UTILITY BATTERY CIRCUITS

Design goals
Safety First
Location E Eyewash h station t ti Non metallic tools Fire protection p Proper signage Hydrogen release and venting Battery room lockout Electrolyte spill Battery racking and enclosures

Design goals
Reliability Cost Simplicity St d di ti Standardization Component Availability

What utility batterys battery s do

Parts of the dc bus

THE BATTERY

THE BATTERY CHARGER

THE DC DISCONNECT

Parts of the dc bus

DC DISTRIBUTION

Simple utility dc circuit

Create a wire diagram of the schematic

FD=Fused Disconnect

BC=Battery y Charger g

DIS=Distribution p panel

Adding Redundancy

Adding Redundancy

Adding Redundancy

Adding Redundancy

Design with the user in mind

Create and examine the wiring diagram of the system system. Think about protecting and removing each element. Remember that batteries added today may change in size later. Battery chargers are increased in size to accommodate added loads. Plan the floor layout to accommodate a spare battery or test loads. Add structure to the building for lifting equipment above the batteries batteries. Add disconnects and junctions at key locations. Add extra breakers in the dc distribution or connectors for remote b tt i batteries, t test t equipment, i t and d temporary t battery b tt chargers. h

PART TWO

How to size a utility battery charger.

Half Full?

A vessel l twice the h size required. i d

Half Empty?

Properly sized chargers will ill result lt in; i

Properly charged batteries. batteries Properly maintained loads. More efficient operation. Lower cost at inception. Lower cost over the life of the system.

Standards that describe battery y charger g sizing; g

IEEE Std 446446-1987, known k as the h Orange Book B k IEEE Std 946946-2004

Constant Voltage Charging

One of the oldest methods of battery charging first used for aircraft.

Constant Voltage Charging

Keeps the battery charged without overcharging by maintaining a constant voltage.

.Today y constant potential p charging is used for just y g about everything..

Utility Stationary Communications Oil & Gas G Petro Chemical Chemical Transportation

Basics terms about charging a battery

FLOAT Charge: Charge maintains the battery voltage and prevents self discharge. Like a batterys state of charge, this pool the water will evaporate and reduce the storage.

Basics terms about charging a battery

Equalize Charge used to cause a batterys cells to b become more equivalent i l t in their state of charger. In a string of batteries we are over charging some cells and fully charging others.

Basics terms about charging a battery

Float Charge & Equalize charge voltages are determined by the battery manufacturer. f

Basics terms about charging a battery

Constant Loads defined as those loads which remain steady and present.

DC to DC Converters Control relays SCADA Systems

Basics terms about charging a battery

Transient Loads defined as those loads which are fleeting.

The Formula
((Ah x R)/ T) + L = Charger Amperes
Ah (Ampere hours) This is the measurement of a batterys storage capacity We calculate this amount from a timed event of an ac failure when the loads deplete the battery. We could also use the full value of the battery.

R = Recharge h F Factor (This (Thi accounts f for losses l i in the h b battery while hil charging) h i )
Wet Vented Lead Acid 1.1, 1.15 Valve Regulated Lead Acid 1.15 Wet vented Nickel Cadmium 1.3, 1.35, 1.4 Valve Regulated Nickel Cadmium 1.4

L = Constant Loads supported by the battery charger T= The time required to recharge the battery

The Formula
((Ah x R)/ T) + L = Charger Amperes
Lets give it a try.. Assume 200AH wet vented lead acid battery y with 150AH removed recharge in 8 hours and a constant load of 25Amps. Now that the ac has returned current needed is to support the dc bus and recharge the battery is 150Ah x 1.15(eff) / 8H= 21.6Adc | +25(load)=46.6Adc Current to recharge the battery | added to load current

Other Considerations.. Temperature

Other Considerations.. Temperature

Altitude

Other Considerations..
Temperature and Altitude are interrelated. As altitude increases the ambient temperature usually decreases. Also as altitude increases the air molecules available to cool the battery y charger g decreases. As ambient temperature increases, the chargers ability to operate at full rating will therefore decrease.

Other Considerations..
Temperature and Altitude are interrelated. Check the manufacture's suggestions. Usually they have a chart that shows the relationship between altitude and temperature. Note the relationships p between temperature p and altitude it may be acceptable to operate without dede -rating by just adjusting the useful ambient temperature allowance. ll

Other Considerations..

Anticipated Growth Did I plan for the future?

Other Considerations..

Should I use a larger g charger g now or plan p for redundancy y later? Perhaps a complete parallel system would make sense? Is growth budgeted or assumed?

Other Considerations..

Was the battery y sized for future growth g such that the charger g calculation already takes this growth into account? Finally, just adding capacity is not good insurance if you really do not need it! Good engineering is the best insurance. insurance

Summing up.
If I plan my application carefully and realistically my charger, g , battery, y, and all associated equipment q p will be properly sized. Insist on getting the facts before sizing the application. Separate your transient loads from your constant loads the charger does not accommodate the transient loads. Use the formula! Dont assume or use a standard rule of thumb, use engineering practices. Doing a thorough job of application engineering will result in a properly sized application that will work correctly and as efficiently as possible. possible This means.

Correct size glass!