This article discusses the use of parallel string batteries in high voltage applications but the contents may be considered for any battery voltage.

The subjects discussed in the paper are: -

A) What do we mean by Parallel String Batteries?

B) What do we mean by High Voltage Batteries?

C) History of Parallel String Batteries and Past Problems.

D) How many Parallel Strings in One System?

E) Inter String and Main Cables.

F) Circulating Currents on Charge & Discharge.

G) Differential Currents on Discharge & Recharge.

H) Battery Reliability.

I) Paralleling Batteries of Different Capacities and from Different Manufacturers.

J) Advantages of using Parallel String Batteries.

In a parallel string battery arrangement one string is connected in parallel with another string. It may consist on one additional string or many additional strings. It is not uncommon for a high voltage system supporting a UPS system for 6 strings to be in parallel. Some 48V systems have 50 strings in parallel and in rare cases, even more.

When cells or monoblocs are connected in series the voltage of the system is increased. For example, 2 lead-acid cells of 50Ah each connected in series would be a battery having a nominal voltage of 4V and a capacity of 50Ah.

Fig 1 below shows a simple 2 string arrangement.

National and International standards define High Voltage Batteries as any battery where 60 or more cells are connected in series; i.e. greater than 120V nominal In this paper we consider a parallel battery to be more than one string of cells or monoblocs connected to the same charging source and load over 120V. However, much of the content of this paper may be applied to any battery voltage.

Until VRLA batteries became popular the design philosophy was to use large vented cells and if the required Ah capacity exceeded about 2000Ah, another string was added.

When VRLA AGM product first found its way into the market place, only a few types were available in 2V spiral wound format up to about 25Ah. This capacity was not practical for many applications. In the early 1980’s prismatic types were introduced from 2 or 3 manufacturers from about 6V 50Ah up to 2V 450Ah. However, only about 6 capacity / voltages were available. If demand required a larger Ah capacity then parallel strings were used. Initially this was for 48V Telecom Applications but demand soon required larger capacities for UPS applications.

Design Engineers were concerned about the distribution of cell voltages over a large number of cells connected in series and many UPS batteries required typically in the order of 180 cells. In any string, the current will be the same in all cells providing no inter connections are made. However, with 2 or more strings the current flow and voltage equalisation was a concern because each string may have a different charging and discharging current. It had been shown that for 48V batteries, the current sharing was not a problem. Some early high voltage parallel string batteries had “equalising” connections typically every 20 cells. This proved to be a serious error. See Fig 2, Fig 3, Fig 4 and Fig 5 below illustrate what can go wrong with equalising connections.

Fig 2: Shows Equalising Connectors.

Fig 3: Illustrates what can go wrong when equalising connections are made.

Fig 4 below shows what can happen if a cell goes to open circuit or if an inter connector develops a high resistance which may be due to poor instalation or corrosion etc.

Fig 5: Illustrates the effect of a short circuit cell.

With a large difference in the ohmic value of the two strings the complete battery system would eventually fail because the strings would not have the required charging current.

Equalising connections as shown in Fig 2 above should not be fitted. The only paralleling connections should be fitted to the end of string terminals.

It is fair to say that the industry has learned from its mistakes and equalising connections are no longer fitted.

How many would you like?

The first published Standard stated 4 as a maximum. Why 4? This was the maximum of experience and the industry was cautious following the problems encountered with equalising connections. Today the industry has much more experience and we know that 10 string high voltage batteries are operating without problems.

It is recommended that “daisy chains” are avoided, see Fig 6 below. Note that cable lengths from the charger and to the load are different for each string.

Cable CSA should also be the same from charger to strings and from strings to load.   Fig 6: Avoid “daisy chains”.

Although it is desirable to keep the cable lengths and CSA the same, it has been shown that this is not essential. When the discharge current or recharge currents are high, different voltage drops may occur. On discharge this is not a problem but on charge it is argued that this may result in different string charging voltages which may lead to string “balancing” problems. It is further argues that this is not an issue because as the battery becomes more and more charged, the current reduces and the voltage drop also reduces and the string voltages will stabilise within acceptable limits. Ultimately, the string voltages will equalise and the system will automatically “balance”. Fig 7 below illustrates the “desirable” but not essential situation.

Fig 7: Preferred cabling.

What happens if we have one string discharged and one charged and what will be the value of the current flowing between the strings?

This scenario will occur if one sting has been test discharged and is then reconnected to the other string or strings.

