Are New Appliances More Efficient Than Old Ones?

As your facility grows and changes the scope of the work it does, new and improved equipment will be needed to provide the best care possible. Nothing, not even medical-grade equipment will last forever. But, as technology improves, the power requirements of appliances change as well—often for the better.

Understandably, a common concern among our customers is:

“What if I buy new appliances in a few years? Will my battery backup generator be able to handle them?"

Over time, appliances tend to become more efficient and thus, need less power. This due to the continued improvements in technology and manufacturing processes. So, there is little need to worry about your battery backup unit becoming obsolete should you buy new appliances.

However, we urge you speak to an expert before ordering to confirm your generator will be compatible with your new appliance(s).

How to Recalculate Your Backup Power Needs?

In short, every appliance has its own unique power needs. So, there’s no guarantee that your existing system will supply enough power for a new or different appliance. This is especially true if you plan to use your battery powered generator on a different category of appliance.
i.e., Using a battery backup unit that was originally powering a medical refrigerator, and to using it for an ultra-low temperature freezer.

As such, when buying a replacement appliance, we recommend you verify whether your battery backup unit is powerful enough to handle this new equipment.

Medi-Products is more than happy to help you in this process.

To speak to technical support and confirm your new appliance's compatibility call:  1.800.765.3237, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm (EST) First, provide them with the model number of your MediProducts system. Next, they'll gather information about the new appliance. Finally, after quick calculations, they should be able to decide whether you will have enough power and for how long it will run if so.

Expanding a Battery Backup Generator

In some cases, while your system may be able to handle the wattage of a new appliance, its runtime may suffer. If your facility requires a greater runtime, instead of buying a new system there may be another option.

MediProducts “Retrofit Kit” allows you to expand the number of batteries in your system and increase your runtime. Self-installed, it has all the batteries, cabinets and necessary hardware needed. that aiding in the access of reliable backup power for as long as you need.

In some cases, you may be able to purchase and install a MediProducts “retrofit kit” which will allow you to expand the number of batteries in your system and increase your runtime—aiding in the process of accessing reliable backup power for as long as you need.

[Learn more about adding batteries after you’ve purchased your system here.]

However, a retrofit kit will not increase the wattage your system. This is because it only expands the storage capacity, not the strength of a system's inverter. The size and wattage of a system's inverter will dictate how much energy is sent to appliances. Much like a car, if you increase the size of the gas tank (i.e., the batteries), you'll be able to drive for longer. But because you have not increased the size of the engine (i.e., the inverter), the car is not any more powerful.