A recent report conducted by NERC (North American Electric Reliability Conference) highlights the increased risk of power outages this summer – with demand sharply increasing (more data centers, more AC needed with rising temps, etc.) and no improvement to current grid infrastructure in sight. In fact, the U.S. is projected to need an additional 10 […]
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If you ask any stationary battery expert what is the only way to determine the (true?) capacity and state-of-health of a battery, they will tell you that it is a load test. In this author’s opinion, somewhere along the journey since Plante’s and Volta’s time, the term “load test” has been misleading. It really is […]
What is an electrical substation? It is that part of the electrical generation, transmission and distribution grid, that contains equipment that transforms line voltage from high to low and vice versa. The locations can also contain other elements such as protection and communications equipment. All of these critical elements are backed up by batteries. It […]
Enhance Uptime with Proactive Battery Maintenance Insights IEEE Std. 450™-2010 and IEEE Std. 1188™ – 2005 amended by IEEE Std. 1188a™ – 2014 and other battery related standards such as NERC PRC-005 require a visual inspection of the battery. What exactly does this mean? This presentation will describe a methodological approach to visual inspection that […]
Improve Battery Life and Reliability Through Better Charging Practices This tutorial Is all about battery charging. During the presenter’s 40 plus years working in the back-up power industry in various capacities, it became obvious that in many cases, batteries were not being properly charged, with various consequences. The proper charging techniques along with what happens […]
Smarter Charging Starts Here: Insights from Industry Experts Switched Mode Rectifier/chargers (SMR’s) are the dominant method of charging stationary batteries for telecom, data and other standby power application. The vast majority of these are forced air cooled. In North America, the exception is with the utility companies who still favor older linear technologies, mainly Silicone […]
How to be Safe When Working On or Around Stationary Batteries This webinar will detail physical, mechanical, chemical and electrical safety concerns that could be encountered when working on batteries. Safety codes will be examined, personal protective equipment detailed, and electric shock and arc flash hazards identified. Related Tech Note Stationary Battery Safety Podcast The […]
Brush Up on the Power Calculations That Matter This presentation will look at charger and battery sizing, DC Voltage drop, hydrogen gassing, temperature compensation and some other useful calculations and formulae that will help battery backed power system integrators, installers, users and maintainers preform their tasks correctly. Related Tech Note Calculating ROI on an Infrastructure […]
Navigating the Latest Codes and Standards for Lead-Acid Batteries Things change, and that certainly applies to rules and regulations, codes and standards. This webinar will bring stationary battery users, installers and maintainers up-to-date on what is happening in the regulation minefield that surrounds your batteries. What documents apply? What is enforceable by law? Where do […]
Understanding Thermal Challenges in Stationary Battery Systems Stationary lead-acid batteries are designed to operate under certain environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and cleanliness. Operating outside these constraints has many effects on batteries. Most battery warranties are based upon operating conditions This webinar will define the desired conditions and what happens to the battery during […]
Unlock NERC PRC-005 Compliance with Real-Time Battery Insights Although the PRC-005-6 battery maintenance requirements are based on physical site visits using the specified calendar based schedule there is an option. The standard allows the use of remote monitoring to collect and record the required data. As with all standards there is always room for interpretation, […]
After hundreds of site visits, multiple battery systems tests, and the examination of numerous maintenance records, I would say that almost 50 percent of all stationary lead-acid batteries are not being properly charged. Lead Acid Battery Charging Techniques Constant-Current Charging: Not generally used for stationary batteries except during the manufacturing process. Constant-Potential / Constant Voltage […]
Assessing Convection-Cooled SMRs for Today’s Critical Power Applications Switched Mode Rectifier/Chargers (SMRs) are the dominant method of charging stationary batteries for telecommunications (telecom), information technology (IT) and other standby power applications. The vast majority of these are forced air cooled. In North America, the exception is with the utility companies who still favor older linear […]
Introduction Originally, lead-acid batteries consisted of pure lead grids; but lead is very soft, difficult to work with and to transport. Gaston Planté, who is credited with the invention of the lead-acid battery, refined the lead plate. A modern form of pure lead plates, the Planté plate, named after him, although expensive to manufacture, is […]
There is no question in the mind of any battery professional that the only way to establish the capacity of a battery is to do a load test. Yet, for many battery owners, the question is: why do I need to know the battery capacity when that was already calculated when the battery was sized? […]
Heat is detrimental to Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) battery operation and life. And, like all stationary batteries, they should be operated in an environment that allows for natural air movement and ventilation around the battery. It is important to maintain the battery at approximately 77ºF (25ºC). If this is not possible, and the battery is operated […]
Battery monitoring has been around for a while. This author first got interested in the subject in the early 1990s when Albér came out with a device that measured the internal DC resistance of a battery cell/unit. To me, this was a giant step forward in battery maintenance. After all, with the advent of Valve-Regulated […]
All too often, stationary batteries are purchased many months before they are destined to be put into service and they are put in temporary storage. This storage can be either away from or at the installation location. Also, sometimes batteries are installed at their intended location but are not connected to the charging system. This […]
First of all, a definition Ripple is the AC component of a system’s charging voltage imposed on the DC bus. It can also be reflected from load equipment. It could be caused by poor charger design, poor inverter design, failing capacitors, or by the interaction of load equipment connected to the DC bus. The result […]
Making Sense of Vendor-to-Vendor Ohmic Variance As companies transition from calendar-based battery maintenance to real time battery monitoring or to a new portable monitor vendor, the challenge is to reconcile the historical data with the new solution, this is particularly true for the cell/unit ohmic data. The measurement of the ohmic value can be made […]
Key Differences in DC Supply & Float Voltage Verification In PRC-005 at the 4 monthly inspections the requirement is to verify The Station DC Supply Voltage. Then at the 18-month inspection it calls for the Battery Charger Float voltage to be verified, the question often asked is what the difference between the two voltages is, […]
Is Electrolyte Spill Containment Necessary for Vented Lead-Acid (VLA) and Vented Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) Stationary Batteries? The above question is frequently asked and often the answer is what seems to be the standard answer to every stationary battery question – it depends! Well, the purpose of this technical note is to give an honest answer, taking […]
The above reference document discusses ohmic measurements and the use of this data in determining battery state-of-health (SOH). While a very useful tool, full reliance on ohmic measurements in determining the condition of a battery cell/unit can often be misleading and can give inaccurate “good” and “bad” indications. Also, in many cases, the ohmic value […]
This timeline shows when and how to properly outfit your battery systems for the redundancy required by this enforceable NERC standard. January 2020 TPL-001 is a long-term planning standard signed by FERC with a 36-month window before becoming enforceable. Minimize Risk with -5 As demand grows and utilities identify all single points of failure, (including […]