A problem encountered on several occasions has been seen during capacity testing of batteries having parallel strings where each string was tested individually. When one sting (A) was tested it passed the test and then reconnected to other strings but this was before being fully recharged. The second string (B) was then tested and failed. Then string B was reconnected before being fully charged. The third string (C) was tested and this failed.

Evaluation of the test results of this real case showed that in string A no cells failed the test; 3 cells in string B failed; 8 cells in string C failed and all 24 cells in string D failed. It was concluded that because the individual strings were not fully charged prior to being reconnected to the other strings, they progressively drew current from the others which reduced their state of charge. As the tests continued, the situation became more acute to the point that all 24 cells in string D failed the test.

Fig 8: With string A fully charged and string B fully discharged, switch 2 is closed. In a real test the resultant circulating current was 10 x C10 amperes for 0.2 seconds reducing exponentially to 0.2 x C10 amperes after 3h.

Most battery manufacturers would consider a discharge current differential of 10% from string to string to be within acceptable limits However, in real terms any differential of more than 5% should be investigated. On charge, the differentials are less noticeable because of the low currents flowing in the strings but the same 10% differential limits should be considered.

It has been argued that having more than one string will increase the total reliability. Caution has to be made because in a two string configuration, if one string is lost the remaining string may not provide power for even a few seconds. On the other hand, if a single string battery fails the outcome is the same. Even in a 3 string system, for short standby times such as 5 minutes, if one string is lost the remaining 2 strings may not provide any power. In some extreme cases even when using 4 strings, the loss of one string may still result in no available standby time.

There should be no issues with paralleling batteries of different capacities providing the same numbers of cells are in each string. For example a 330 cell string of 175Ah may be paralleled with a 330 cell string of 25Ah giving a total battery system of 330 cells of 200Ah. Some manufacturers may disagree with this practice but in reality, providing the correct float voltage is presented to each string the system will work without problems. On charge, circulating currents are avoided because each string will have the same float voltage applied. On discharge, each string will deliver power to the load in proportion to the capacity. Some small differences may be found because of variations in the internal ohmic value of each string due to connections and connector type.

In a system with strings from different manufacturers, providing each battery type requires the same nominal float voltage, no issues are likely to be experienced. Again, battery manufacturers will discourage this practice but there are many systems, particularly of 48V where it is common practice to parallel different manufacturer’s product. In most cases, the product is not of the same age and not of the same Ah capacity. These systems have been running for many years without problems.  

Advantages include: -

• Better cell or monobloc efficiency which reduces the overall battery cost.

• Better Ah battery efficiency reduces the total battery capacity required which reduces the overall battery cost.

• Easier manual handling at the manufacturing stage which reduces manufacturing costs.

• Easier to handle on site which reduces installation costs.

• Possibility of using monoblocs instead of individual cells which generally reduces cost due to the above reasons.

• Parallel string batteries are generally smaller in physical size which reduces the battery room requirements.

Disadvantages include: -

• More individual units which can, in some instances increases the installation costs due to more inter unit connections having to be made.

• More individual units will increase the maintenance time in checking voltages etc.

This concludes our latest technical blog post, make sure you continue to follow our blog posts for ongoing information and support on a range of battery related subjects and common issues experienced in the field, wether it be for large industrial battery systems or simple maintenance advice for smaller battery applications. We at Blue Box Batteries are available to assist on a wide range of requirements whatever they may be.

Generally we talk about series connected cells or monoblocs and single or parallel connected strings. For example, a modern telecommunication battery system may have 24 lead-acid cells connected in series and 4 strings connected in parallel. This configuration is illustrated in Fig 1 below.

When cells or monoblocs are connected in series the voltage of the system is increased. For example, 2 x 2V lead-acid cells of 50Ah each connected in series would be a battery having a nominal voltage of 4V and a capacity of 50Ah. See FIG 2 below. The same 2 x 2V lead-acid cells of 50Ah each connected in parallel would give a total voltage of 2V and a capacity of 100Ah. See FIG 3 below.

By changing the configuration we can increase the voltage or capacity of a battery system with almost limitless possibilities. However, battery voltages over 1000V are likely to give insulating problems and in practical terms the highest voltage seen in normal commercial use is about 750V. Looking at the capacity, in theory there is no limit to the capacity that can be achieved. There are many examples of parallel connected batteries with a capacity of over 5000Ah.

