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Household Energy Storage System’s Power Solutions

The intelligent information age greatly increases electricity demand, which, in return, pressures people into seeking for green power generation due to the severe environmental pollution and energy consumption. Solar PV power generation is expected to alleviate the pressure. With government’s policy support and less cost of power generation, energy storage systems are brought in tens of thousands of households. For the entire household energy storage system, MORNSUN provides a complete power solution to simplify customer’s design and increase system’s reliability.

Structure and components of a household energy storage system

A household energy storage system is currently divided into two kinds, grid-connected and off-grid. A grid-connected household energy storage system is mixed-powered by solar and the energy storage system, including five parts:

  • 1.Solar array
  • 2.Grid-connected inverter
  • 3.BMS (battery management system)
  • 4.Battery pack
  • 5.AC load

 

Grid-connected solution

When the utility works normally, the solar grid-connected system and the utility together power the load. When the utility powers off, the energy storage system and the solar grid-connected system together power the load. The grid-connected household energy storage system is divided into three working modes.

  • 1.solar provides energy storage and powers the utility.
  • 2.solar provides energy storage and powers part of residential electricity.
  • 3.solar only provides energy storage.

 

Grid-connected solution

Off-grid solution

An off-grid household energy storage system is independent, without any electrical connection to the grid. Therefore the whole system does not need grid-connected inverter except PV inverter. The off-grid household energy storage system is also divided into three working modes.

  • 1.solar provides energy storage and powers residential electricity on sunny days
  • 2.solar and energy storage battery power residential electricity in cloudy days
  • 3.energy storage battery powers residential electricity at dusk and on rainy days

 

 

Off-grid solution

 

In summary, current demands for energy storage equipment mainly are BMS management system, PV grid-connected inverter and energy storage inverter. Combined the demands with the safety isolation requirement of the PV system’s unit circuits, MORNSUN puts forward a complete power solution of a control unit.

 

Power Solution for BMS management system

The battery is the core energy storage device of the system and needs to be monitored online status in real time, so the importance of BMS is self-evident. In the BMS management system, BCU real-time communicates with

  • 1.CAN bus and BMU to get monomer voltages, cabinet temperature, insulation resistance and others
  • 2.current sensor to collect charge and discharge current and dynamic calculation SOC
  • 3.touch screen to display relevant data

The BCU calculates and analyzes all the information of the battery pack and then intelligently manages the system, communicating with the independent CAN bus and achieving the secondary protection of charge and discharge through a relay. The latter ensures an effective isolation for strong electricity and weak electricity, meets customer’s demand for diverse security control and guarantees a stable and efficient operation of the system.

Power Solution for BMS management system

Practical example diagram 3:

Isolation voltage conversion is the main core of a power solution for BMS management system in the energy storage system. The main control unit is mainly based on a 24VDC system, and the power of the whole main control unit is less than 5W. Therefore, URB2405YMD-10WR3 offering 5VDC output voltage is recommended to power F0505XT-1WR2 and LDO. The LDO converts 5VDC into a 3.3V output voltage to power MCU. 6 pieces F0505XT-1WR2 in the system is used to power four CAN modules, voltage detection circuit, insulation detection circuit and a current detection circuit, and isolate power circuit, signal circuit and communication module at the same time to reduce interference and improve the stability and reliability. In addition, MORNSUN automotive-grade power supply CF0505XT-1WR2 is widely used in automotive BMS system.

 

Power Solution for solar PV inverter monitoring unit

Solar PV components converge energy and inverter converts DC into AC. The process of the inverter needs to be monitored, controlled and communicated so as to ensure its voltage to meet the requirement. This monitoring unit can directly get power from the utility.

As shown in Diagram 4, LH series directly gets power from the utility and converts it into 24V output voltage, which is converted into a 5VDC output voltage by non-isolated switching regulator K7805-500R3. B0503XT-2WR2 outputs 3.3V to power the MCU with isolation function. Isolated high-speed TD501D485H can inhibit electromagnetic interference and rise the ground loop’s resistance to protect the system circuit from an external network. In addition, MORNSUN developed an isolated driver QP12W08S-37 integrating DC/DC power supply, specialized for full-bridge IGBT, to simplify the design of the customer’s driven-control circuit and improve the reliability.

