Lithium iron phosphate batteries (LiFePO4) used for energy storage account for a large proportion in photovoltaic off-grid systems. Compared to solar modules, they are similar in cost although LiFePO4 have shorter lives. Lithium iron phosphate batteries store energy to ensure stable system power at night. The load power is guaranteed on rainy days.
Generation and consumption time
The photovoltaic power generation time and the load power consumption time are not necessarily the same. In photovoltaic off-grid systems, the input is a component used for power generation and the output is connected to the battery. Photovoltaic power is generated during the daytime, and sunlight can generate electricity. The power generation is usually the highest at noon, but at noon, the electricity demand is not high.
For instance, many households use off-grid power stations to use electricity at night. These households should store the energy first and wait until peak electricity consumption (generally at seven or eight o’clock in the evening) to release the electricity.
Power generation and load power
The power of photovoltaic power generation and load power are also not necessarily the same. Photovoltaic power generation is not very stable due to the degree of radiation, and the load is not stable. Like air conditioners and refrigerators, the starting power is very large, and the operating power is usually small. The load will cause the system to become unstable, and the voltage will suddenly rise and fall.
The energy storage battery is a power balance device. When the photovoltaic power is greater than the load power, the controller sends the excess energy to the battery pack for storage. When the photovoltaic power cannot meet the load needs, the controller sends the battery power to the load.
Cost
The cost of off-grid systems is high. The off-grid system consists of a photovoltaic square array, solar controller, inverter, battery pack, load, and many other components. Compared with the grid-connected system, the extra battery accounts for 30-40% of the cost of the power generation system, which is almost the same as the component. The service life of the battery is not long either. Lead-acid batteries last generally 3-5 years while the lithium batteries generally last 8-10 years.
The new energy-storage lithium iron phosphate battery can increase the energy storage efficiency to 95%, which can greatly reduce the cost of solar power generation. Lithium batteries have an energy efficiency of 95%, while the currently used lead-acid batteries are only about 80%. Lithium batteries are also lighter in weight and have a longer service life than lead-acid batteries. The number of charges and discharge cycles can reach 1600, which means that they do not need to be replaced frequently.
Right now, more and more photovoltaic energy storage have adopted lithium batteries, especially the LiFePO4 batteries, with technological breakthroughs. The market share of ternary lithium (lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries, or NMC) or lithium iron phosphate batteries have also gradually increased in photovoltaic off-grid systems.
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Lithium iron phosphate battery is one of the safest batteries we using, and its durability and safety are definitely superior to other lithium ion batteries. So, can we overcharge lithium iron phosphate batteries? What range of voltage can be allowed it be overcharged? Under normal circumstances, the answer is NO!
What are lithium iron phosphate batteries?
The lithium iron phosphate battery is a lithium-ion battery that uses lithium iron phosphate as its positive electrode material. It is also called a LiFePO4 battery for short.
What is overcharging?
Overcharging a battery means that the battery charger is charging the battery too far past its fully-charged voltage. For example, the full-charge voltage of a monolithic lithium iron phosphate cell is 3.65V. When the charge exceeds 3.65V, it is overcharged.
What will happen when a lithium-ion polymer (LiPo) battery is overcharged?
Overcharging a battery cell will cause permanent damage to the cell. In terms of testing for safety, we internally test the different overcharge levels of the battery cells. The following are our test standards:
LiPo battery cell: No fire when the charging voltage reaches 4.8V (one of the necessary conditions)
LiFePO4 battery cell: Charging voltage reaches 10V and does not catch fire (one of the necessary conditions)
Charging with a damaged or non-corresponding charger may also cause overcharging. When the voltage is too high, a large amount of lithium ions overflow from the positive electrode, and lithium ions that cannot be absorbed by the negative electrodes can form dendrites on the surface of the battery, which can cause a short circuit inside the battery. The short-circuit current will generate a lot of heat, and the rapid temperature increase may cause the electrolyte as an organic solvent to burn (organic solvents are extremely flammable). In severe cases, it will cause a decomposition reaction of the positive electrode or the reaction of the negative electrode and the electrolyte. This can generate a large amount of gas; this can result in an explosion especially since the cells are enclosed.
If a battery doesn’t have the Battery Management System (BMS), continuously charging the battery will raise the voltage. In this situation, the lithium ions remaining in the cathode are removed and more lithium ions are inserted into the anode than under standard charging conditions.
It has been observed through ARC studies that the thermal stability of a cell is highly dependent on its state of charge. An overcharged Li-ion cell was found to have much lower thermal stability with an onset runaway temperature as low as 40ºC
Our suggestion is to 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 warranties. A Battery Management System (BMS) is required to ensure it is not possible for any cell in your pack to go outside its nominal operating voltage range.