During charging, for the configuration shown in FIG 4 above, the sum of the currents i1, i2 and i3 would total iT. In an ideal situation we would like the charging currents i1 and i2 to be the same. However, in practice we will always find a difference in the charging currents because cells are never identical in a float charge battery system. As the strings become more charged, the current will reduce to a very low value and the effects of voltage drop will be insignificant. Even in fully charged systems a small difference in charging current may be seen. This will be very small because the charging current will be in the order of mA for most battery systems and accurate measurements are difficult to obtain without special equipment.

During discharging, we cannot expect the current from string 1 to be identical to string 2. A good guide to a healthy battery system would show the discharge currents in string 1 and 2 to be within 5% of each other and 10% is considered to be the normal limit of variability. Anything more than 10% should be investigated.

In an ideal battery system, the cable lengths from the charger to the strings and from the strings to the load should be the same length and the same cross sectional area. This is represented in FIG 5 below. In this way, the volt drop will be very similar and better balancing of the system will be achieved. In practical terms this is not as important as may first be envisaged. During a discharge it is normal that the string currents will be different. At the commencement of the discharge string 1 may have a larger current than string 2 but as the discharge progresses, it is likely that the situation will reverse. In another application, one string may deliver more current than another throughout the discharge. Unless the difference at any time is more than the 10% guideline no corrective action would normally be required.

A further paper titled “Parallel String Batteries in High Voltage Applications” will be published within the near future.

The integrity of any standby power system is reliant on the battery installed, if the battery is degraded then the system will not provide the necessary or expected back up power when required. This can be a serious issue for environments that are reliant on back up power from uninterruptible power supplies, and even critical when emergency lighting is considered. So what causes early life failure in VRLA battery systems and how can maximum service life be achieved? The following offers some of the main causes of life failure that should be understood.

Temperature is possibly the most common cause of life failure in lead acid battery systems, high ambient battery room temperature is a common issue that needs to be addressed within any battery installation environment. Most valve regulated lead acid battery manufacturers will specify a temperature range of 21 to 25 degrees celsius as necessary to achieve optimum service life. For an in depth look at how temperature affects lead acid battery life please refer to our previous blog post How Does Temperature Affect Lead Acid Batteries?.

Batteries that are exposed to over charging can experience excessive gassing, water consumption and grid corrosion causing the battery to fail in a very short amount of time. Sustained over charging can lead to destructive thermal runaway which can cause the battery to rupture and melt.

Not allowing for the battery to return to its charged state will cause the battery to form sulfate on on its lead plates and seriously compromise the batteries performance. Continued undercharging will inevitably lead to failure of the battery altogether. To avoid incorrect charging it is always best to make sure you are using the correct type of charger, rated correctly to suit your battery type.

For lead acid batteries, it is essential to recharge after use. This is because when a battery is discharge the electricity produced is created by the electrolyte converting to sulfate crystals on the plates of the battery. Initially this sulfate is soft and can be reconverted back to electrolyte when the battery is put on recharge. If this recharge is delated by any significant time period then the sulfate will harden and not convert back, this is known as battery sulfation.

All lead acid batteries have a finite number of discharge and recharge cycles, how many cycles a battery system will provide is dependent on the type of battery chemistry being used (for example AGM or Gel) and the depth of discharge of each cycle. The deeper the discharge of each cycle then the less cycles the battery will be able to provide.

For any battery system to operate properly it must first be correctly installed with careful handling and manufacturers installation instructions observed and followed. All manufacturers will issue manuals providing instruction for installation of batteries, it is important to ensure to carry out works using the information provided.

When connecting batteries in series and parallel it is essential to use torque settings as advised by the manufacturer and make this common for each battery connection. Failure to do this can lead to batteries significantly under performing and charging becoming inefficient.

Todays manufacturing processes are highly automated which has lead to genuine manufacturer faults becoming quite uncommon, however the types of deficiencies that can occur include faulty post seal design, paste irregularities (paste lumps causing shorts between plates), case weaknesses and internal connection issues.

Essential battery systems should be regularly checked and maintained to ensure integrity, this can include electrical measurements of each battery and environment observation to ensure ambient temperature, airflow and general battery room conditions are kept suitable and within the manufacturers recommended operating parameters.

We hope you have found the points of consideration raised within this blog article to be useful. As always, if there is any doubt of correct procedure please consult the manufacturers manual applicable to the battery type and range you are installing. The team at Blue Box Batteries are always available to provide this information upon request.

It is well known that all lead-acid batteries will have a shorter life when operated at a higher temperature. This is the case no matter what type lead-acid battery it is and no matter who manufacturers them. The effect can be described as the ARRHENIUS EQUATION.