Solar PV components converge energy

Power Solution for solar PV grid-connected inverter monitoring unit

Een aan het net geconnecteerde zonnepaneel omvormer (ook Bi-directionele omvormer genoemd) bestaat uit een AC/DC unit, DC/DC unit, controle unit en transfer relais unit. Deze energieopslag omvormer wordt vanuit twee soorten voedingsapparatuur gevoed. De ene is het elektriciteitsnet en de andere de zonnepanelen.

Power Solution for solar PV

Practical example diagram 5:

As shown in Diagram 5, the power selection of AC/DC Converter should mainly take the power of the main control board and fan into account. The equipment power in the above system is 15KW. AC/DC Converter LH40-10B24 offering 24V output voltage is recommended to power the fan and the main control board. For the main control board, it’s recommended to use R3 DC/DC Converters URB2415YMD-10WR3 to power IGBT driver and URB2405YMD-6WR3 to power MCU and communication module. URB_YMD-6/10WR3 series apply fully automated production process, greatly reducing the labour costs. With superior performance ahead of the peer level and highly cost-effective, they fully meet the overall cost demand of solar PV industry.

Energy storage battery

Would you like to speak to one of our engineers concerning this subject :

CONTACT US

 

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BYD’s New Blade Battery Set to Redefine EV Safety Standards 

SHENZHEN, China, March 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Today, BYD officially announced the launch of the Blade Battery, a development set to mitigate concerns about battery safety in electric vehicles.

 

At an online launch event themed “The Blade Battery – Unsheathed to Safeguard the World”, Wang Chuanfu, BYD Chairman and President, said that the Blade Battery reflects BYD’s determination to resolve issues in battery safety while also redefining safety standards for the entire industry.

New-Blade-Battery

BYD highlighted a video of the Blade Battery successfully passing a nail penetration test, which is seen as the most rigorous way to test the thermal runaway of batteries due to its sheer difficulty. “In terms of battery safety and energy density, BYD’s Blade Battery has obvious advantages,” said Professor Ouyang Minggao, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at Tsinghua University.

 

The Blade Battery has been developed by BYD over the past several years. The singular cells are arranged together in an array and then inserted into a battery pack. Due to its optimized battery pack structure, the space utilization of the battery pack is increased by over 50% compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate block batteries.

 

While undergoing nail penetration tests, the Blade Battery emitted neither smoke nor fire after being penetrated, and its surface temperature only reached 30 to 60°C. Under the same conditions, a ternary lithium battery exceeded 500°C and violently burned, and while a conventional lithium iron phosphate block battery did not openly emit flames or smoke, its surface temperature reached dangerous temperatures of 200 to 400°C. This implies that EVs equipped with the Blade Battery would be far less susceptible to catching fire – even when they are severely damaged.

 

The Blade Battery also passed other extreme test conditions, such as being crushed, bent, being heated in a furnace to 300°C and overcharged by 260%. None of these resulted in a fire or explosion.

 

He Long, Vice President of BYD and Chairman of FinDreams Battery Co., Ltd., covered four distinct advantages of the Blade Battery including a high starting temperature for exothermic reactions, slow heat release and low heat generation, as well as its ability to not release oxygen during breakdowns or easily catch fire.

 

In the past few years, many EV manufacturers have fallen into a competition for ever-greater cruising range. When the range becomes the prime factor to consider, this focus is then transferred to power battery makers, leading to unreasonable pursuits of “energy density” in the battery industry. It is due to this unpractical focus on “energy density” that safety has been sidelined from power battery development. BYD’s Blade Battery aims to bring battery safety back to the forefront, a redirection from the industry’s tenuous focus on this crucial aspect.

 

“Today, many vehicle brands are in discussion with us about partnerships based on the technology of the Blade Battery,” said He Long. He added that BYD will gladly share and work with global partners to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for all industry players.