What is a BMS?
The Battery Management System is a piece of hardware with an electronic system on board that manages a rechargeable battery (cell or pack) and is the link between the battery and it’s user. It can more intelligently manage and maintain each cell, improve battery utilization, prevent battery overcharge and discharge, prolong battery life, and monitor battery status.
If you need a customizable BMS to prevent overcharging or other potential issues, please contact us to get more information.
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LiPO batteries often abbreviated as Lithium polymer batteries are rechargeable batteries that use polymer electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes. RC cars are the popular market of LiPo batteries, you will be needing batteries for running them and LiPo batteries are the best option. They are best known for maintaining a steady voltage, surpassing all its other competitors.
What is the Best LiPo Battery for RC Cars?
All batteries are the same and identical, but that’s not true. They may look identical and share the same capabilities and compatibilities but they are different, in terms of quality and performance. Choosing the right one for your battery can be a task but here we are with guidelines that will help you in opting for the best one.
The best tip is that do your research and testing before the purchasing. Different brands will have different price tags and you must be ready to invest some money in buying them. Don’t buy a cheaper one that can later be heavy on your pocket but don’t buy an expensive one either. Some brands with low prices also offer good quality batteries that will last you longer than the expensive ones. So, the cost cannot determine the quality of the battery but its performance does. Make sure to do independent testing, consider battery configuration, and check the connectors as well. Also, make sure to check the reviews.
How Long Does a LiPo Battery for RC Cars Last?
LiPo batteries come with a lot of advantages but it has a shorter lifespan if compared to the nickel batteries. A LiPo battery may last typically fr about 150-300 cycles that totally depends on how it is cared for. Just when you will start using your battery frequently, charging and discharging it, it will ultimately be losing its capacity. You take your battery of 1300 mAH out of the box, but it will drop up to 75%, meaning about 1000 mAH.
A 1000 mAH battery bearing a load of 500 mAH will last for about 2 hours. Similarly, if your load is 2000 mAH then it would only last for 30 minutes. A 5000 mAH battery is quoted to last for about 20-25 minutes depending on the driving speed and your driving habits.
However, there are several methods that you can do for making our battery last longer. It includes the usage of proper charge voltage and balanced charging. Do, all the things that are necessary for maintaining the LiPo batteries for RC cars and you will definitely be treated with good and satisfactory outcomes.
How do you Care for your LiPo Battery for RC Cars?
Generally, good care and maintenance are required for LiPo batteries as they are a little too sensitive demanding some extra attention and care. But you can just ignore them for the fact that they need care because they are giving you a bundle of pros as well, including the lighter weight, higher capacities, higher discharge rates, and much more.
Here are some of the tips that will lead you to a better performance of LiPo batteries of RC cars.
Compatible Charger
Not just for increasing the lifespan, compatible chargers for LiPo batteries are the first thing that should be taken care of. If you are using a non-compatible charger you are not fully charging your battery, increasing the safety risks, and also contributing to shortening the life of the battery.
Effective Charging
It is advised to not over-discharge your battery and store the battery fully charged. do not overcharge your battery past 4.2 V per cell. Using a compatible charger will also help you in keeping the voltage and current same until it reaches the peak. Make sure to charge it as per instructions. Don’t charge them at below freezing point or near the flammable surfaces. Also, ensure that your battery is not damaged, broken, or swollen.
Discharging
Do not discharge your batteries more than amperage rates specified on the labels. Discharging the battery low than 3V can lead you to some consequences. Also, ensure that your battery doesn’t exceed the temperature of 140F during the discharging process.
Storage
Extra Care and attention are needed even in the storage of LiPo batteries. If you are storing your battery fr more than 30 days or planning to leave it as it is for a month or so, do not leave your battery fully charged. Make sure that you are not storing loose batteries together. It’s also recommended that you should not store your battery at extreme temperatures, near the flammable surfaces or in the direct sunlight. Always disconnect the batteries that are not in use and store them in a non-conductive fireproof container as it is really necessary to prevent any unwanted consequences. Improper storage is the most common problem that occurs with LiPo batteries.
Disposal
It’s really important to dispose of the LiPo battery properly as it can be a hazard. If you are having a bad day with LiPo batteries then dispose of them in the bins after completely discharging them, and checking the voltage of them. Place the LiPo in a saltwater bath and it will short out the battery, then check the voltage and then dispose them of.
General Care
Don’t disassemble the cells, never dispose of them in fire or use them near flammable surfaces, avoiding the opening and deforming of the cell, avoiding them to not get hit or bend or striking them with sharp edges are a part of some general care that should be don while handling the LiPo batteries for RC cars. You can also use a fire-resistant container to keep your batteries and yourself safe and sound.
