Power cuts have been a problem forever especially when the scorching sun soars overheads when power cuts mean more sweat. The best solution to this problem is to install the best inverter at your home. An inverter is a device that stores energy (electricity) as a backup in the batteries when there is power and distributes it in order to run home appliances in case of a power failure.
Inverters have become even more important for those who have to work from home. Working fans, lights, and a stable internet connection in the face of heat will keep you cool. However, if you have already bought an inverter, there are certain do’s and don’t just like any other electrical appliance.
In this article, we have brought the top things you should avoid doing with home UPS inverters to make sure your power backup unit lasts for a long time and you keep on enjoying continuous power in the hot weather.
Table of Contents
Things You Should Avoid with Home UPS Inverters
Avoid Leaving Your inverter UPS Switched On When You Are Not Using It
When you go on a vacation and there’s nobody at home, make sure you switch off the inverter. If your home is going to be empty for a long time, say a year or two, you should disconnect your battery from the inverter and return it to the battery service center.
Avoid Placing Inverter in Wet, Damp, and High Humidity Places
Installing an inverter in a damp place can cause premature circuit board failure in UPS.
Avoid Overloading Inverter UPS
An inverter cannot run all the electrical appliances in your home. You have to estimate your total power consumption and buy the batteries accordingly. Note the appliance that you need to power and calculate the load that would run using the inverter and purchases the inverter of adequate size.
Overloading an inverter will drain the battery faster which will increase the cycles of the battery. Also, the inverter will trip if you put more load on it.
Make Sure to Clean Accumulated Dust in Heat Vent Slots and the Back Panel of your UPS Inverter
Keep the heat vent slots and the back panel of the inverter at least once in 3 months. If you have placed an inverter near the kitchen or the main gate of the house, it is more likely to get dusty and accumulate oil. Cleaning an inverter every month will lengthen the life of the power unit.
Don’t Forget to Buy Inverter with Several Pre-Installed Safety Units
Safety units help the system work with better performance. Some of the safety units that should be availed with the system are;
- An alarm beep sound will notify if some fault occurs which will allow you to take precautions at the right time.
- The auto-shutdown feature of the inverter turns off the inverter system when the stored battery power is low.
- Ensure that the load should meet the power rating capacity of the inverter model.
Avoid Placing Inverter battery system in Heat
Do not install your inverter battery system near the heat source such as the sun, heating vents, radiations, etc. Make sure it is not placed in the sunlight. Also, avoid the battery system coming in contact with fire or use some firing material near the battery system as the harmful gases and fumes from the batteries can cause major damages.
Apply Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) in Battery Terminals
Covering the connector wires of your inverter and battery terminals avoids CRUD formation which corrodes your inverter wire terminals. Apply petroleum jelly once every 6 months.
Let Your Inverter Run in Battery Mode If There’s No Power Cut For a Long Time
In case there is no power load-shedding and you are receiving 100% power supply for over a month, you should let the inverter run on battery mode till you get a low battery warning. You should drain the battery at least once a month when you are not facing power cuts.
You can run the inverter on battery mode by manually switching off the grid power supply for some time till it beeps low battery alarm. Then restore the grid power supply. Doing this regularly will considerably extend the battery life.
If the battery is not drained regularly, it will give a low battery backup problem even with fresh batteries. If you are facing a low backup problem with your new battery, take the battery to the battery service center and get a bench charger for your battery. Which will solve your problem.
Hamza Subhan is a digital content director at Price In Pakistan. He lives in Lahore. He keeps an eye on every new item in the markets of Pakistan and his hand on the pulse of Pakistani people to provide them with the information that they need about the product. He has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering from UET Lahore. His keen passion for the latest technology, gadgets, and knowledge about electrical appliances led him to launch Price In Pakistan. He is the main hand behind the articles related to electrical home appliances and gadgets. When he is not looking out for the new technology and writing about it, he is playing guitar and singing for his friends.
I like the efforts you have put in this, thank you for all the great content.