 

The Han EV, BYD’s flagship sedan model slated for launch this June, will come equipped with the Blade Battery. The new model will lead the brand’s Dynasty Family, boasting a cruising range of 605 kilometers and an acceleration of 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

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Marine Batteries Types, Charging, Wiring & Set Up

Boat-Battery

Marine batteries are designed specifically for use on a boat, with heavier plates and robust construction designed to withstand the vibration and pounding that can occur onboard any powerboat. For this reason, marine batteries are usually more expensive than automobile batteries, which can tempt some boat owners to purchase an auto battery instead of a marine battery. Don’t make that poor decision. A marine battery will last longer and be more reliable than an auto battery in a boat.

There are three basic types of marine batteries:

  • Marine Starting Batteries provide quick but powerful spurts of energy over short periods of time and are designed to start the engine and be rapidly recharged by the engine alternator. A starting battery should not be used for trolling motors or powering appliances.
  • Marine Deep Cycle Batteries are designed to discharge slowly over a long period of time and to withstand several hundred charging and discharging cycles. A deep cycle battery is a right choice for powering an electric trolling motor and other battery-powered accessories such as audio systems, a windlass, depth finders, fish locators, and appliances. Deep cycle batteries should not be substituted for starting batteries.
  • Marine Dual-Purpose Batteriescombine the performance of starting and deep cycle battery, and are a good choice on smaller when there’s no room for two batteries. While they’re able to perform the tasks of a starting battery and deep cycle battery, they’re not as efficient as separate batteries.

Boat Battery

Deep Cycle vs. Cranking

If you have an electric trolling motor, thruster, windlass, or other battery-powered accessories that draw larger amounts of current, you’ll want a separate deep cycle “house” battery for that purpose. A deep cycle battery is only meant to be used where high rates of discharging and re-charging occur often. A deep cycle battery is constructed differently than a cranking battery, with thicker, heavier plates. The longer, higher amperage requirements of trolling motors and windlasses, for example, would heat and distort the thinner plates of a normal cranking battery.

The cranking battery has more yet thinner plates to give a fast voltage spike to crank an engine but is not intended to maintain high power output for long periods. Yes, a deep cycle battery can be used to start your motor in a pinch, but a two- or three-battery system is highly recommended to separate the engine battery from the accessory (house) batteries.

The best way to be sure your battery is still good is to have it “load tested.” Most auto parts or battery specialty stores will load test your battery for free and tell you if it’s still serviceable. Just because it’s gone dead once or twice doesn’t necessarily mean it’s no good. The rest of your electrical and charging systems may need some attention as well, as something other than the battery itself may be the cause of the problem.

Replacing Your Boat’s Battery

Consult your boat owner’s manual or a marine dealer when replacing a marine battery, and be sure to buy a new battery that is a good match for your boat. Marine batteries are rated by their ampere hour rating, reverse capacity, and marine cranking amps. When shopping for a deep cycle battery, you’ll want to pay the most attention to the ampere hour rating and reserve capacity. For starting batteries, focus primarily on the marine cranking amps. Consult all three rankings when searching for a dual-purpose battery.

If you add electrical accessories to your boat, you may need to upgrade to a battery with a higher amp-hour rating, especially if you spend a lot of time trolling with the engine at a very low speed (which results in less charging power from the alternator) or you spend a lot of time beached or at anchor while using accessories like the audio system.

Charging a Marine Battery

Most of us understand that when we are buying a new or used boat, the batteries supplied may not necessarily be top-of-the-line. If they seem to do the job, we don’t think much about them. But in the warmer climates everyday heat is a major enemy of batteries and can shorten their life considerably. In areas of the country that force us to put boats in storage for the winter, how the battery is cared for during this period is also critical to increasing life expectancy.

