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Energy Unlimited Reinout Vader

Electricity on Board (And other off-grid applications)

Revision 9 June 2011

Electricity plays an increasing role on board yachts. Modern navigation and communication equipment depends on it, as well as the growing list of household appliances that are taken on board.

This is the concept text for a booklet about electricity on board small and large yachts. The intention of the book is twofold:

Firstly I try to cover in depth a few matters that over and again are subject to discussion and misunderstanding, such as batteries and management of batteries, or electric power consumption of refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning. My second intention is to help designers, electricians and boat owners to decide on how to manage and generate electricity on board. Several new products and concepts have substantially broadened the range of alternatives here. Together with some unavoidable theory, I use examples of small and large yachts to clarify the consequences of choosing one alternative or another. The consequences are sometimes so unexpected and far reaching that, writing it all down, I have also helped my own understanding!

Reinout Vader

This publication or part thereof, may not be reproduced in any form by any method, for any purpose.

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E-mail : mailto:sales@victronenergy.com Website : http://www.victronenergy.com/

Electricity on Board (And other off-grid applications)

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. The battery: preventing premature aging

The battery is the heart of every small-scale energy system. No battery, no storage of electric energy. At the same time the battery is a costly and delicate component. This chapter specifically addresses the battery’s vulnerability .

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Battery chemistry

2.2.1. What happens in a battery cell as it discharges 2.2.2. What happens during charging 2.2.3. The diffusion process 2.2.4. Service life: shedding, oxidation, and sulphation

2.3. The most common types of lead-acid battery

2.3.1. Lead-antimony and lead-calcium 2.3.2. Wet or flooded versus starved (gel or AGM) electrolyte

2.3.3. The flat-plate automotive battery (wet) 2.3.4. The flat-plate semi-traction battery (wet) 2.3.5. The traction or deep-cycle battery (wet) 2.3.6. The sealed (VLRA) gel battery 2.3.7. The sealed (VLRA) AGM battery 2.3.8. The sealed (VLRA) spiral-cell battery

2.4. Function and use of the battery

2.5. The lead-acid battery in practice

2.5.1. How much does a battery cost? 2.5.2. Dimensions and weight 2.5.3. Effect on capacity of rapid discharging 2.5.4. Capacity and temperature

2.5.5. Premature aging 1. The battery is discharged too deeply 2.5.6. Premature aging 2. Charging too rapidly and not fully charging

2.5.7. Premature aging 3. Undercharging 2.5.8. Premature aging 4. Overcharging 2.5.9. Premature aging 5. Temperature 2.5.10. Self-discharge

3. Monitoring a battery’s state of charge. ‘The battery monitor’.

The battery monitor indicates a battery’s state of charge, and can also be used to automatically start charging systems, or indicate that charging is required. With larger battery systems a monitor with an amp-hour counter is indispensable. To start charging once the “voltage drops” is simply too late. The battery is then discharged too deeply and harm will already be done.

3.1. The different ways of measuring a battery’s state of charge

3.1.1. Specific gravity (SG) of the electrolyte 3.1.2. Battery voltage 3.1.3. Amp-hour meter

3.2. The battery monitor is an amp-hour meter

3.3. Energy efficiency of a battery

3.4. Charge efficiency of a battery

3.5. Effect on capacity of rapid discharging

3.6. Is capacity “lost” at high rates of discharge?

3.7. Useful features of a battery monitor

3.7.1. Event counting 3.7.2. Data logging

4. Battery charging: the theory

Different types of battery have to be charged in different ways. This section reviews the optimum charging characteristics of the most commonly used types of lead-acid battery.

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Three step (I U °

U) charging

4.2.1. The bulk charge 4.2.2. The absorption charge 4.2.3. The float charge

4.3. Equalizing

4.4. Temperature compensation

4.5. Overview

4.6. Conclusion: how should a battery be charged?

4.6.1. The house battery 4.6.2. The starter battery 4.6.3. The bow thruster battery

5. Charging batteries with an alternator or a battery charger

The alternator with a standard voltage regulator as used in automotive applications is far from being the best solution, and certainly not where several batteries, separated by a diode isolator, need to be charged.

5.1. The alternator

5.2. When the alternator has to charge more than one battery

5.2.1. Introduction 5.2.2. The problem 5.2.3. A wide range of solutions 5.2.3.1. Keeping it simple and low cost: the microprocessor controlled battery combiner 5.2.3.2. Increase alternator voltage 5.2.3.3. A multistep regulator with temperature and voltage compensation 5.2.3.4. The starter battery 5.2.3.5. The bow thruster battery

5.3. Battery chargers. From AC to DC current

5.3.1. Introduction 5.3.2. Optimised charging 5.3.3. Charging more than one bank

5.3.3.1. The multiple output battery charger 5.3.3.2. A dedicated charger for each battery 5.3.3.3. Using microprocessor controlled battery combiners

6. Electric equipment and energy consumption

The daily energy consumption of continuous and long duration low power consumers (refrigerator and freezer) is often underestimated, while the energy consumption of short time high power consumers (electric winches, bow thruster, washing machine, electric cooker) is often overestimated.

