Components of Battery Charging Systems (BSC)
Overview
Battery charging systems has the following components:
Charger Controller
The charge controller prevents damage to the batteries. If the batteries are near to full charge, the charging current needs to be reduced to prevent damage. The charge controller will divert some power from the generator away from the battery and into a dump load. Different types of battery require different settings in the charge controller.
Systems with small, predictable, and continuous loads may be designed to operate without a battery charge controller. If system designs incorporate oversized battery storage and battery charging currents are limited to safe finishing charge rates (C/SO flooded or C/100 sealed) at an appropriate voltage for the battery technology, a charge controller may not be required in the PV system.
Proper operation of a charge controller should prevent overcharge or over discharge of a battery regardless of the system sizing/design and seasonal changes in the load profile and operating temperatures. The algorithm or control strategy of a battery charge controller determines the effectiveness of battery charging and PV array utilization, and ultimately the ability of the system to meet the load demands. Additional features such as temperature compensation, alarms, and special algorithms can enhance the ability of a charge controller to maintain the health, maximize capacity, and extend the lifetime of a battery.
Further information here.
Inverter
Inverters are used to convert the low voltage DC from the battery (usually 12V) into mains type 230/240V AC. Higher output-quality inverters are better for most purposes, but these can add substantially to the cost of the system. Lower cost inverters have lower output, and/or lower protection against abuse. Inverters generally make sense for small networks of households with a central generator, since the additional costs can be shared, and the cable runs are long enough to require the higher voltage supply.
Since DC is the only type of electricity directly usable from batteries, the supply must be reconverted into standard AC trough an inverter. Most common electrical appliances are designed for AC; therefore DC appliances can be limited in terms of availability.
Load Control
Load management/control is the process of balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the power station output. This can be achieved by direct intervention of the utility in real time or by time clocks, or by using special tariffs to influence consumer behavior.
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Battery Types
It is likely that car or lorry batteries will be used either because they are already used or because they are cheap. Vehicle batteries should be guarded against over-charge and over-discharge. However, deep cycle batteries are more cost-effective in the long run.
For further Information on battery type, click here.
Further Information
