Been seeing way too many installers skipping the backup battery test

I sub for three different companies around Phoenix and I swear half the jobs I walk into have dead backup batteries right out of the box. Last week I pulled a panel cover off a brand new Vista 20P and the battery showed 11.2 volts. The guy who did the install just threw it in and closed it up without checking. If the power drops for 2 minutes that system is dead in the water. How often do you guys actually test the backup before you leave a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

finleyf8827d ago

And another thing nobody seems to talk about is that some of these new panels actually draw more power in standby than the old ones, so even a good battery might not last as long as you'd expect. I had a job last month where the homeowner said the system beeped after a 3 hour outage, and sure enough the battery was only a year old but the panel was pulling 400mA on idle. The installer probably tested it at 13.2 volts the day they put it in and thought it was fine, but they never checked the actual load draw over a few hours. How many of you have actually timed how long a backup lasts with the panel running its full setup?

grantschmidt27d ago

Man I've been burned by that exact thing. Now I always run a load test for at least 30 minutes with zones armed and the dialer active to see where it really sits.