It’s best to keep batteries on a regulated “trickle” charger to maintain charge while not in use. A battery that is not charged (and kept charged) can freeze in cold temperatures and a cracked case is the likely result.  A battery is like a lot of things in life—use it or lose it! A car battery will typically last longer than a boat battery because the car is used regularly and the battery stays charged. When it comes to boats, the old adage of a battery’s life being two years is pretty well on the mark. You’ll usually get a heads-up when it’s about to give up on you, with the warning being a “dead” battery one morning or a bit slower cranking speed than you’re used to. You plug in the charger, the battery miraculously comes to life, and you’re off on your trip. You may think the light was left on, or that the radio memory pulled the voltage down. The reality may be that the battery is sulfating, plates are warped, and it no longer takes or holds a charge like it once did.

Tips for Avoiding Battery Problems

  • Secure the marine battery with a good battery tray, which should have a base that is screwed or bolted to the boat and either a rigid bracket or a locking strap to hold it to the base. You don’t want the battery banging around in rough water.
  • Frequently check the battery terminal connections to make sure they are snug and free of corrosion. Replace the wing nuts often found on marine batteries with nylon locking nuts, which are much less likely to come loose.
  • If you use the boat infrequently, use a maintenance-type battery charger to keep the battery fully charged between outings.
  • Before off-season storage completely charge the batteries then disconnect the terminals so nothing can draw the battery down. If there’s power available at your storage site, keep the batteries on a battery maintainer/charger through the off-season to continually maintain your batteries. Otherwise, remove the batteries from the boat and store them where they can be connected to a maintenance charger.
  • Install a cover or “boot” over the top of the positive battery terminal, if one was not installed by the boat builder, even if the battery is in a covered box. The boot prevents sparks and arcing and possible explosion if, for instance, a tool is dropped on the terminal.

Bottom line? Keep your batteries charged, keep the terminals clean, and by all means get out in the boat and “exercise” your electrical system as often as you can!

 

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Battery pole piece spot welding

12v 100ah lifepo4

Battery pole piece spot welding machine work principle:

12v 100ah lifepo4

Battery pole piece spot welder use of ultrasonic metal welding principle, ultrasonic metal welding should be classified as don’t need preheating welding. Oxidation surface is the great friction welding which division, and at the same time two parts are pressed together. This program let two materials to produce the atom so close to the action. Far below melting point relatively slight increase of temperature in the welding process is not important factors. At the same time, because the basic material not liquefied, so there is no microstructure changes, also will not damage to internal structure. Ultrasonic cell metal special welding machine is suitable for: aluminum + nickel, nickel and copper foil, aluminum + aluminum foil, multilayer copper foil, multi-layer aluminum foil, multilayer copper nets, multilayer aluminum mesh, aluminum plate + aluminum strip, aluminum nickel composite belt + aluminium plate, aluminum shell bottom + ni-clad-al strip double point welding; And with nickel and copper foil, nickel band and aluminum belt, aluminium strip and aluminum foil, aluminum band and aluminum cover, aluminum shell and ni-clad-al strip of the material such as the single point, multipoint, single, multi-layer, square, form and process of welding. Features suitable for battery, hardware, electrical appliances and motor industry.

Battery pole piece spot welder features:

  1.  due to the bench ultrasonic cell metal welding machine machine 80% use import parts and components, to ensure low failure rate and machine section structure design is reasonable;
  2.  ultrasonic lithium ion battery metal welding machine of welding mould can according to different application fast and convenient to change;
  3.  ultrasonic cell copper foil nickel sheet welding machine with German import piezoelectric ceramic transducer, stable and durable;
  4.  miniature ultrasonic power battery cover sheet welding machine operation easy, built-in electronic protection circuit, the use of safe,
  5. independent research and development, and the ultrasonic cell metal welding mould and welding head, reached the advanced world level, reduce the enterprise cost;
  6. ultrasonic nimh battery pole piece very ear welding machine used for the same kind of metal welding, to foreign non-ferrous metal implement single point or multipoint welding, especially copper aluminum nickel sheet, line, take welding.

