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Battery Charging PDF
Battery Charging PDF
A
measurement you need.
basic system instrument. Installation of a battery voltmeter is easy. Just connect
Battery voltmeters are it to the batterys main positive and negative buss or
terminals. Be sure to get the polarity right because
inexpensive, easy to install, and can analog meters can be damaged by reverse polarity.
provide a wealth of system information Since the battery voltmeter consumes very little power,
the wires feeding it can be small (18 gauge copper or
to renewable energy users, RVers, or smaller).
anyone who depends on a battery. Reading the Curves
Why a Voltmeter? The data presented here on the graphs was generated
Ten years ago, voltmeters were all we had for from our set of Trojan L-16W deep cycle lead-acid
information about our systems. Ampere-hour meters batteries. Each Trojan L-16 battery is composed of
that calculated battery efficiency were a pipe dream. three series connected, 350 Ampere-hour, lead-acid
Even now, small systems cannot justify the additional cells. The graphs and the data here relates to six of
expense and complexity of the new sophisticated these lead-acid cells in series forming a 12 Volt battery.
battery state of charge (SOC) instruments. I still use a Those of you using a 24 Volt system with twelve lead-
homebrew battery voltmeter in addition to our hi-tech acid cells in series must multiply the voltage in the text
instruments like the Cruising Amp-hour meter, the SPM and on the charts by two. The voltage versus state of
2000, and the Power Monitor 15. The voltmeter is charge (SOC) profiles will match those of similarly
always there, consumes virtually no power, and tells me constructed cells. Other types of lead acid cells, like car
at a glance whats happening with our system. batteries, lead-calcium cells, and RV deep cycle
batteries will have different charge/discharge curves. I
Reading a battery voltmeter and turning that information offer these graphs as examples of what to look for with
into a reliable assessment of the batterys state of your battery. While specific voltage vs. SOC points will
charge is like tracking an animal by its footprints. vary from battery type to battery type, the shape and
Tracking requires noticing small details and relationship of the curves is similar for all deep cycle
extrapolating information from these details. A tracker lead-acid technologies.
uses his knowledge of the animals habits. A tracker
considers the weather and season. A trackers Current and Batteries and Ohms Law
knowledge of his subject and its environment allows Battery voltage can be affected by three factors state
him to predict the actions ofhis subject. of charge, current, and temperature. State of charge is
what we are trying to find out, so that leaves current
After watching the voltmeter for a few of the batterys and temperature as factors to reckon with.
charge/discharge cycles, the user gets a idea of his
batterys voltage profiles. After watching the voltmeter Current means the rate of electron flow through the
for a season or two, the user learns how to relate the battery caused by either charge or discharge. Every
16.0 C/10
C/20
15.5
C/40
15.0
Battery Voltage in VDC
14.5
14.0
13.5
13.0
Rest
12.5
12.0
11.5
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Battery State of Charge (SOC) in Percent (%)
electrochemical cell has internal resistance. As current hour capacity by 10 hours, then you get a charge (or
moves through the cell, the cells voltage changes discharge) rate of 10 Amperes. Ten Amperes is a C/10
because of this internal cell resistance. When the cell is charge (or discharge) rate for a 100 Ampere-hour
being recharged, current flow causes the cells voltage battery. Consider another battery of 500 Ampere-hours
to rise. The higher the recharging current the higher the capacity. Here a C/10 rate would be 50 Amperes. While
voltage rise. As the cell is discharged, the discharging the absolute values of the charge (or discharge)
current causes the cells voltage to drop. The higher the currents is different between the two batteries of
discharging current, the greater the batterys battery different capacity, their effect on the batterys voltage is
depression. This holds true for all electrochemical cells the same. The currents are in the same proportion to
regardless of type, size, or environment. While absolute the batteries capacity.
values vary widely between different acid and alkaline
If voltage is to be related to battery state of charge, then
technologies, the relationship between current flow and
we must compensate for voltage variation due to
cell voltage remains constant.
current movement through the battery. Hence there are
The graphs show a variety of recharge and discharge a variety of curves on both the charge and discharge
rates from C/5 to C/100. This C/XX number is actually a graphs.
rate of charge or discharge in Amperes proportioned to
Included on the charge graph is a gray curve entitled
the capacity of the battery. For example, consider a
Rest. This rest curve is a generic representation of six
battery of 100 Ampere-hours. If you divide this Ampere-
C/100
C/20
12.5 C/10
C/5
12.0
C/3
Battery Voltage in VDC
11.5
11.0
10.5
10.0
9.5
9.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Battery State of Charge (SOC) in Percent (%)
lead-acid cells in series and at Rest. At Rest means pronounced enough to distinctly change not only the
that no current is moving through the cells, i.e., that battery voltage vs. SOC profile, but also its useful
they are neither being charged or discharged. Ampere-hour capacity. The discharge voltage curves
Determining a batterys state of charge from voltage may be depressed by as much as 0.5 VDC from those
measurement is vague enough if current is moving shown on the graph. Charge voltages will be elevated
through the battery. The vagaries increase by as much as 0.5 VDC for a cold 12 Volt lead-acid
exponentially if no current is moving through the battery.
battery. This is why this curve is gray.
Lead-acid Internal Resistance and SOC
Temperature and Batteries In lead-acid cells, the electrolyte (sulfuric acid)
The lead acid reaction is temperature sensitive. Cooling participates in the cells normal charge/discharge
the cell changes its voltage vs. SOC profile. As the reactions. As the cells are discharged, the sulfate ions
lead-acid battery cools, its internal resistance are bonded to the plates sulfuric acid leaves the
increases. This means that voltage elevation under electrolyte. The process is reversed when the cell is
recharging is increased in cold cells. The same internal recharged.
resistance increase produces increased voltage
A fully charged lead-acid cell has an electrolyte that is a
depression in cold cells when discharged.
25% solution of sulfuric acid in water (specific gravity
At 32F (0C), the effect of temperature becomes about 1.26). A fully discharged lead-acid cell has
60 A to 400 A Disconnects
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16.0
C C/10
H C/20
A
15.5 R
B G
A 15.0
E C/40
T
T 14.5
E
R 14.0
Y
13.5
V
O 13.0
L C/100
D
I
T 12.5
C/20
C/10
S
C
A H
G 12.0 C/5 A
R
E C/3 G
E
11.5
i
n 11.0
V. 10.5
D.
C. 10.0
9.5
9.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130