Svante Arrhenius, was a Swedish scientist who discovered the life of lead-acid batteries is affected by variations in temperature. He established that for every 10ºC increase in temperature the battery life would be halved. Therefore, as an example, it follows that if the life is 30 years at 15ºC then at 25ºC the life will be 15 years. The equation also suggests that at 5ºC the life will be 60 years but unfortunately other things come into play when batteries are very old, typically over 30 years, and the Arrhenius equation is only really valid between about 15ºC and 40ºC for operational batteries.

Why is the life reduced? There are many interacting electro-chemical effects but one of the main reasons is that for any given constant voltage that is applied to the battery by the float charger there will be a resultant float current. Lead-acid batteries will accept more current if the temperature is increased and if we accept that the normal end of life is due to corrosion of the grids then the life will be halved if the temperature increases by 10ºC because the current is double for every 10ºC increase in temperature. It has also been shown that evaporation of water through the container walls occurs and if the temperature is increased then evaporation will also increase. This may result in drying out of some batteries of the VRLA AGM and VRLA GEL type. However, this is a complex subject that cannot be easily calculated and applied to give a predicted life. In any case, good quality lead-acid batteries will not normally fail due to drying out. Drying out is not relevant to vented types and we can use the Arrhenius equation to give an estimate of the life when the operational temperature is different to the design temperature.

In Europe it is common for battery lives to be quoted when operating at a continuous temperature of 20ºC. If the temperature is 10ºC for 3 months, this will not reduce the overall life by half but only a percentage of the expected 20ºC life. However, operating at 21ºC and not at 20ºC for the entire life will reduce the life by almost 10%. We also have to be careful when we refer to life and separate “design life” and “real life”. A VRLA AGM battery may be quoted as having a design life of 10 years but the real life, even when operated continuously at 20ºC, will be nearer 8 years. Similarly, some have quoted high performance planté batteries as having a design life of 25 years, but there are many examples of this type of battery sill in service after over 30 years. What we do know is that operating at a higher temperature will reduce the life of lead-acid batteries.  

We should also consider the battery configuration and thermal management. If, for example, the battery is arranged on a 6 tier stand that could easily be over 2m high, it is not uncommon for there to be a 5ºC difference between the bottom and top of the battery. If the cells or monoblocs are all in the same string the aging will be more or less the same for those on the bottom tier as those on the top tier. This is because the float current will be the same throughout that battery. However, because only part of the battery is at a higher temperature, the float current will not follow the Arrhenius equation. Never the less, a reduction in life will result.

Thermal management is particularly important when the battery is in an enclosure. Ideally, the use of runners is preferred to shelves and if shelves are used they should be perforated to allow a vertical movement of air. The cells or monoblocs should be spaced to provide a minimum of 10mm gap between the units on all four sides. Slots or holes within an enclosure should be provided to give a sweeping action of the circulating air from the base of the enclosure over the battery and exiting at the top on the opposite side to the inlet point. This will also assist in the removal of explosive hydrogen gas which is produced. Where air conditioning is used within a battery room, sufficient air flow must be catered for to prevent a temperature gradient between the top of the battery and bottom. Under all circumstances and for all installations, there should be no more than a 2ºC difference in temperature of the units between the top and bottom of the battery.

If the battery is subjected to particularly high temperature or if thermal management is poor, the battery may go into thermal runaway. If this occurs, the complete battery will be destroyed. Thermal runaway can occur within a very short time and cases have been reported after only a few weeks of installing a new battery system.

The use of temperature compensated charging equipment is recommended to minimise the risk of thermal runaway. A reduction of the float voltage will to some extent mitigate the loss of live but it will not remove the effects completely. Users should consult the battery supplier for detailed information.

The graph below may be used to estimate the life when operated on float systems at different operating temperatures. The graph may be used to estimate the effect of different daily or monthly operating temperatures. EG, one day at 30ºC will have the effect of 2 days at 20ºC.

An example to estimate the life at different temperatures follows.

Example: A battery has a design life of 12 years in accordance with IEC 60896 and the typical operating temperature is as the chart below: Note: 12 years = 4380 days.

The above can be rationalised to an approximate monthly average as follows: - From the chart below we can see that for every year the battery has aged 437 days and not 365 days. Therefore the battery will last 4380 / 437 = 10years and not 12 years.

We hope this latest blog post has proven useful in further understanding the affect of temperature on lead acid batteries. The team at Blue Box Batteries has extensive experience in this field are always available to make sure you are provided the best possible information available to ensure optimum service life from your battery system.