Battery pole piece spot welder advantages:

The machine use desktop integration design, reasonable structure, beautiful appearance, Vertical motion, positioning accuracy is high, the welding effect is good; Welding head and the integral design of the mould can ensure the consistency of the welding effect, and extend the welding head life; New mould manufacture and maintenance cost is low, the welding of high efficiency; Advance to set the energy, time of welding parameters, constant welding parameter to ensure the welding quality. The operation is simple, convenient assembly, easy maintenance, can according to the customer the production needs of customized; Combined with quality control system for automatic process monitoring, without professional technician, on-site staff need to accept a day of training that will operate. Features suitable for wire and guide piece of the connections between, lithium nimh battery electric etc with nickel sheet alloy plate ni-clad-al strip connection, household electric parts and wire welding, all kinds of high or low conductivity metal and alloy, etc.

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The Low-Down On Low Speed Vehicles (LSV)

When people wanted something roomier than a station wagon but not as commercial-looking as a van, the auto industry gave us minivans. Then when people wanted something sportier than minivans but not as workmanlike as pickup…

Read more
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Save Thousands On Medical Batteries Each Year

Reports from the Energy Storage Research Program at DOE have found that “every year roughly one-million usable lithium-ion batteries are sent for recycling”. Knowing when to replace a battery is an ongoing concern and date-stamping serves as only a partial and imperfect solution. It is important to understand and acknowledge the fact that batteries do not fail suddenly, but rather they follow a predicted decline in capacity losing performance over time. Battery life is governed by usage, not time.

 

A new battery is rated at a nominal capacity of 100%. As the battery ages, the reserve capacity drops and the battery eventually needs replacing when the reserve capacity falls below a certain level to be defined depending on the application of a battery-powered medical device.

Nickel-based batteries provide about three-years of service; Li-on five. Storage characteristics have also improved. However, under-usage in healthcare is more common than ever, and bio-medical technicians have discovered that many medical batteries that are recycled still have a capacity of above 90%, leading to millions of unchecked batteries being discarded every year.

 

The date-stamping approach to batteries has several serious flaws:

It does not detect a damaged or prematurely faded battery. Batteries that are used regularly may fade before the expiry date listed on the stamp.

Through this approach, it is also often neglected that even batteries held in storage and are not in use, lose capacity over time.

It is a costly procedure as it does not allow for full battery service life to be used, resulting in most batteries in this system being replaced after less than half of their useful life is still intact. Li-on batteries, for example, often last 2-3 times longer than the date stamp mandates, but also have higher purchase prices making premature disposal even more costly.

 

By replacing the arguably outdated approach to battery replacement, with a greener, more reliable approach, the future of battery management in healthcare will be increasingly optimized.

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LiFePO4 Care Guide: Looking After Your Lithium Batteries

LOOKING-AFTER-YOUR-LITHIUM-BATTERIES

LiFePO4 chemistry lithium cells have become popular for a range of applications in recent years due to being one of the most robust and long-lasting battery chemistries available. They will last ten years or more if cared for correctly. Please take a moment to read these tips to ensure you get the longest service from your battery investment.

 

Tip 1: Never over charge/discharge a cell!

The most common causes for premature failure of LiFePO4 cells are overcharging and over-discharging. Even a single occurrence can cause permanent damage to the cell, and such misuse voids the warranty. A Battery protection System is required to ensure it is not possible for any cell in your pack to go outside its nominal operating voltage range,

In the case of LiFePO4 chemistry, the absolute maximum is 4.2V per cell, though it is recommended that you charge to 3.5-3.6V per cell, there is less than 1% extra capacity between 3.5V and 4.2V.

Over charging causes heating within a cell and prolonged or extreme overcharging has the potential to cause a fire. EV Works Takes no responsibility for any damages caused as a result of a battery fire.

Over charging may occur as a result of.

  • Lack of a suitable battery protection system
  • Faulty of infective battery protection system
  • incorrect installation of the battery protection system

 

At the other end of the scale, over-discharging can also cause cell damage. The BMS must disconnect the load if any cells are approaching empty (less than 2.5V). Cells may suffer mild damage below 2.0V, but are usually recoverable. However, cells which get driven to negative voltages are damaged beyond recovery.

