This article does not cover maintenance free or computer room type batteries and battery cabinets in its Battery Room Design Requirements. The main keywords for this article are vented lead acid batteries, battery room safety requirements, Battery Room Ventilation, and unit substations electrical. Batteries can be hazardous to both personnel and equipment.
Periodic inspections should be made of the grounding system to assure that continuity is maintained. Battery rooms should be equipped with a centralized Emergency Power Off (EPO) system that can disconnect power in the room from the UPS common battery buss or individual UPS module(s) being supported by this room.
Most data centers use a VRLA or valve-regulated lead-acid cell battery to power the uninterrupted power supply or UPS system. These modular cell battery systems need to be replaced between 3-10 years, which is fairly frequent. These batteries also lose their power storage over time.
A battery will give the best results when working in a room temperature of between 10c and 27c but will function satisfactorily in temperatures between – 18c and 38c. High temperatures increase the capacity of the cells, but decrease the life, while low temperatures reduce the capacity temporarily but have no long term adverse effect.
To allow for slight variations from the assumed values, it is recommended that the requirement be increased to, say, six times per hour. A battery will give the best results when working in a room temperature of between 10c and 27c but will function satisfactorily in temperatures between – 18c and 38c.
️Please click on the links below to hear the podcast episodes related to battery room design: Regarding ventilation requirements, the battery room should be well equipped with sufficient windows or exhaust fans to ensure proper ventilation and the removal of gases released during charging.