How Long Can You Expect APC Batteries To Last
For many, an APC replacment batteries may be the cornerstone of their workstation. This is particularly true when your primary power supply is, in fact, not too reliable. For example, people living in places that experience frequent storms. When you don’t know how long an APC battery will last, though, it may leave you feeling less secure, nonetheless. Here we provide a simple guide to keeping your APC batteries in check.
Something very important to remember when you rely on APC batteries to keep your work station, home computer or network up and running is to always play it safe. So basically this means that you should be ready and willing to replace your APC batteries before they run out, and not after.
An APC battery is supposed to be used as an emergency power supply, and as such, different rules apply than if you were talking about AA batteries for your remote control. You can wait until your remote control batteries run out before you replace them, because not being able to change the channel is hardly an emergency situation.
APC batteries need to be replaced regularly just as you would regularly replace the 9 volt battery in your smoke detector, whether you know the battery to be expired or not. It might not be expired, although it might be. If it’s still working, it might save your life in the event of a fire, but if it’s not, then the only way to find out is to have the smoke detector fail to make a sound when there is a fire.
The best way to go about replacing your APC batteries is to use the warranty as a rough guideline. Most APC batteries will last beyond the warranty, simply because that’s the only way to stay in business (you won’t last long in any industry if you find yourself living up to every warranty you issue). You can usually expect the battery to be reliable for some time after the warranty runs out, but it’s probably for the best that you replace it s soon as is convenient.
The warranty, then, can be held as a minimum life span. A well made APC battery will almost certainly last longer than the warranty, but it is only guaranteed to last as long as the warranty.
In general, most reputable APC battery manufacturers and retailers will offer a one year warranty. Some may give you an option of a shorter or longer warranty, but one year is generally considered to be as long as the average APC replacement battery should be expected to last with any degree of reliability.
In short, treat your emergency power supply like your emergency safety kit. The batteries in your flashlight might still be okay, but if they have been in there for a year, the last thing you want is to find out they are dead when a hurricane knocks your power out.