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Power and energy

6.3. Refrigeration

6.3.1. Introduction 6.3.2. Theory of the heat pump 6.3.3. The refrigerator and freezer in practice 6.3.4. Air conditioning

6.4. Electric winches, windlass and bow thruster

6.5. A battery powered washing machine and dishwasher?

6.6. Ever thought that electric cooking on battery power was possible?

6.7. The diving compressor

6.8. How to deal with the inrush current of AC electric motors

6.9. Conclusion

7. Generators

7.1. AC generators

7.1.1. The diesel engine will last longer if it has to work 7.1.2. A hybrid or battery assisted AC system 7.1.3. Don’t forget the problem of limited shore power 7.1.4. 3000 rpm or 1500 rpm (in a 60 Hz environment: 3600 rpm or 1800 rpm)

7.2. DC generators

8. Micro power generation: thinking different

This chapter brings us to the central theme of this book: how to optimise safety and comfort, and at the same time reduce weight and size of the power supply system.

8.1. Introduction

8.2. New technology makes the DC concept more attractive

8.2.1. The DC concept 8.2.2. DC generators 8.2.3. Unlimited inverter power

8.3. The AC concept can be improved with PowerControl

8.3.1. The AC concept 8.3.2. The AC concept with generator free period 8.3.3. PowerControl

8.4. New: the hybrid or battery assisted AC concept, or “achieving the impossible” with PowerAssist

8.4.1. PowerAssist 8.4.2. Other advantages when operating Multi’s together with a generator 8.4.3. Shore power

8.5. Thinking different

8.5.1. Daily energy needed 8.5.2. Battery capacity 8.5.3. Shore power

9. Up to 4 kWh required per day (170 Watt average)

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Equipment and current consumption

9.2.1. Navigation instruments 9.2.2. GPS 9.2.3. VHF 9.2.4. Tricolour navigation light or anchor light 9.2.5. Autopilot 9.2.6. Radio

9.2.7. Cabin lighting 9.2.8. Refrigerator

9.3. Consumption over a 24 hour period when sailing

9.4. At anchor or moored without 230 V shore pick-up

9.5. The extra’s

9.5.1. Electronic navigation system 9.5.2. SSB 9.5.3. Radar

9.5.4. Microwave oven 9.5.5. Space heating 9.5.6. Air conditioning 9.5.7. Water maker

9.6. How to recharge the battery

9.6.1. Generate current with the main engine 9.6.2. Increase battery capacity 9.6.3. A second or bigger alternator 9.6.4. Solar cells

9.6.5. Wind generator 9.6.6. Water generator 9.6.7. Shore power

9.7. Conclusion

10.Up to 14 kWh required per day (600 W average)

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Equipment: the minimum

10.2.1. Navigation equipment 10.2.2. Navigation light and anchor light 10.2.3. Autopilot 10.2.4. Refrigerator and freezer 10.2.5. Cabin lighting 10.2.6. Radio 10.2.7. Other consumers

10.3. Sailing

10.4. At anchor or moored without 230 V shore power pick-up

10.5. The extra’s

10.5.1. Hot water kettle 10.5.2. Electric cooker 10.5.3. Small washing machine 10.5.4. Small dishwasher

10.6. Energy generation

10.6.1. With alternators on the main engine 10.6.2. Alternative sources of energy 10.6.3. With an AC generator 10.6.4. PowerControl and PowerAssist 10.6.5. The AC generator on a relatively small boat: conclusion 10.6.6. The DC generator 10.6.7. Efficiency of a diesel generator 10.6.8. The energy supply on a motor yacht of 9 to 15 metres or a yacht at anchor

10.7. Conclusion

10.7.1. A 12 kW generator 10.7.2. A 6 kW generator with PowerAssist

11.Up to 48 kWh required per day (2 kW average)

11.1. Introduction

11.2. The major consumers

11.3. Energy generation

11.3.1. With an AC generator running 24 hours a day 11.3.2. Adding a battery for a generator free period 11.3.3. Using parallel Multi’s with PowerControl , and the DC concept for shore power 11.3.4. Multi’s with PowerAssist 11.3.5. The DC generator 11.3.6. Using a small auxiliary DC generator to reduce generator hours, battery capacity and fuel consumption

11.4. Conclusion

11.4.1. A 20 kW generator with generator free period 11.4.2. Implementing PowerControl and the DC concept for shore power, and adding an auxiliary genset to reduce battery capacity 11.4.3. Using a smaller generator with PowerAssist , the DC concept for shore power, and an aux. genset

12.Up to 240 kWh required per day (10 kW average)

12.1. Introduction

12.2. The major consumers

12.3. Energy generation

12.3.1. AC generators 12.3.2. Adding a battery for a generator free period and battery assisted generator operation ( PowerAssist ) 12.3.3. Adding an 8 kW auxiliary AC generator