On 12v batteries the use of a low voltage cutoff takes the place of the BMS by preventing the overall battery voltage going under 11.5v no cell damage should occur. On the other end charging to no more than 14.2v no cell should be overcharged.

battery-test

Tip 2: Clean your terminals before installation

The terminals on top of the batteries are made from aluminium and copper, which over time builds up an oxide layer when exposed to air. Before installing your cell interconnectors and BMS modules, clean the battery terminals thoroughly with a wire brush to remove oxidation. If using bare copper cell interconnectors, these should be cleaned too. Removing the oxide layer will greatly improve conduction and reduce heat buildup at the terminal. (In extreme cases, heat buildup on terminals due to poor conduction has been known to melt the plastic around the terminals and damage BMS modules!)

 

Tip 3: Use the right terminal mounting hardware

Winston cells using M8 terminals (90Ah and up) should use 20mm long bolts. Cells with M6 terminals (60Ah and under) should use 15mm bolts. If in doubt, measure the thread depth in your cells and ensure that the bolts will get close to but not hit the bottom of the hole. From top to bottom you should have a spring washer, flat washer then the cell interconnector.

 

A week or so after installation, check that all your terminal bolts are still tight. Loose terminal bolts can cause high-resistance connections, robbing your EV of power and causing undue heat generation.

 

Tip 4: Charge frequently and shallower cycles

With lithium batteries, you will get longer cell life if you avoid very deep discharges. We recommend sticking to 70-80% DoD (Depth of Discharge) maximum except in emergencies.

Swollen Cells

Swelling will only occur if a cell has been over-discharged or in some cases overcharged. Swelling does not necessarily mean the cell is no longer usable though it will likely lose

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World’s Most Efficient Lithium-Sulfur Battery Developed – Powers Smartphone for 5 Days

Imagine having access to a battery, which has the potential to power your phone for five continuous days, or enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1000km without needing to “refuel.” Monash University researchers are on the brink of commercializing the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than four times, and power Australia and other global markets well into the future. Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani from Monash University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering led an international research team that developed an ultra-high capacity Li-S battery that has better performance and less environmental impact than current lithium-ion products.

The researchers have an approved filed patent (PCT/AU 2019/051239) for their manufacturing process, and prototype cells have been successfully fabricated by German R&D partners Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology.

Associate Professor Matthew Hill, Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani and Professor Mainak Majumder. Credit: Monash University

Some of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium batteries in China and Europe have expressed interest in upscaling production, with further testing to take place in Australia in early 2020.

The study was published in Science Advances today (Saturday, January 4, 2020) — the first research on Li-S batteries to feature in this prestigious international publication.

Professor Mainak Majumder said this development was a breakthrough for Australian industry and could transform the way phones, cars, computers, and solar grids are manufactured in the future.

“Successful fabrication and implementation of Li-S batteries in cars and grids will capture a more significant part of the estimated $213 billion value chain of Australian lithium, and will revolutionize the Australian vehicle market and provide all Australians with a cleaner and more reliable energy market,” Professor Majumder said.

“Our research team has received more than $2.5 million in funding from government and international industry partners to trial this battery technology in cars and grids from this year, which we’re most excited about.”

Using the same materials in standard lithium-ion batteries, researchers reconfigured the design of sulfur cathodes so they could accommodate higher stress loads without a drop in overall capacity or performance.

Inspired by unique bridging architecture first recorded in processing detergent powders in the 1970s, the team engineered a method that created bonds between particles to accommodate stress and deliver a level of stability not seen in any battery to date.

Attractive performance, along with lower manufacturing costs, abundant supply of material, ease of processing and reduced environmental footprint make this new battery design attractive for future real-world applications, according to Associate Professor Matthew Hill.

“This approach not only favors high-performance metrics and long cycle life, but is also simple and extremely low-cost to manufacture, using water-based processes, and can lead to significant reductions in environmentally hazardous waste,” Associate Professor Hill said.

