May 27, 2020 Pageview:1692
Battery banks are built by combining several batteries in a series and parallel arrangement. They are crucial in storing electrical energy, especially for those who use solar power. It is important to understand the different types of batteries available in the market in terms of capacity and discharge rate.
Batteries come in specific capacities. Hence, it helps to put several together as a way of preserving energy, which also means you need to understand the capacity of your battery. We are going to look at how to measure the battery bank capacity. Continue reading.
How is the battery capacity of a bank calculated?
Battery capacity is also known as the accumulator and is defined as the amount of power stored in a battery. The capacity calculation depends on specific temperature, charge, and discharges current value and charge/discharge time.
Many people get confused when it to understanding battery power capacity. We have already mentioned that this is the energy store in a battery, and it is often expressed in Watt-hours (Wh).
Wh stands for the voltage (V), provided by a battery, times the current (C) the battery can provide in a specified amount of time (mostly hours.
There, we can say that Voltage x Amps hours = Wh. But then, the voltage is fixed for the battery type. This is because of the internal chemistry that defines alkaline, lithium, and lead-acid batteries, etc. This is what only Amp*hour measurement is displayed on the side of a battery. You can see figures such an Ah or mAh (1000mAh = 1Ah.
But you can get the Wh by multiplying the gives Ah by the nominal voltage (which is constant for specific batteries too). If, for instance, you have a 3V nominal voltage battery with 1Amp-hour capacity, the battery has a capacity of 3Wh. Theoretically, 1 Amp-hour means one Amp of current is drawn from the battery for one hour. This can also be expressed as 0.1A for 10 hours.
To get one thing clear, too, the amount of current that can be truly drawn (power capacity) from a cell is always limited. This means you might not get the exact amount of energy as indicated on your batteries as the capacity. For the case of 1 Ah, for instance, you won't actually get the 1 Amp of current in an hour. And even if it gives you 0.1 Amp, the cell will give overextended itself.
It is also important to note that you get the total capacity from the sum of all the batteries' capacity for a battery bank. But the easiest way to calculate this capacity is by using a battery bank capacity calculator.
Let's use another example:
Say you have a 12 Volt House Bank of 12-6 Volt Deka Pro Flooded Batteries. Many people will assume that you only add up each battery's Amp Hour Rating go the total capacity and multiply by the number of batteries (12 in this case).
Amp-hours depend on the voltage, whereby the actual unit of energy is Watt-hours.
Amps = Watts/Voltage, and Watts = Amps x Volts.
If the batteries in the example above are 230s, then we can say 6V x 230 Amp Hour battery is equal to 1380 Watts hours or energy. This will be 16, 560-Watt hours for 12 batteries,
Now because these batteries are connected to offer 12V, the 16560 Wh = 1380 Ah. A parallel connection will give you 2760 Amp Hours at 24 Volts.
And if you use an inverter and feed 110 Volts to AC equipment, you get 12.5 Amp Hours.
When will you need a battery bank calculator?
Getting the right capacity for your battery bank can help you in so many ways. Basically, it helps you determine the size of the power bank. For instance, you may need a 12-volt battery to run your application, yet you don't what the current batteries hold.
A battery bank calculator can find you find in in-depth cycle battery when you apply a continuous load. This way, you will not be connecting the devices while guessing whether you have enough power or not.
And when you understand how much energy you need to run your application, and by how long, you make your plans work better. It is all about being in the know.
Besides, there are battery banks, like those applied in harnessing solar energy, that you may want to understand how they run. You will need the calculator to identify its capacity, what it can power, and for how long. Solar battery sizing or battery bank sizing is very important when choosing the solar electric system's specifications.
How do you use a battery bank calculator properly?
Learning to use a battery bank calculary properly can not only help keep the device safe, but it will also give you more accurate readings.
Lucking, applying this service is extremely easy. You just have to know the batteries you have. Many of the calculators available online follow almost the same procedure.
First, to load the size in terms of Amperage, and then the duration you want the load to be powered. And then, you can work on the temperature adjustment. From here, you can adjust the age of the batters, for instance, if it is more than six months old. Lastly, you input the battery types. This is rounded off to the nearest whole number and rated in Ah at a given Hour rate.
What is the relationship between charging time and charging current?
Many people get confused between a battery charging time and charging current. However, these terms are used together because they often occur together.
Battery charging time refers to how long the battery takes to be fully charged, whereas the charging current is the amount of current the battery takes in per specified time.
Charging time is represented as Ah/A, where Ah = Ampere Hour rating of the battery, whereas A = Current in Amperes.
Charging current needs to be at 10% of the Ah rating of a battery. When calculating the charging current of a 120 Ah battery, therefore, we can say:
Charging current = 120 Ah x (10/100) = 12 Amperes. But you cannot use 12 exactly because of some losses. You can use, for instance, 13Amps.
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