12.4. The alternatives for 10 kW average consumption compared

13.Conclusion

13.1. Consumption of electric energy on board

13.2. Energy generation

13.3. The DC concept

13.4. PowerAssist: the hybrid or battery assisted AC concept

13.5. The house battery

1.Introduction

Victron Energy has been supplying components and systems for autonomous energy supply for some 25 years. These might be systems for sail- or motorboats, inland navigation vessels, off-grid houses, for many types of vehicles, and a nearly endless range of other, often unexpected, applications. We know from experience that generating and storing electrical energy on a small-scale is a complex business. The components of an autonomous system are costly and vulnerable. For example, the battery, that indispensable storage medium in a small-scale system, often goes flat quickly and unexpectedly, so that the “power fails” and eventually the harm caused by excessive discharge means premature investment in a new battery. Developments in the field of autonomous energy-supply on board sail- and motorboats are exemplary. The amount of electric (domestic) equipment on board boats is increasing rapidly, while at the same time the space and weight available for energy generation and storage are being kept to an absolute minimum. It goes without saying that living space and sailing characteristics take a higher priority. Growing demands imposed on autonomous energy systems have spurred the development of new products and concepts. This overview presents new products and concepts, with specific attention being paid to optimum system component integration and day-to-day operation of the complete system. Where system components are discussed, brands are only mentioned if the products are unique, that is to say available exclusively under that brand, or if other brands are very hard to obtain. The unique Victron Energy products mentioned are: - Parallel connection of inverters and combined inverter-battery chargers The parallel connection option (if needed even in 3-phase configuration) means that there are no limits anymore to the amount of AC power that can be supplied from a battery. As will be shown, this opens the possibility to run all kinds of domestic equipment, including the washing machine and the electric cooker, from the battery. Although the peak power consumption of such equipment is high, the amount of amp-hours needed is quite manageable and much lower than one would expect. - PowerContro l is an often overlooked but very convenient feature of the Victron Phoenix Combi and its even more versatile successor, the Phoenix Multi : by constantly monitoring the total power drawn from the on-board generator or shore supply, the Phoenix Multi will automatically reduce battery charging when otherwise an overload situation would occur (for example when high power household equipment is switched on). - The next step : PowerAssist . The revolutionary Phoenix MultiPlus , also an inverter-battery charger, actually runs in parallel with shore power or an AC generator, and uses the battery as a buffer to “help” the shore power or generator during periods of peak power demand. The implications of PowerAssist are truly far reaching: Traditionally the on-board generator had to be dimensioned to the peak power required. The use of power hungry equipment such as air conditioning, a washing machine or an electric stove would require a big and heavy generator and the required shore power capacity would often not even be available. With PowerAssist , shore power and the on- board generator can be reduced to less than half the rating that normally would be required! While this overview is directed mainly towards boats, many products and solutions are also applicable in other autonomous energy systems such as can be found in off-grid houses, motor homes, or special purpose commercial vehicles. - Battery chargers with adaptive software to automatically optimize charging.

2.The battery: preventing premature aging

2.1. Introduction

I like engines. When they go wrong you can listen, and look, and smell, and then take them apart. Parts can be replaced, repaired or overhauled. Then put it all together again, and there they go!

With a battery you can’t do that. The battery is a secretive product. From the outside there is nothing to tell us about its quality, possible aging or state of charge. Nor is it possible to take it apart. It could be sawn open, but that ruins it for good and only highly qualified specialists could analyse the content and may be, in certain cases, they could trace the cause of failure.

A battery, when it fails, has to be replaced. That’s it.

A battery is expensive, bulky and very very heavy. Just think: with 10 litres of diesel (= 8.4 kg) and a diesel generator you can charge a battery of 24 V 700 Ah (energy content 24 x 700 = 16.8 kWh). Such a battery has a volume of 300 dm 3 (= 300 litres) and weighs 670 kg!

Also, batteries are very vulnerable. Overcharging, undercharging, discharging too deeply, charging too fast, excessive temperature…. All these issues can occur and the consequences can be disastrous.

The purpose of this chapter is to explain why batteries fail, and what to do to make them last longer. And if you want to have a look inside a faulty battery, don’t open it yourself. It is extremely dirty work and for the price of a new pair of trousers (the sulphuric acid of the battery will ruin them) buy the standard work of Nigel Calder, “Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual”, and enjoy the many close-up’s of failed batteries in chapter 1.

2.2. Battery chemistry

2.2.1. What happens in a cell as it discharges

As a cell discharges lead sulphate forms on both the positive and negative plates through absorption of acid from the electrolyte. The quantity of electrolyte in the cells remains unchanged. However, the acid content in the electrolyte reduces, something noticeable in the change of the specific gravity.

2.2.2. What happens during charging

During charging the process is reversed. On both plates acid is released, while the positive plate converts into lead oxide and the negative plate into porous, sponge-like lead. Once charged the battery can no longer take up energy, and any further energy added is used to decompose water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. This is an extremely explosive mixture and explains why the presence of an open flame or sparks in the vicinity of a battery during charging can be very hazardous. It is therefore necessary to ensure that a battery compartment has effective ventilation.

2.2.3. The diffusion process

When a battery is being discharged, ions have to move through the electrolyte and through the active material of the plates to come into contact with the lead and lead oxide that has not yet been chemically converted into lead sulphate. This moving of ions through the electrolyte is called diffusion. When the battery is being charged the reverse process takes place. The diffusion process is relatively slow, and as you can imagine, the chemical reaction will first take place at the surface of the plates, and later (and also slower) deep inside the active material of the plates.

