Prepare Your Business for A Power Outage: Test these Batteries ASAP
- by Rachael Maloney - updated on 8/9/2018
According to U.S. Energy Information Administration , U.S. electricity customers experienced around seven hours of electric power interruptions in 2021. Many of these power outages were caused by hurricanes, excessive snowfall and other sudden storms. If you operate a business, it's important to be prepared for a sudden loss of power by testing and replacing the batteries in your vital equipment. Here's a list of the equipment you should keep an eye on.
SLA Batteries
You may not realize it, but SLA batteries are one of the most common batteries throughout commercial organizations. These batteries are superheroes, working silently to power your emergency lighting fixtures, security systems, fire panels, and UPS backups. As you prepare for stormy weather, take extra time to test and replace the SLA batteries throughout your building.
Batteries for Your Carbon Monoxide & Smoke Detectors
Properly maintained smoke alarms & carbon monoxide detectors save lives. No matter the season, you don't want the batteries in these devices to die. It's best practice to test smoke detector batteries and carbon monoxide batteries monthly and replace them yearly.
Batteries in Your Flashlights or Lanterns
Make sure your flashlight is ready to guide you through the darkness during a power outage. Lithium batteries are the best choice for your emergency flashlights and lanterns. Compared to traditional alkaline batteries, they have a lower self-discharge rate which means a longer lifespan and storage life. They also have a greater operating temperature range and faster recovery time from high rate discharges.
Batteries in Your Generators
Generators play a crucial safety role in many facilities, and prevent several other businesses from losing profit due to downtime. It's critical to perform routine maintenance and test your generator batteries to make sure you can rely on it when the power goes out.
Need Help? Ask the Experts
With your Batteries Plus Bulbs business account, you have access to free battery maintenance advice from an expert. Plus, in most cases we can even help you test your batteries. Contact us to get these important batteries tested or replaced as needed.
Looking for additional ways to prepare?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a website called ready.gov that offers additional tools and information to help you prepare for a variety of emergencies.