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A deep-cycle battery is a battery that is designed to be able to store a large quantity of energy while having the ability to discharge from 100% down to 0% without hurting the battery. A deep-cycle battery also ensures that a steady amount of power is being delivered to applications over a long period of time without interruption or failure. It is constructed with thicker plates and a denser active material ratio. Due to these features, a deep-cycle battery achieves greater cycling capacities.
What is DOD (Depth of Discharge)?
The Depth of Discharge (DOD) of a battery represents the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery. For example, if a battery has a nominal capacity of 100kWh and discharges 30kW, the Depth of Discharge comes out to be 30%.
Its DOD is (30x 1) / 100 = 30%.
The more often a battery is charged and discharged, the shorter the battery life will become. It is generally not recommended to completely discharge a battery as it will greatly reduce the battery life. Many battery manufacturers specify the recommended maximum DOD in order to maximize the battery performance.
If a manufacturer of a 10 kWh battery recommends a maximum DOD of 80%, the battery should not use more than 8 kWh without charging. The DOD is an important factor to consider because a higher DOD means that more of the energy in a battery can be used. The DOD of many modern lithium-ion batteries is 100%.
A battery’s “cycle life,” the number of charge/discharge cycles in its life, depends on how much battery capacity is typically use. Rather than completely draining a battery to its maximum DOD, a user will be able to attain more cycles in their battery regularly discharging it with a lower percentage of charge.
For example, a battery may have 15,000 cycles at a DoD of 10%, but only have 3,000 cycles at a DoD of 80%.
What applications need deep-cycle batteries?
Floor Machines
Electric vehicles
Materials handling
Renewable energy
Aerial work platforms
Commercial transit
RV and Marine
HME Mobility Telecom UPS
Security Electronics
All of these applications require high energy retention, deep-cycle discharge, a large number of cycle lives, and a stable discharge performance.
Why choose LiFePO4 deep cycle batteries?
Another way to think of the DOD is the extent to which discharge begins to stop during use. 100% DOD refers to discharge at full capacity. The life of a lead-acid battery is greatly affected by the DOD. A lead-acid battery is likely to fail quickly on a user as it normally only allows 50 to 80% DOD.
In contrast, A LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery, which is newer technology, has a deep-cycle discharge, so it can reach 2000 cycles with 100% DOD. Lithium batteries can also be discharged at a specific C-rating. With a working temperature of 25° C and a discharge rate of 0.5C, a LiFePO4 battery can reach 4000 to 6000 cycles.
Compared to lead-acid batteries, the advantages of deep-cycle lifepo4 batteries are the following:
Eco-friendly
Good high-temperature resistance
Good safety characteristics
No memory effect
Higher-capacity compare with same size lead-acid battery
Longer cycle life than other lithium-ion batteries
Ideal drop-in replacement for lead-acid batteries
Lower total cost of average use
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Most smartphones on the market use LiPo (Lithium-ion Polymer) batteries. They are 3.8V per cell (4.35V when fully charged) and generally about 3 Ampere hour (Ah), or 3000 milliampere hour (mAh), in capacity. The charging voltage must be higher than the battery voltage. Because the battery is polarized when the battery is charged, the voltage must reach or exceed the sum of the battery voltage and the polarizing voltage in order to effectively inject current. Therefore, the standard output voltage of portable power banks on the market is 5V / 2.1A.
Here to mention, the fast charging technology we see is the next level of 3 Amps charging technology.
In this situation, the watts of phone batteries needed is around 18.5W (3.7 Volts times 5 Amps Hour capacity), and the portable power bank is around 37W, the battery has higher wattage than the device and it is sufficient to power the phone. What if it is lower than the device needed?
Battery (Watts) < Device (Watts)
Light bulbs are marked as 10W, 20W, 30W, etc. Suppose we use a 10W battery to power a 40W bulb, the result would be a lightbulb that is less bright and feels dim. If the power differs too much, the bulb may not even light up.
The secondary issue with this is that, the battery now needs to displace more power to meet the demand of the bulb, thus lowering overall battery capacity.
Battery (Watts) > Device (Watts)
A lightbulb has a sticker that clearly specifies the maximum wattage acceptable, if the power of battery is higher, it could cause a hazardous situation. There are two watts on a light bulb, equivalent watts and actual watts. For example, an LED light bulb may produce 95W equivalent lighting, but only requires 25W to power.
You must not exceed the required watt.
If you exceed actual watts, e.g. an incandescent 75W bulb that uses a real 75W in a socket that says max 60W then you may risk overheating and fire, and may have the following consequences:
The fixture might overheat
The fixture could be discolored and/or destroyed
The lamp could burn-out prematurely
The house could be burnt down
The wiring could be damaged
If there were enough of them in a circuit, it could overload the circuit
Other bad consequences
Why not overload when using high power batteries/wall socket?
