UPS Battery Upgrade, Retrofit, and Replacement

At Mitsubishi Electric, we have the products and expertise to guide you through battery and battery cabinet/rack decisions to promote the life and advancement of your backup power system.

UPS Battery Upgrade, Retrofit, and Replacement

At Mitsubishi Electric, we have the products and expertise to guide you through battery and battery cabinet/rack decisions to promote the life and advancement of your backup power system.

Upsizing UPS Batteries: An Upgrade For your System

There are several reasons to upsize and upgrade existing batteries to advanced technologies. This can include an increase in runtime, warranty terms, or battery life.

Most batteries with greater runtime capacity are also physically larger, requiring a larger battery cabinet or rack. If your current UPS battery cabinet cannot store the larger batteries needed for the upgrade, a new or retrofitted cabinet/rack will be required.

Mitsubishi Electric can help you choose the right battery chemistry and battery cabinet/rack solution for your critical power system needs.

Whether leveraging an existing cabinet through a like-for-like replacement or opting for a new UPS battery cabinet or rack altogether, you’ll need to consider connector compatibility, cable size, and the possibility of re-wiring.

Use the existing battery cabinet or rack to find out what batteries you currently have in place.
For proper disposal of spent batteries, explore each battery manufacturer's safety data sheet.

Equipment End of Life Considerations: UPS Batteries and Battery Cabinets

When an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) nears its end of life, this is a very common time to reevaluate your UPS battery’s chemistry and cabinet/rack. This may be a great time to upgrade your VRLA batteries to lithium-ion or advanced Pure Lead.

Generally, the life expectancy of a UPS is between 15–20 years, but the average replacement of traditional VRLA batteries to maintain optimal performance for critical system applications ranges from 3-5 years.

Over the life of your UPS, it may become necessary to retrofit or upgrade your existing battery system, including your battery cabinet or rack, to maintain optimal performance, prevent costly outages, and increase safety of the battery system.

Mitsubishi Electric suggests evaluating the full UPS battery system for an upgrade or replacement every 5 years at minimum, or whenever you are replacing the batteries. When updating a battery system, consider the following:

Will the retrofit project be a replacement or upgrade to a new solution?

Where a replacement would swap out like-for-like, an upgrade could use larger batteries in the same UPS battery cabinet or rack. Or an expansion could add additional battery cabinets to the system. Upgrading a VRLA battery to a lithium-ion solution would constitute a new solution.

What is your budget for the project?

In addition to capital equipment expense, maintenance costs for the life of the product should be considered, especially when comparing traditional VRLA to alternative solutions, such as lithium-ion. Further explore the maintenance and TCO differences between Lead Acid and lithium-ion.

What space is available for the UPS battery cabinet/rack?

Space is a crucial decision-making factor in the mission critical industry, whether the goal is to maximize white space or simply work with the limited space available. For a smaller UPS battery cabinet/rack footprint, check out alternative solutions to traditional lead acid batteries.

Are there existing problems you are trying to solve?

Insufficient runtime and insufficient power are two common concerns. If you need more battery power, you may need a larger UPS battery cabinet or rack.

While reevaluating your battery system is very common and important at your UPS’s end of life, you don’t have to wait for that phase of its support life to upgrade or retrofit your battery system.

Services Needed to Support Your Lithium-ion Battery Upgrade

Regardless of when you upgrade, retrofit, or replace your battery system, below are some high level details to consider when shifting from Lead Acid to lithium-ion.r

What battery service support is available to enable a lithium-ion upgrade?

Startup and Commissioning support services are required when upgrading VLA, VRLA, or Pure Lead systems with lithium-ion. These include updates to your UPS battery cabinet or rack.

These services typically can last at minimum 1 day, although length of service can expand based on the size of the battery system requiring service.

Our team can help ensure your battery cabinet or rack is correct for your lithium-ion upgrade. Other services such as site inspections, review of the new battery installation, and full commissioning support may be required, based on the project's overall scope and needs.

What maintenance services are required for lithium-ion battery racks?

Mitsubishi Electric offers a range of comprehensive plans for lithium-ion battery installations, including both annual and semi-annual plans.

Preventative maintenance should always be top of mind and is the best way to extend the life of your equipment. Our contract plans feature exclusive advantages such as discounts on parts and priority response times during critical emergencies. EverPower™ Contract customers save an estimated 42-51%. Gold, Silver, and Bronze level contracts are available, each with their own unique benefits to fit different business’ needs.

Our dedicated and experienced team can help you determine the best battery chemistry and corresponding cabinet/rack for your situation.

Want to discuss further?

UPS Battery and Battery Cabinet Resources

UPS-Battery Cabinet Matchups

Runtime Graphs

Technical Documents

Battery Resources

Mitsubishi Electric UPS-Battery Cabinet Matchups

Explore the different VRLA and Lithium Ion battery cabinets that are compatible with Mitsubishi Electric's various uninterruptible power supply systems, as well as the batteries each cabinet can store. For additional information about our UPS batteries and battery cabinets, such as manuals and drawings, explore our gallery of technical documentations.