Preferred state for UPS, on or off, when it's not being used at night?

[GundamF91]

I have this APC BackUPS unit that I've had for a couple of years. It's running great. I normally power my computer down, and then turn off the UPS using the on/off button on UPS, so that the on/off light goes off. The UPC is still plugged into the power outlet through the night.

I've recently heard conflicting answers about whether to leave the UPS unit on or off during the night. I heard from an IT Tech at work that I should not turn off the UPS, because the battery will slowly discharge when it's in off position. On the other hand, I was told from a friend that he turns his UPS unit off to extend the battery life because it would not charge/discharge when the unit is off.

I'm wondering what's the correct answer to this. What's the preferred state for APC UPS, on or off, when it's not being used at night?

 

[JustaGeek]

IMO, always ON.

I believe I've killed the battery when I left it "off" for a week.

 

[SanDiegoPC]

Leave the UPS and the computer BOTH on at all times. There is no reason to shut either one down.

Set your screen so that it goes into the power saver mode when the PC is idle, but leave it all on.

 

[Modelworks]

A ups will not shorten the battery life when it is turned on.
They go into trickle charge mode which will keep the battery 'topped off'
The thing that will shorten battery life the most is constant discharge and recharge, like from cutting it off and on. Repeatedly doing that will cause the internal plates to deform.

Deep cycle batteries are supposed to be used in a ups, but over the past couple years there has been a transition to the cheaper lead acid batteries.

 

[integramodder]

Have had my APC UPS for over two years now. I generally keep my computer on all the time except when I'm gone for vacation or breaks. I do a monthly test of the unit and every couple of months I'll pull the power and let it run on batteries for a couple min just to make sure everything is ok.

No problems. Great product.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i leave my UPS & PC on at all times, but when my PC needs to be off (if i'm on vacation etc) i'll still leave the UPS.