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What Life Span Should APC Batteries Have

Written by bmlengel on February 7th, 2010

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, less than entirely reliable. For example, those who live in areas that have 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 try to help you keep your APc.

It is 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 you should be prepared to replace you APC batteries before they expire, 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.

You must replace your APC batteries regularly just as you would replace the 9 volt battery in your smoke detector regularly, whether you know the battery to be expired or not. It might be expired, or it might not be. If it is still working, it might save your life in the event of a fire, but if it is 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 is the only way to stay in business (you would not last long in any industry if you find yourself living up to every warranty you issue). When the warranty runs out you should expect that the battery to be reliable for some time after, but you should consider replacing it as soon as possible.

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 offer shorter or longer warranties, 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’ve been in there for a year, the last thing you want is to find out they’re dead when a hurricane knocks your power out.

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