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How To Properly Dispose Or Recycle Lithium Batteries

Recycle-Lithium-Batteries

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, billions of batteries find their way into landfills every year.

 

These batteries contain toxic substances which can then leech into the earth and water supplies. Fortunately, this negative impact on the environment can be avoided by battery recycling.

 

Did you know that you can recycle lithium batteries? You can, and it’s easier than you might think. Keep reading to learn more about the only safe way to get rid of old batteries.

 

Why Recycle Batteries

Before we go any further, let’s take a quick look at why it’s important to recycle batteries. When you understand why you’re doing something, you’re more likely to continue doing it.

Recycle-Lithium-Batteries

Here are some of the reasons why you should be recycling old batteries:

 

  • Conserves natural resources
  •  Reduces the amount of waste in landfills
  • Prevents pollution created by the collection of raw materials
  •  Creates new jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries
  • Saves energy
  •  Avoids polluting the environment and groundwater supplies

Many of these benefits come from the fact that metals such as aluminum, nickel, and copper can all be harvested from old batteries. These can then be used in other ways and new metals don’t have to be taken from the earth.

 

What to Do Before Taking in Batteries

Before you take your batteries somewhere to recycle them, there are a few things you’ll want to do.

 

First and foremost, you need to keep your batteries out of your regular trash and recycling bin. Lithium batteries can cause sparks, even if they’re completely dead. This is why you want to avoid putting them with other recyclables.

 

To prevent them from sparking, cover the terminals or ends with electrical tape. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of doing this as soon as a battery is removed so it won’t cause any problems.

 

The other thing you want to do before you pack up your old batteries to recycle is to call ahead. You want to make sure the place you’re taking them accepts the type of battery you have so you don’t waste a trip out there.

 

You also need to ask about fees. Some places will charge a fee to recycle batteries for you whereas other places do it for free. Asking in advance will help you avoid an unpleasant surprise.

 

Where to Recycle Batteries

Recycling lithium batteries is as easy as finding a place that will take them. Here are a few resources you can use to recycle lithium batteries:

 

Recycling Center

One of the best places to take your batteries to where there’s a good chance they’ll take them is a local recycling center. Not every recycling center takes every type of battery, so this is one you’ll definitely want to call before going.

 

A quick search online should allow you to find several recycling centers near you so you can find one that will take your old batteries.

 

Household Hazardous Waste Center

If you’re unfortunate enough to not have a recycling center near you that will take your lithium batteries, you should be able to find a household hazardous waste center.

 

This will require another online query which should lead you to the right place that will definitely take your old batteries.

 

Scrap Yards

To make your trip worth it, you may consider taking your old batteries to a scrap yard. Many of these locations will purchase them from you because they can remove the metals from them and make a profit.

 

This is particularly great for hobbyists who have several large batteries lying around that are in need of recycling.

 

Scrap yards don’t often take alkaline batteries, so if you also have some smaller batteries saved up from various electronics, you’ll have to visit a couple of places to get rid of all of your batteries at once.

 

Local Library or Community Center

Sometimes, a city or local community will have a battery drive or else a specific location where you can drop off batteries to be recycled for you. Ask at your local library or community center for more information about this.

 

In most cases, they primarily take smaller household batteries and other used electronics rather than larger batteries. For this reason, you’ll want to double-check that your larger vehicle batteries will be accepted.

 

Because of how close these places generally are to you compared to recycling centers, this can be the most convenient option.

 

Electronic and Hardware Stores

Here are some stores that may accept batteries for recycling:

 

  • Staples
  •  Best Buy
  • Home Depot
  • Lowes

As you can imagine, hardware stores are more likely to accept larger batteries since they sell them for tools and smaller vehicles.

 

Electronic stores may only accept smaller batteries used in cell phones and other electronics, so you’ll definitely want to ask before taking them there.

 

It’s also important to keep in mind that not every store location offers this service. Call ahead and ask about the specific types of batteries you’re looking to recycle before showing up with them.

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Why There Are Still Some Lithium-ion Batteries That Explode Up to Today?