Front terminal batteries have been in existence for quite some time now, originally designed for use in telecom cabinets the accessible design of these battery types has now been embraced by manufacturers and installers for use in many other standby power applications such as UPS and emergency lighting. This is due to the advantages given by utilising this type of solution, the benefits being hard to ignore.

The following is a breakdown of some of the features of front terminal batteries, together with how this option can often prove to be practical and cost saving over the life of the battery system.

All front terminals offer a strong power density and use their footprint with maximum power efficiency. This can solve on site issues where space is at a premium and fitment of batteries can be an issue, such as older office environments where building service and IT rooms can be limited but the requirement to support modern critical services remain. Space saving battery power solutions are a great advantage and can leave extra space for additional equipment which are an inevitable requirement as businesses expand within existing premises.

The image below shows front terminal batteries on an open rack as part of a major UPS installation, the efficient fitment capability of front terminal batteries provide a space conscious design. Notice that minimal clearance is needed over the top of the battery, whereas a top terminal battery would require space for cables and terminal access above each battery row.

Installation of front terminal batteries into cabinets or racks tends to be very simple compared to top terminal battery products as, of course, the battery terminals will be facing the front of the battery rack or cabinet. This means all the terminals are easily reached and are connected in a row using just a small solid interconnecting bar, rather than varying lengths of cable or long solid bar connectors required for top terminal batteries. Specific layout designs for top terminal batteries can be quite complicated depending on the type of installation required, this is much less in the case of front terminal batteries where inter battery connection requires just one common link type on most occasions.

The Fiamm FIT range of front terminal batteries each come supplied with an inter-connection link and 'clip on cover' as shown in this image.

Another considerable benefit to front terminal batteries is post installation maintenance. With this type of layout the accessibility of the live terminals is paramount for taking measurements from the system such as voltage and impedance required to ascertain the health of the installation. Taking these readings from easy to reach terminals is a great advantage and a major time saving feature when compared to top terminal batteries.

In the event a battery should fail within a system and require replacement, then the front terminal battery offers a modular ‘slide out, slide in’ simplistic fitting as all batteries are situated at the front. Whereas if the same situation arises within a top terminal battery cabinet, then several batteries may have to be removed to reach the failed battery should it be locate at the rear of a cabinet.

Reaching over the top of connected batteries within a cabinet to take measurements is not ideal. Front terminal batteries eliminate this disadvantage with the location of all inter connecting parts and terminals being easily and practically in reach. VRLA front terminal batteries are non spillable, non hazardous and generally safe for transport. The next image shows a system of UPS12-700MRXF from the C&D Technologies MRXF Range which demonstrates the accessibility of the terminals which are situated directly behind the clip on covers.

The majority of this battery type employs traditional valve regulated lead acid technology (VRLA) with absorbed glass mat (AGM) separators. This is a long proven and highly reliable solution and is the most common battery chemistry used in industrial batteries for standby use, benefiting from many years of research and development to ensure an optimum, 'fit for purpose' product.

Blue Box Batteries offer front terminal battery solutions from all major manufacturers such as Exide GNB, Fiamm, Yuasa and Enersys and have advocated using them in many applications which have proven this type to be the best option. To discuss the benefits of front terminal solutions further please contact our support team, we pride ourselves on our service, experience, technical knowledge and trusted position as a UK industrial battery distributor.

Blue Box Batteries are a specialist provider of battery power solutions for a host of commercial and domestic applications.

The Blue Box Batteries team have firmly positioned themselves as a trusted, established, and leading provider in the British battery market. The business’ head office is located in Hammerley Enterprise Park, Burnetts Lane, Eastleigh.

Frequently checking that sufficient power is being distributed in the workplace can save your business both time and money by ensuring IT infrastructure and critical building services remain powered and online.

This will enable day-to-day business to continue to operate efficiently and without interruption. If any potential faults or issues are identified, they should be rectified at the earliest stage possible resulting in minimal disruption to your business infrastructure.

Implementing this process will make sure:

• Staff productivity levels remain high

• The threat of power outages and periods of downtime will be significantly reduced

• The safety of your work colleagues and employees is maintained and not compromised

• Communication with clients and customers can be maintained at all times

• The overall risks to your business are minimised

Without regular and thorough checks, the impact will be far more detrimental to your business should a power failure or fault occur.

Within your premises, there will be a vast range of devices, systems and technologies which rely on a smooth and sufficient power supply in order for them to function properly.