2.2.4. Service life

Depending on construction and use, the service life of a battery ranges from a few years to up to 10 years or more. The main reasons for batteries to age are:

- Shedding of the active material. Intensive cycling (= discharging and recharging a battery) is the main reason for this to happen. The effect of repetitive chemical transformation of the active material in the plate grid tends to reduce cohesion, and the active material falls of the plates and sinks to the bottom of the battery. - Corrosion of the positive plate grid. This happens when a battery is being charged, especially at the end of the charge cycle when the voltage is high. It also is a slow but continuous process when a battery is float charged. Oxidation will increase internal resistance and, finally, result in disintegration of the positive plates.

- Sulphation . While the previous two reasons for a battery to age cannot be prevented, sulphation should not happen if a battery is well taken care of. When a battery discharges the active mass in both the positive and negative plates is transformed into very small sulphate crystals. When left discharged, these crystals tend to grow and harden and form an impenetrable layer that cannot be reconverted back into active material. The result is decreasing capacity, until the battery becomes useless.

2.3. The most common types of lead-acid battery

2.3.1. Lead-antimony and lead-calcium

Lead is alloyed with antimony (with the addition of some other elements such as selenium or tin in small quantities) or with calcium to make the material harder, more durable and easier to process. For the user it is important to know that compared to lead-calcium batteries, batteries alloyed with antimony have a higher rate of internal self-discharge and require a higher charge voltage, but also will sustain a larger number of charge-discharge cycles.

2.3.2. Wet or flooded versus starved (gel or AGM) electrolyte

The electrolyte in a battery is either liquid (wet or flooded batteries), or starved: formed into a gel (the gel battery) or absorbed in microporous material (the AGM battery).

When nearly fully charged, wet or flooded batteries will start “gassing”, which is the result of water being decomposed into oxygen- and hydrogen gas.

In batteries with starved electrolyte oxygen gas formed at the positive plates migrates to the negative plates where, after a complicated chemical reaction, it is “recombined” with hydrogen into water. No gas will escape from the battery. Hydrogen gas is formed only if the charge voltage is too high. In case of excessive charge voltage oxygen and hydrogen gas will escape through a safety valve. That is why these batteries are also called VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) batteries.

Then batteries may be distinguished on the basis of their mechanical construction and purpose:

2.3.3. The flat-plate automotive battery (flooded)

This is the battery used in cars. Not suitable for frequent deep discharging as it has thin plates with a large surface area – designed purely for short-term high discharge currents (engine starting). Nevertheless flat-plate heavy-duty truck starter batteries are often employed as house batteries in smaller boats.

2.3.4. The flat-plate semi-traction battery (flooded)

This battery has thicker plates and better separators between the plates to help prevent buckling of the plates and shedding of the active material under cyclic use. It can be used for light duty cycling and is often referred to as a ‘leisure’ duty battery.

2.3.5. The traction or deep-cycle battery (wet)

This is either a thick-plate or a tubular-plate battery. Used for example in forklift trucks, it is discharged down to 60-80% every day and then recharged overnight – day after day. This is what is referred to as cyclic duty.

The deep-cycle battery must be charged, at least from time to time, at a relatively high voltage. How high depends on chemical and constructive details and on the charging time available.

Note: The high charging voltage is needed to reconvert all sulphate into active material, and to help prevent stratification of the electrolyte. The sulphuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) produced as the battery is being charged has a higher density than water and does tend to settle downwards so that the acid concentration at the bottom of the battery becomes higher than at the top. Once the gassing voltage is reached, charging is continued with plenty of current (and therefore a high voltage). The resulting gas generation ‘stirs’ the electrolyte and ensures that it becomes well mixed again.

For the electrolyte in a usually very tall tubular-plate battery to mix well, more gas generation is needed than in a much lower flat-plate battery.

The tubular-plate battery is extremely robust and accepts a very high number of charge-discharge cycles. It is an excellent low cost substitute for sealed gel- or AGM batteries.

2.3.6. The sealed (VRLA) gel battery

Here the electrolyte is immobilised as gel. Familiar as the Sonnenschein Dryfit A200, Sportline or Exide Prevailer battery.

2.3.7. The sealed (VRLA) AGM battery

AGM stands for Absorbed Glass Mat. In these batteries the electrolyte is absorbed (“sucked up”) into a glass-fibre mat between the plates by capillary action. In an AGM battery the charge carriers, hydrogen ions (H 2 ) and sulphate ions (SO 4 ), move more easily between the plates than in a gel battery. This makes an AGM battery more suitable for short-time delivery of very high currents than a gel battery. Examples of AGM batteries are the Concorde Lifeline and the Northstar battery.

2.3.8. The sealed (VRLA) spiral cell battery

Known as the Optima battery (Exide now has a similar product), this is a variant of the VRLA AGM battery. Each cell consists of 1 negative and 1 positive plate that are spiralled, thereby achieving higher mechanical rigidity and extremely low internal resistance. The spiral cell battery can deliver very high discharge currents, accepts very high recharge currents without overheating and is also, for a VRLA battery, very tolerant regarding charge voltage.

