Description
Can this lithium battery be used in a UPS?
The short answer is it depends, if you are able to keep your load small enough then it will be fine. If you have a UPS where you can set the cut out voltage then it is even better.
Small “dumb” UPSs. Like your typical Mecer under counter small UPS acts as a bridge for your power for small electronics for the period when your power goes off until your backup power comes on. (Nothing wrong with the UPS or brand. We also use them in the office). These UPS typically work on 24V. You’d connect two of these batteries in series to get to 24V.
We’ve picked up two issues in this case:
A. The UPS does not have a low voltage cutout. The UPS will continue to discharge the battery until it is completely flat (less than 12V, even down to 10V or lower). This is what destroys lead-acid batteries. With Lithium, the BMS will shut the battery down, to protect the cells, at 10.6V. This is all good and well, but the problem is then: The UPS needs to pick up V to start charging the battery again. But the battery is in protected mode and requires a charge (just for a split second) to activate again. Bit of a chicken and egg situation, but nonetheless, the UPS is dead and not functioning.
To fix this, you need to:
- open up the UPS
- put a charger on the battery (or activate it by connecting another battery for a second)
- close the UPS again
- connect back to power
The UPS will read V, and start charging the batteries again.
The above is not practical. Thus we do not recommend using them in these instances.
B. The second problem, is that the Amps draw can be too high on the batteries. Many of the small UPS are easily rated to 1200W or even 2000W. They are intended to be used only as a UPS for a very short period, not as a backup power source.
The batteries though can give power at up to 10A. Two batteries in series to get 24V at 10A, take you to 240W. While this is more than enough for a typical router, it is not close to 1000W +. Keep this in mind.
If you want to use these batteries in a UPS it is highly recommended to make sure your device will be able to run off the UPS for longer than what the loadshedding bout is going to be in order to not flatten the battery.
If you have a higher-end UPS that enables you to set the cut-off voltages then it will be the perfect fit.
Features of the Red Pole Energy Battery
- Ultra-safe lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells
- Integrated battery management system (BMS)
- Lightweight and compact • Water and dust resistant (IP55)
- Highly durable sealed ABS plastic enclosure
- Drop-in 12v lead acid replacement
- Sealed and non-liquid (No fumes, no leaking, mount in any position)
Typical Applications of this lithium battery
- Replace 12v7Ah lead acid with long life lithium battery (Alarms, Gate Motors)
- Any application that needs a higher charge & discharge current in this battery size
- Electric fence backup battery
- Gate motor battery replacement ( ET Nice and Centurion )
- Alarm system backup battery
- CCTV backup battery
- Access Control backup battery ( Hikvision & ZKTeco, biometrics and facial readers )
Technical Specification of the Red Pole Energy Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Battery
- Nominal Voltage 12.8 VDC
- Under-voltage Cut-out 10.6v
- Operating Voltage Range 11.6 VDC – 14.4 VDC
- Float Charging Voltage 13.8 VDC
- Over-voltage Cut-out 14.6v
- Nominal Capacity 6Ah @ 0.2C
- Cycle Life 2000 – 8000 depending on % DoD
- Maximum Current 10A
- Discharge Current Max 10A (Burst 20A, <3s)
- Charge Current 10A Max ( 0.6A to 1.2A typically )
- Dimensions (mm) 152 x 65 x 97 mm (W x D x H) (H=104mm including terminals)
- Weight (kg) 770g
Additional Questions
Feel free to visit https://redpoleenergy.co.za/ for more information on the battery.
TIP:
To calculate how long this battery can last in your application, look up the load power of the device it will be powering in Watts, then divide 75 with that number.
Example, a 12v alarm system drawing 1A load, has a 12W (12v x 1A = 12W) load, so it can run from this battery for 6hrs 15min (75 / 12 = 6.25).
A more in-depth article on how to calculate battery run time can be found here: https://loadshedbuddy.co.za/how-to-calculate-battery-run-time-using-watts/
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