What are the Advantages of Front Terminal batteries?

Front terminal batteries have been in existence for quite some time now, originally designed for use in telecom cabinets the accessible design of these battery types has now been embraced by manufacturers and installers for use in many other standby power applications such as UPS and emergency lighting. This is due to the advantages given by utilizing this type of solution, the benefits being hard to ignore.

The following is a breakdown of some of the features of front terminal batteries, together with how this option can often prove to be practical and cost-saving over the life of the battery system.

Here is the content list:

Power density

Ease of installation

Ongoing maintenance

Power density

All front terminals offer a strong power density and use their footprint with maximum power efficiency. This can solve on-site issues where space is at a premium and the fitment of batteries can be an issue, such as older office environments where building service and IT rooms can be limited but the requirement to support modern critical services remains. Space-saving battery power solutions are a great advantage and can leave extra space for additional equipment which is an inevitable requirement as businesses expand within existing premises.

It shows front terminal batteries on an open rack as part of a major UPS installation, the efficient fitment capability of front terminal batteries provides a space-conscious design. Notice that minimal clearance is needed over the top of the battery, whereas a top terminal battery would require space for cables and terminal access above each battery row.

Ease of installation

Installation of front terminal batteries into cabinets or racks tends to be very simple compared to top terminal battery products as, of course, the battery terminals will be facing the front of the battery rack or cabinet. This means all the terminals are easily reached and are connected in a row using just a small solid interconnecting bar, rather than varying lengths of cable or long solid bar connectors required for top terminal batteries. Specific layout designs for top terminal batteries can be quite complicated depending on the type of installation required, this is much less in the case of front terminal batteries where inter battery connection requires just one common link type on most occasions.

Ongoing maintenance

Another considerable benefit to front terminal batteries is post-installation maintenance. With this type of layout, the accessibility of the live terminals is paramount for taking measurements from the system such as voltage and impedance required to ascertain the health of the installation. Taking these readings from easy to reach terminals is a great advantage and a major time-saving feature when compared to top terminal batteries.

In the event a battery should fail within a system and require replacement, then the front terminal battery offers a modular ‘slide out, slide in’ simplistic fitting as all batteries are situated at the front. Whereas if the same situation arises within a top terminal battery cabinet, then several batteries may have to be removed to reach the failed battery should it be located at the rear of a cabinet.

Champion Power Tech Co., has developed a variety of different front terminal batteries. If you are in the front terminal batteries business, you can consider using our cost-effective products.