2.4. Function and use of the battery

In an autonomous energy system the battery acts as buffer between the current sources (DC generator, charger, solar panel, wind generator, alternator) and the consumers. In practice this means cyclic use, but in fact a quite special “irregular” variation of cyclic use. This contrasts with the forklift truck example where the duty cycle is very predictable. As boats are often also left unused for long periods of time, so are their batteries.

For instance on a sailing yacht the following situations can arise:

- The yacht is under sail or at anchor in a pleasant bay. Those aboard would not want any noise, so all electricity comes from the battery. The main engine or a diesel generator is used once or twice a day for a few hours to charge the house battery sufficiently to ride through the next generator-free period. This is cyclic use, where, significantly, the charging time is too brief to fully charge the battery.

- The yacht is travelling under power for several hours. The alternators on the main engine then have the time to charge the battery properly.

- The yacht is moored at the quayside. The battery chargers are connected to shore power supply and the battery is under float charge 24 hours a day. If the DC concept is used (section 8.2) several shallow discharges may occur every day.

- The yacht is out of service during wintertime. The batteries are either left disconnected for several months, left under float charge from a battery charger, or are kept charged by a solar panel or wind generator.

The number of cycles per year, the ambient temperature and many other factors influencing a battery’s service life will vary user by user. The following briefly discusses all of these factors.

2.5. The lead-acid battery in practice

2.5.1. How much does a battery cost?

Here we only intend to give a rough estimate of price. Besides all the considerations of quality and use, cost is, of course, important.

Battery type

Application

Commonly used system voltage, capacity and energy content

Price indication ex. VAT

Price indication per kWh

kWh

USD or EURO

USD or EURO per kWh

Start

Cranking

100

1.2

100

Spiral-cell

Cranking, bow-thruster House battery up to approx. 600 Ah House battery up to approx. 600 Ah. Also cranking and bow thruster House battery up to approx. 2000 Ah House battery up to approx. 600 Ah

12 12

0.72

250 300

350 125

Semi-traction

200

2.4

VRLA AGM battery

230

2.8

600

210

Traction (tubular-plate) VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

1000

4.500

190

200

2.4

500

210

House battery up to approx. 1500 Ah

1500

11.000

305

The table shows that cost varies greatly dependant on the choice of battery, and particularly that wet batteries are less expensive than VRLA batteries.

VRLA batteries do offer great ease of use, they:

- - -

are maintenance free.

do not gas (provided that the battery is not charged with excessive voltage).

can be installed in places with difficult access.

On the other hand sealed batteries are very sensitive to overcharging (the exception is the spiral-cell battery). Overcharging results in gassing (through the safety valve) which means water loss that can never be replenished, resulting in capacity loss and premature aging.

2.5.2. Dimensions and weight

Battery type

kWh

Volume dm 3

Weight kg

Specific volume Wh / dm 3

Specific weight Wh / kg

Start

100

1.2

Spiral-cell

0.72

8.5

17.2

Semi-traction

200

2.4

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

230

2.8

1000

280

770

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

200

2.4

1500

600

1440

This table very clearly shows how heavy and cumbersome batteries are.

Coming back to the comparison in section 2.1: Compared to the energy released by combustion of diesel fuel, for example, batteries are simply no rivals. Burning 10 litres (weight 8.4 kg) of fuel generates approx. 100 kWh of thermal energy. So when consuming 10 litres of diesel fuel a diesel generator with an average efficiency of 20% will be able to generate 20 kWh of electric energy. This is the energy needed to charge a 24 V 700 Ah battery. Such a battery has a volume of 300 dm 3 (= 300 litres) and weighs 670 kg!

Another telling comparison is heating water. Bringing 1 litre (= 1 kg) of water to the boil in an electric kettle requires 0.1 kWh. To supply the required 0.1 kWh, approx. 4 kg of battery is needed!

2.5.3. Effect on capacity of rapid discharging

The capacity of a battery is dependent on the rate of discharge. The faster the rate of discharge, the less Ah capacity will be available. This is related to the diffusion process (sect. 2.2.3). In general the rated capacity is quoted for a discharge time of 20 hours (discharge current I = C / 20).

For a 200 Ah battery this means that the rated capacity can be delivered at a discharge current of 200 Ah / 20 hours = 10 Ampères.

With a discharge current of 200 A the same battery becomes “flat” far sooner. For instance a 200 Ah gel battery then has an effective capacity of only 100 Ah and therefore becomes flat after 30 minutes. (see also chapter 3: The battery monitor).

The following tables give an impression of the capacity as a function of the discharge current.

The 2 nd column of the first table gives the rated capacity as quoted by the manufacturer with the associated discharge time. Often this is 20 hours, but it can also be 10 hours or 5 hours.

The tables show how capacity falls off steeply with increasing discharge current, and that AGM batteries (especially the spiral-cell battery) perform better than gel batteries under high discharge currents.