• Some of the core examples include:

• Data centres

• Emergency lighting systems

• Fire alarms

• Security systems

• Telecoms and IT devices

Losing power in any instance can cause damaging implications. However, the severity and impact on your business will ultimately depend on which area has been affected.

To combat this, as mentioned, you should carry out regular checks to make sure that everything is working to the required standard.

Please Note: At this stage it’s important to remember that you should never attempt to carry out anything technical if you’re not sure what you’re doing. Instead, seek professional advice to avoid causing further issues and headaches for your business.

In contrast to the more technical areas, there are some basic checks that can be completed without the need of an expert.

These include:

• Walking around the premises and observing if all lights and illuminated signs are lit up properly.

• Checking that emergency lighting isn’t flickering or cutting out.

• Asking departments if they have experienced faults, shortages or downtime with IT or telecoms systems.

• Making sure that all fire alarms are working and are loud enough for colleagues in the building to hear.

• Checking for any wear and tear or general ageing to the batteries you are using.

• Seeking advice from a technical professional if you do observe any major issues.

In the event where you do notice that certain technologies, systems or devices are not functioning properly, then it might be time for a new battery.

Many of the examples listed above are powered using a valve-regulated lead-acid battery (commonly referred to as a VRLA battery).

To ensure that building facilities and IT equipment remain online during a power outage, your business should also have a UPS installed in the premises.

Standing for uninterruptible power supply, a UPS provides instant backup power if the mains power fails.

This means that servers and IT equipment can continue to function properly without any downtime and your business won’t lose any valuable content or data as a result.

A UPS works by powering the connected electrical load as soon as the mains power fails using power from the batteries installed within its system. Once power is up and running again, the mains takes over and the UPS batteries will charge back to their full state ready for future use.

Whilst running via UPS, your telecoms, computer networks, and security systems will be provided with a clean power supply until the initial mains outage is resolved.

A UPS is the perfect way to ensure that power is maintained throughout the workplace during a disaster. Without this option, your business could experience the following:

• Decreased staff productivity

• Significant and damaging financial implications

• Lost communication with customers, clients and staff

• Downtime across business departments

• Loss of valuable customer, client, and staff data/content

When you weigh up the cost of installing a UPS against the implications that could be caused if the mains power was to fail, it’s not hard to see why so many businesses utilise this invaluable technology.

If your business doesn’t currently have a UPS in operation, we strongly advise getting this in place. This is even more relevant if your company has data centres and high volumes of information and content that you need to protect.

Find out more about what a UPS is by taking a look at this Blue Box Batteries blog post.

Losing power can be highly frustrating, but it’s important for you to understand what causes the batteries supplying the power to fail.

If you are aware of the reasons behind this, then measures can be put in place to reduce the risk of a similar situation happening again in the future.

There are a number of reasons as to why batteries fail, but some of the most common causes include:

• Incorrect operating temperatures

• Loose connections or inter-cell linking

• Incorrect float charge voltage

• General ageing and wear and tear

• Lack of maintenance

• Loss of electrolyte

Operating temperatures can greatly affect the performance and service life of a standby battery, so it is important to make sure that the batteries are being stored in a sufficient environment and within the correct operating parameters recommended by the manufacturer of the battery.

It is worth considering that if battery room ambient temperature conditions are 0 degrees Celsius, this could reduce the capacity of the battery by up to 20-30%. In contrast, excessive room temperature will also be an issue for standby batteries - as a guide, every 10 degrees above 25 degrees centigrade will half the service life of a VRLA battery. Optimum battery room temperature is 20 – 25 degrees centigrade, maintaining this ambient temperature will ensure that batteries provide maximum service life and reliable power.

In any instance where you notice that a battery isn’t working, you should replace it as soon as possible.

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VRLA and UPS batteries can be purchased directly from the Blue Box Batteries website.

If you find your standby system requires a new battery then don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of professional experts.

We can assist you with any questions you have relating to which brand to choose or which battery is most suitable for your business requirements.

If you fail to replace your batteries as soon as you notice any issues then your business may experience major problems further down the line. Speak to the professionals and make sure that you’ve got the correct batteries in place so your business can operate to its full potential.

Thanks for checking out our guide to ensuring power in the workplace, we hope you’ve found the information useful. Don’t forget that you can keep up-to-date with the latest news, tips and advice by following the Blue Box Batteries blog as well as the social profiles listed below:

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For further professional advice, the friendly team here at Blue Box Batteries are more than happy to assist you. Contact the team directly or alternatively call us on 02381 789 197.

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