4 Things You Need to Know About Small Cell Battery Management (Part 1)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the game for all parts of life from work to home and leisure. The IoT interconnects everything through the use of the internet, building a complex web of technology and communication for everything and everyone.
The IoT, however, can only be used to the full extent of its abilities if networks continue to grow more expansive, reliable, and fast. In order to support IoT, providers need to juggle the demands of users with high maintenance costs and excellent service. What’s more, to protect against power outages or complications, providers need backup batteries, which often go uncared for and aren’t in the best condition to fully ensure backup power when it’s most needed. Battery management can be relegated to the back-burner, and many batteries just end up being placed on a preset schedule for routine replacement; this clearly isn’t the best solution, since unmonitored batteries can fail before their replacement time is reached.
It’s imperative to change bad habits regarding the low-quality management of batteries. Here are some of the most important considerations of remote battery management to keep in mind as a way of making sure that batteries are adequately maintained.
Reliability
How sure can you be that the batteries will turn on when you need them? This is the all-encompassing question related to determining a battery’s reliability. To guarantee that a battery is reliable, there are many things to check. These include: proper installation, factory defects, congruence with standards and regulations, consideration of risk factors, site planning, location temperatures.
Heat can have the most significant influence on the length of battery life. Managing temperature is vital to ensuring reliability; also, whatever houses batteries should be both weatherproof and temperature-controlled.
In order to avoid using defective batteries due to the assumption that all new batteries work, implement routine tests to spot small issues before use. This can help you avoid impairing the health of other batteries, as well as all other complications that can result from the use of a defective product.
Batteries should also be secured to avoid theft, which, in many cases, can go unnoticed for long periods of time. In fact, companies may not even realize a battery is missing until an outage or during periodic maintenance. Use locked cabinets or ensure monitoring and other security measures are present to avoid theft.
Overall, before, during, and after the installation of batteries, take as many precautionary steps as you can to guarantee that the batteries everyone is relying on are in working order and ready to support the IoT in the event of an outage.
Uptime
Outages can be a challenge when technicians don’t know the amount of uptime an individual site can have; that’s why it’s essential for the network operator to first know how much time can be promised to customers, as well as how much time a company wants at each site. Uptime is heavily influenced by the health of batteries during an outage, which it is the responsibility of the maintenance routine to ensure.
Furthermore, after an outage, batteries can draw the entire AC load and keep the site’s telecom equipment from returning. It’s important for technicians to both restore the site and allow a generator to charge the batteries in order to avoid any post-outage problems that can further complicate things.
Of course, these are only 2 of the 4 most important considerations to confront when managing batteries; check out part two of this article in order to learn more. For all of these concerns, SYNDÉO’s Smart Vault has got you covered. The Smart Vault is a secure, subsurface, waterproof, and environmentally controlled enclosure where you need to safely and effectively house batteries.
