How to Keep Your Batteries Protected During Winter
With Winter upon us, we need to make sure everything is safe and secure for the coming months of cold weather. Making sure that all your equipment is running properly and at 100% during these tough months is hugely important, so you need to handle it with a little extra care. One specific piece of equipment you need to be additionally careful with are Batteries, as this particular weather come have some negative effects on them. In this Blog, we look at the best ways to make sure that your Batteries are still running perfectly over the coming months.
Test Your Batteries
Letting your batteries run completely empty and sit without use for extended periods of time isn’t recommend, as if these are left with no charge, some batteries could go into a protection mode or refuse to take any charge in the future. It is recommended that you test your batteries every 1-2 weeks to make sure that these are still active after being stored in colder temperatures.
Keep Them Charged
Once you have tested your batteries, you need to make sure you remove the battery from the unit each time. It is then suggested that you should place these on charge to make sure that there is always some power left in the unit when not in use, prevent these from falling into any protection mode and refusing to take charge.
Make sure to take them off charge when topped up however, and don't use your batteries while they're charging!
Our full Battery Maintenance blog with all of our tips for proper battery care can be found here: Safety Tips for your Lithium-Ion Lighting Batteries
Store Securely
Throughout the warmer months, it is suitable to store your batteries where ever you deem fit, as the weather shouldn’t really affect these. Exposing your batteries to extreme cold could do permanent damage to your battery, thus shortening its lifespan. During winter, you will need to make sure that your batteries are stored in a warmer environment, ideal around room temperature (20-25°C), as colder temperatures could negatively impact the batteries usage capabilities.
Swap garage storage for temporary in-house storage if you can, to avoid them being impacted if you don't have garage heating.
Keep Spare Power Supplies
Unfortunately, even when taking these precautions, sometimes batteries can still have faults and issues during this time. One option is to always make sure that you have a spare battery for you lighting equipment, just in case you find that your main battery is having issues and you require the lighting quickly. Another solution is available for the CITI Range of lights, as they all have AC Adapters (Sold Separately), meaning that they can be used with mains power rather than just battery power when required.
Please be aware that even though a lighting unit may have a 1-year warranty, your battery will only have a 6 month warranty on it as per our Warranty Policy.
Taking these steps to keep your batteries safe during Winter will help to maintain their lifespan and keep your equipment running at its highest possible output.