Type

Discharge current

Rated capacity and related discharge time

Discharge time

Discharge current

Effective capacity 1.83 V / cell (11 V)

Discharge time

A (rated)

hours

A (C / 5)

hours

Start

100 Ah / 20 h

Spiral-cell

2.8

56 Ah / 20 h

11.2

4.6

Semi-traction

200 Ah / 20 h

150

3.75

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

11.5

230 Ah / 20 h

198

4.3

200

1000 Ah / 5 h

200

1000

100

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

200 Ah / 20 h

158

150

1500 Ah / 10 h

300

900

Type

Discharge current

Effective capacity 1.83 V / cell (11 V)

Discharge time

Discharge current

Effective capacity 1.75 V / cell (10.5 V)

Discharge time

A (C / 2)

Minutes

A (C / 1)

Minutes

Start

Spiral-cell

Semi-traction

100

110

200

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

115

157

230

142

500

700

1000

400

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

100

120

200

100

750

375

1500

* With a discharge current of 1500 A (C / 1) the voltage of an A600 battery drops almost immediately to 1.65 V / cell (i.e. 9.9 V and 19.8 V for a 12 V respectively 24 V system).

Discharge current is often expressed as a proportion of the rated capacity. For example for a 200 Ah battery C / 5 means a discharge current of 40 A (= 200 Ah / 5).

2.5.4. Capacity and temperature

The effective capacity of a battery varies in reverse proportion to temperature:

- 10°C

10°C 92 %

15°C 95 %

20°C

25°C

30°C

80 %

100 %

103 % 105 %

2.5.5. Premature aging 1. The battery is discharged too deeply.

The deeper a battery is discharged, the faster it will age due to shedding (sect. 2.2.4.), and once a certain limit is exceeded (approx. 80% depth of discharge) the aging process advances disproportionately fast.

Additionally, if the battery is left discharged the plates will begin to sulphate (sect. 2.2.4.).

As was also explained in section 2.2.4, a battery ages even when kept charged and doing nothing, mainly due to oxidation of the positive plate grid.

The following table gives a rough idea of the number of charge/discharge cycles that batteries can withstand until the end of their service life, and how they could be destroyed by sulphation or due to plate corrosion.

Batteries are considered to have reached the end of their service life when the capacity they can hold has reduced to 80% of the rated capacity.

Number of cycles until end of service life

Resistance to 100 % discharging

Expected service life in float or shallow cycle use at 20°C ambient temperature

Type

DoD 80 %

DoD 60 %

Years

Start

Not suitable for cyclic use

Spiral-cell

400

650

Irreparably sulphated within a few days Irreparably sulphated within a few days Survives up to 1 month in short-circuited state Survives up to 1 month in discharged state

Semi-traction

200

350

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

250

800

4 - 10

1500

2500

10 – 15

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

250

450

Survives up to 1 month in discharged state

4 – 5

600

900

Survives 1 month in discharged state

15 – 18

Although most batteries will recover from a full discharge, it is nevertheless very detrimental to their service life. Batteries should never be fully discharged, and certainly not left in discharged state.

It should also be noted here that the voltage of a battery that is in use is not a good measure for its level of discharge. Battery voltage is affected too much by other factors such as discharge current and temperature. Only once the battery is almost fully discharged (DoD 80% to 90%) will voltage drop rapidly. Recharging should have been started before this happens. Therefore a battery monitor (chapter 3) is highly recommended to manage large, expensive battery banks effectively.

2.5.6. Premature aging 2. Charging too rapidly and not fully charging.

Batteries can be quickly charged and will absorb a high charge current until the gassing voltage is reached. While charging with such high current might work well a few times, this will actually shorten the service life of most batteries substantially (the exception: spiral-cell and some other AGM batteries). This is due to accelerated loss of cohesion of the active material, which results in shedding. Generally it is recommended to keep the charging current down to at most C / 5, in other words a fifth or 20 % of the rated capacity. When a battery is charged with currents exceeding C / 5, its temperature can rise steeply. Temperature compensation of the charging voltage then becomes an absolute necessity (see sect. 2.5.9). My own experience is that charging a 50 % discharged 12 V 100 Ah flooded battery at 33 A (C / 3) results in a temperature increase of 10 to 15°C. The maximum temperature is reached at the end of the bulk phase. Bigger batteries will become even hotter (because the amount of heat generated increases with volume and the dissipation of heat increases with the available surface) as well as batteries with a high internal resistance, or batteries which have been discharged more deeply.

An example: Suppose a 50 foot sailing yacht has a 24 V service battery with a capacity of 800 Ah. The maximum charging current would then be C / 5 = 160 A. Then 320 Ah could be charged in 2 hours. If simultaneously there is 15 A consumption, the charging equipment will have to deliver 175 A. During the remaining 22 hours of a 24-hour period an average of 320 Ah / 22 h = 14.5 A can be used, which means a discharge of only 320 / 800 = 40 %. This does not seem much, but unfortunately it is the maximum attainable when the generator period is limited to 2 hours. If used in this manner the cycling process will stabilise between a DoD of 20 % (beyond this point the charging voltage increases and the current accepted by the battery decreases) and a DoD of 20 % + 40 % = 60 %. Discharging more deeply and charging more rapidly would result in considerable loss of service life.