There might be a battery explosion when internal electrical parts short-circuit, when mechanical issues occur after a fall or an accident, or when they is installation error. All of these failures happen when one side of the battery is heated up and cannot lower down the high temperature fast enough, creating a continuous reaction that generates more and more heat. This kind of snowball process is usually termed as thermal runaway.

Introduction

The process can occur in just milliseconds. This has attracted much attention from the press. But it turns out that not all batteries are equally likely to fail. Any energy storage device carries a risk, as demonstrated in the latest moment on 15th March 2017, involving a pair of headphones exploding on a plane. Many batteries come along with a safety risk, and battery manufacturers are supposed to meet safety requirements.

Himax - ICR 18650 Battery-37v-5000mah

Even though Lithium-ion batteries are safe, there are millions of customers using then so failures are bound to occur. A one-in-200,000 mechanical failure that happened in 2006 caused a recall of close to six million lithium-ion packs (Battery University).
Specialists of the lithium-ion batteries comment that on rare occasion microscopic metal particles may touch with other parts of the battery cell, causing a short circuit with in the cell.

So why do people and businesses still use them?

Lithium-ion batteries are super-efficient. They keep large capacity of energy in a small space and can keep electronic gadgets working for a long time. Li-ion power cells are also ranked highly in technology. The earliest rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were made for Handy-cams 25 years ago, and now there are many battery suppliers around the globe.

But unlike most advanced technologies, they get volatile with time. This is mainly due to the fact that we want higher-capacitydable batteries in small packages at affor prices. The symptoms may be the similar as they explode but a lot of other factors might be contributing to lithium-ion’s explosions.

These include;

Production Flaws

With all these exploding batteries, the first diagnosis is something must be wrong with the ways the battery is manufactured. Many people might think like that, but Samsung Note 7 issue illustrates that pinpointing the key flaw is not very easy. The initial recall involved devices that had batteries made by Samsung, the ones that did not have enough room between the battery’s protective pouch and electrodes. The squeeze tilted the electrodes in some batteries, leading them to short-circuit. But once the devices were recalled, replacing them with safer batteries from another firm had different issues. Many were not wrapped well, while others had ragged edges inside that caused damage to the main separator. That also caused short circuiting, but for entirely different reasons.

User-Supplied Damage

Even if a device is designed well, continuous dropping and subjecting it to long-term wear and tear can cause damage to the volatile energy source. The best way to tell if your battery is damaged is if it looks all swollen—evidence that the chemicals inside the battery are producing too much gas. That swelling also creates its own stress with the battery housing, which could result to a rupture. Unfortunately, a lot of devices today have a sealed-in battery, and taking the device apart to inspect it involves nullifying the warranty. If the external package of any device appears to be pushing apart or feels abnormally hot to the touch, it’s best to be careful and bring it in for inspection.

Battery Design Flow

Most of today’s devices are designed to be as slim, light, and sleek as possible in order to go with the trend. That can cause stress on an otherwise well-built battery, especially a high-capacity cell packed into a tiny body. Pressure from the hardware surrounding the battery can lead to damage to the electrodes and lead to short circuiting. Insufficient venting or thermal management can lead the flammable electrolyte inside the battery to heat up. Once it gets hot, chemical reactions can cause it to heat up even more and spiral out of control. It’s a situation called thermal runaway that often ends in an explosion or fire.

Industry Pressure and Competition

Companies make billions of profits when they save a small amount on each battery. As a result, many lithium-ion battery manufacturers do shortcuts in order to price their cells at affordable prices. The materials may not meet the required quality, causing damage in the already-thin separator. This situation was likely a major cause of the hoverboard fires: The first models on the market were expensive, and their popularity bred knockoffs with cheap prices and even cheaper internals. Crowd funding and low-priced components have democratized the consumer-electronics industry, but savings often come at the expense of safety.

Even though exploding batteries sound scary, they’re actually quite rare. Himax is committed to supply safer lithium batteries to its customers by using LiFePO4 cells in a variety of applications. LiFePO4 is a more stable and safer cathode material.