
Testing and inspection can also reveal other problems with the UPS that come from age, and can be a potential shock or fire hazard. It's a good idea to check it at least as often as you do your smoke detectors. |