In the example described above the battery is being used in partially charged state (between 20 % and 60 % DoD).

Next to sulphation, there are two more reasons why the number of cycles in the partial state-of-charge mode should be limited:

1) Stratification of the electrolyte. This problem is specific to batteries with liquid electrolyte: see sect. 2.3.6. As a rule of thumb, one should not extend partial state-of-charge operation beyond approx. 30 cycles, and much less in case of very deep discharges. 2) Cell unbalance. Cells of a battery never are identical. Some cells do have a slightly lower capacity than others. Some cells will also have lower charge efficiency (see sect. 3.4.) than others. When a battery is cycled but not fully charged, these weaker cells will tend to lag further and further behind the better cells. To fully charge all cells, the battery has to be equalized (which means that the better cells will have to be overcharged, see sect. 4.3.). Unbalance will increase faster in case of very deep discharges or a very high charge rate. In order to prevent excessive cell unbalance, a battery should be fully recharged at least every 30 to 60 cycles.

2.5.7. Premature aging 3. Undercharging.

As discussed in section 2.2.4, sulphation will occur when a battery is left in fully discharged condition. Sulphating will also take place, although at a slower rate, when a battery is left partially discharged. It is therefore recommended to never leave a battery more than 50 % discharged and to recharge to the full 100 % regularly, for example every 30 days. Batteries, especially modern low antimony flooded batteries, often are undercharged because the charge voltage is insufficient (see chapter 4).

Along with discharging too deeply, not fully charging is the major cause of premature aging of a battery.

2.5.8. Premature aging 4. Overcharging.

Charging too much is, in sequence, the 3 rd main cause of service life reduction of a battery. Overcharging results in excessive gassing and therefore loss of water. In wet batteries water loss through excessive gassing can simply be replenished (yet the accelerated corrosion of the positive plates which takes place simultaneously is irreparable). However, sealed batteries which gas excessively cannot be replenished, and are therefore much more susceptible to overcharging. A frequent cause of excessive charging is the lack of temperature compensation or batteries being simultaneously charged using diode isolators (see chapter 5).

2.5.9. Premature aging 5. Temperature.

The temperature of a battery can vary greatly for various reasons:

- Rapid discharging and, to a much greater extent, rapid charging heats up a battery (see sect. 2.5.6 and 2.5.8).

- A battery’s location. In the engine room of a boat temperatures of 50°C or more can occur. In a vehicle the temperature can vary from - 20°C to + 50°C.

A high average working temperature results in accelerated aging because the rate of the chemical decomposition process in the battery increases with temperature. A battery manufacturer generally specifies service life at 20°C ambient temperature. The service life of a battery halves for every 10°C of rise in temperature.

The following table gives an impression of service life at different temperatures.

Battery type

Service life in shallow cycling or float use (years)

20°C

25°C

30°C

Start

3.6

2.5

Spiral-cell

Semi-traction

3.6

2.5

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

3.6

2.5

Finally, temperature plays a big part in charging batteries. The gassing voltage and consequently the optimum absorption and float voltages are inversely proportional to temperature.

This means that at a fixed charge voltage a cold battery will be insufficiently charged and a hot battery will be overcharged. See section 4.4. for more information on temperature and battery charging.

2.5.10. Self-discharge

A battery at rest loses capacity as a consequence of self-discharge. The rate of self-discharge depends on the type of battery and temperature.

Type

Alloy

Self-discharge per month at 20°C

Self-discharge per month at 10°C

Start

Antimony (1,6 %)

6 %

3 %

Spiral-cell

Pure lead

4 %

2 %

Semi-traction

Antimony (1,6 %)

6 %

3 %

VRLA AGM battery Traction (tubular-plate)

Calcium

3 %

1.5 %

Antimony (5 %)

12 %

6 %

VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A200 VRLA-gel Sonnenschein Dryfit A600

Calcium

2 %

1 %

Calcium

2 %

1 %

When not in use, open lead-antimony batteries must be recharged after no more than 4 months, unless the average ambient temperature is low. Sealed batteries can be left without recharge for a period of 6 to 8 months. When not in use for a long period of time, it is important to disconnect the battery from the electric system, so that no accelerated discharging can take place as a result of current leaks elsewhere in the system.

3.Monitoring a battery’s state of charge. ‘The battery monitor’

3.1. The different ways of measuring a battery’s state of charge

3.1.1. Specific gravity (SG) of the electrolyte

As explained in sect. 2.2.1, the electrolyte of a lead-acid battery consists of a mixture of water and sulphuric acid. When fully charged, the active material in the negative plates is pure sponge lead; in the positive plates it is lead oxide. The concentration of sulphuric acid in the electrolyte (and consequently the SG) is then high. During discharging the sulphuric acid from the electrolyte reacts with the active material in the positive and negative plates forming lead sulphate and water. This reduces the sulphuric acid concentration and consequently the SG of the electrolyte.

