Battery Backup Sump Pumps
- July 27, 2019
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This is going to be a very brief blog post explaining why it’s a good idea to have a battery back-up system for your sump pump.
(If you are not familiar with sump pumps, I recommend doing a quick skim of the information on our sump pump page.)
First, it’s important to note that because of the prevalence of foundation waterproofing issues in the mid-Atlantic region, it is recommended for most homes in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia–including the Washington, DC and Baltimore metro areas–to have sump pumps installed in the basement or crawl space. This will help alleviate issues from the build-up of groundwater and hydrostatic pressure following periods heavy rains.
However, there are a number of cases where your primary sump pump may experience problems, and Value Dry always recommends a battery back-up system whenever we install a sump pump for these reasons:
1) Loss of electricity
Power outages are the most obvious reason to have a battery back-up for your sump pump, especially because the timing of these outages tend to coincide with heavy weather events. Our battery back-up systems stay plugged into the wall to ensure that the battery is fully charged in the event of power failure.
2) Primary sump pump mechanical failure
In the case your primary sump pump has a mechanical issue or fails for any reason (even while the power stays on), the battery back-up pump will turn on to pump water out of the sump well. The alarm on the back-up unit will alert you that you should check the status of your primary pump.
3) Unusually heavy rain events
During those once- or twice-a-year heavy rain events, your primary sump pump could be overwhelmed may not be able to keep up with the amount of water being drained into the sump well. If the water level in the sump well continues to build up even while the primary sump pump is continually running, the back-up pump will switch on and work in conjunction with the main pump to increase the overall pumping capacity.
If your sump pump or sump pump system has had any issues with the heavy rainstorms that we’ve had so far this summer (this past June was the second-rainiest on record for Washington, DC), a battery back-up system can help you be more prepared to handle future precipitation events and have more peace of mind that your home will stay dry.
Have any questions about this stuff? Give us a call, or use the contact form on our page to reach out to us.