During discharging, the depth of discharge (DoD) of the battery can be tracked quite well by using a hydrometer to monitor the SG of the electrolyte. The SG will decrease as shown in the following table:

Depth of discharge (%)

Specific gravity

Battery voltage

Between 1,265 and 1,285

12.65 +

25 50 75

1,225 1,190 1,155 1,120

12.45 12.24 12.06 11.89

100

During charging the reverse process takes place and sulphuric acid forms once again. Because sulphuric acid is heavier than water, in batteries with liquid electrolyte (this does not apply for gel and AGM batteries) it settles downwards, so that the acid concentration increases at the bottom of the battery. However, above the plates the acid concentration in the liquid does not increase until the gassing level is reached!

Some useful information about electrolyte:

- Stratification Only once the gassing voltage (2.39 V per cell, or 14.34 V for a12 V battery at 20°C) is reached will the electrolyte slowly become well mixed again by the gas bubbles. The time needed depends on the construction of the battery and on the amount of gassing. The amount of gassing in turn depends on the charge voltage, on the amount of antimony doping and age of the battery. Batteries with relatively high antimony doping (2.5 % or more) in general do gas sufficiently during the absorption charge for the electrolyte to become homogeneous again. Modern low antimony batteries (1.6 % or less antimony content) however gas so little that a normal charge cycle is not sufficient. It then takes weeks of float charging (with very little gassing) before the electrolyte is well mixed again. As a result flooded batteries, after having been fully charged, may nevertheless show a low hydrometer reading ! Note: Vibration and motion in a boat or vehicle will in general adequately mix electrolyte. Temperature correction for hydrometer readings: SG varies inversely with temperature. For every 14°C of temperature increase above 20°C, the hydrometer reading will decrease with 0.01. So a reading of 1.27 at 34°C is equivalent to a reading of 1.28 at 20°C. Specific gravity variations per region: The SG values as mentioned in the table above are typical for a moderate climate. In hot climates SG is reduced as shown in the table below in order to diminish the effect of temperature on service life of a battery - -

Fully charged SG, moderate climate: Fully charged SG, sub tropical climate: Fully charged SG, tropical climate:

1.265 - 1.285 1.250 - 1.265 1.235 - 1.250

3.1.2. Battery voltage

Battery voltage too can be used as a rough indication of the battery’s state of charge (see preceding table, section 3.1.1). Important: the battery should be left undisturbed for several hours (no charging or discharging) before a valid voltage measurement is possible.

3.1.3. Amp-hour meter

This is the most practical and accurate way to monitor a battery’s state of charge. The product designed for this is the battery monitor. The following sections look in more detail at the use of the battery monitor.

3.2. The battery monitor is an amp-hour meter

The battery monitor’s main function is to follow and indicate the DoD of a battery, in particular to prevent unexpected total discharge. A battery monitor keeps track of the current flowing in and out of the battery. Integration of this current over time (which if the current would be a fixed amount of amps, boils down to multiplying current and time) gives the amount of amp-hours flowing in or out of the battery. For example: a discharge current of 10 A for 2 hours means that the battery has been discharged by 10 x 2 = 20 Ah.

3.3. Energy efficiency of a battery

When a battery is charged or discharged losses occur. The total quantity of electric energy that the battery takes up during charging is approx. 25 % greater than the energy given out during discharging, which means an efficiency of 75 %. High charge and discharge rates will further reduce efficiency. The greatest loss occurs because the voltage is higher during charging than during discharging, and this occurs in particular during absorption. Batteries that do not gas much (low antimony batteries) and that have a low internal resistance are the most efficient. When a battery is used in the partial state-of-charge mode (see the example in section 2.5.6.), its energy efficiency will be quite high: approx. 89 %.

To calculate Ah charge or discharge of a battery, a battery monitor only makes use of current and time, so compensation for the overall efficiency is not needed.

3.4. Charge efficiency of a battery

When a battery is charged, more Ah has to be “pumped” in the battery than can be retrieved during the next discharge. This is called charge efficiency, or Ah or Coulomb efficiency (1 Ah = 3600 C).

The charge efficiency of a battery is almost 100 %, as long as no gas generation takes place. Gassing means that part of the charging current is not transformed into chemical energy that is stored in the plates, but used to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas (this is also true for the “oxygen only” end of charge phase of a sealed battery, see section 2.3.2.). The “amp-hours” stored in the plates can be retrieved during the next discharge whereas the “amp-hours” used to decompose water are lost.

The extent of the losses, and therefore the charge efficiency depends on:

The type of battery: low gassing = high charge efficiency.

B. The way in which the battery is charged. If a battery is mainly used in partial state of charge (see the example in section 2.5.6.) and only charged up to 100 % now and again, the average charge efficiency will be higher than if a battery is recharged to 100 % after each discharge. C. Charge current and voltage. When charging with a high current and therefore also a high voltage and a high temperature, gassing will start earlier and will be more intensive. This will reduce charge efficiency (and also the overall energy efficiency). In practice charge efficiency will range in between 80 % and 95 %. A battery monitor must take the charge efficiency into account, otherwise its reading will tend to be too optimistic. If the charge efficiency has to be pre- set manually it is advisable to initially choose a low value, for example 85 %, and adjust later to suit practice and experience.

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