The input voltage and power of our home appliances are different, but whether it is converting 110V civil AC (220V in China) to about 5V DC to mobile phone batteries, or 370V DC to Electric vehicles, only require two steps: “rectification” and “voltage transformation”.
In order to supply power to our different household appliances, the electrical plug is used to transform the voltage, and its power is adjusted to deliver electricity to the device.
Imagine that our electricity is like water, which is transmitted to all the devices in your home through pipes (grid network). The wall socket is the gate, and the plug is the water pipe connected to this gate. The water pressure is adjusted to prevent too much water pressure to damage the devices.
The AC voltage in different countries and regions is also different, so there are various plugs for us. If you want to use Chinese appliances in the United States, you need to buy a conversion plug.
That mobile power is the same reason, the voltage is transformed through the plug. However, the battery like the portable power station does not have the high voltage and power of the wall socket.
At present, the maximum power of most portable power solutions only offer about 150W ~ 200W. So utilizing a standard portable power solution to power a 1200W kettle is pretty unrealistic. Therefore, before purchasing equipment and batteries, pay attention to the power requirements of the device and if the battery is able to support it.
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Lithium batteries, or Lithium-ion Polymer (LiPo) batteries, are batteries that use Lithium as a negative electrode material and use a non-aqueous electrolyte solution. In 1912, Lithium metal batteries were first proposed and studied by Gilbert N. Lewis. In the 1970s, M.S. Whittingham proposed and started researching Lithium-ion batteries. However, due to the complications of using the unstable Lithium metal, the batteries were not popular at the time.
It is now with further development that Lithium-ion Polymer batteries have fast become a preferred power source for many applications and industries. It is for this reason that we will explore the charging cycles of lithium-ion polymer batteries in-depth in this article.
What is a charging cycle?
Some consumers may have that the charge and discharge life of lithium-ion polymer batteries is “500 times.” But what is “500 times?” It refers to the number of charge and discharge cycles of the battery.
Let us look at an example: Let us say there is a lithium battery that uses only half of its charge in one day and is then charged fully. On the next day, it again only uses half of its power. Although the battery has been charged twice, this does not count as one charge cycle but two.
A charging cycle is when a battery goes from being fully charged to empty and then from empty to fully charged; this is not one single charge. Just based on the previous example, it’s clear that it can usually take several charges to complete a cycle.
Every time a charging cycle is completed, the battery capacity decreases a bit. However, the reduced capacity is very small. High-quality batteries will still retain 80% of their original capacity after many cycles of charging. Many lithium battery products will still be used after two or three years. Of course, after the end of the lithium battery life, it still needs to be replaced.
Ultimately, a 500-cycle life means that a manufacturer has achieved about 625 recharge times at a constant discharge depth (such as 80%) and reached 500 charging cycles. In other words, if we ignore other factors that could reduce the Lithium-ion battery capacity and we take 80% of 625, we receive 500.
However, due to various factors in life, especially considering how the depth of discharge (DOD) during charging is not constant, “500 charging cycles” can only be used as a reference to battery life.
Overall, it is better to think of the life of the lithium battery as related to the number of times the charging cycle is completed and not as directly related to the number of charges.
Deep and shallow charging
Here is another way to think of the cycle lives of lithium-ion polymer batteries: the life of a Lithium battery is generally 300 to 500 charging cycles. Assume that the capacity provided by a full discharge is Q. If the capacity reduction after each charging cycle is not considered, lithium batteries can provide or supplement 300Q-500Q power in total during its life. From this we know that if you use 1/2 each time, you can charge 600-1000 times; if you use 1/3 each time, you can charge 900-1500 times. By analogy, if you charge randomly, the number of times is uncertain. In short, no matter how a Lithium battery is charged, it is constant to add a total of 300Q to 500Q of power. Therefore, we can also understand this: the life of a Lithium battery is related to the total charge of the battery and has nothing to do with the number of charges. The effects of deep charging and shallow charging on lithium battery life are similar.
In fact, shallow discharge and shallow charges are more beneficial to lithium batteries. It is only necessary to deep charge when the power module of the product is calibrated for lithium batteries. Therefore, lithium-ion-powered products do not have to be constrained by the process: they can be charged at any time without worrying about affecting the battery life.
Effects of temperature on battery life
If a Lithium-ion Polymer battery is used in an environment higher than the specified operating temperature (above 35℃), the battery’s power will continue to decrease. In other words, the battery’s power supply time will not be as long as usual. If a device is charged at such temperatures, the damage to the battery will be greater. Even if the battery is stored in a hot temperature environment, it will inevitably cause damage to the battery. Therefore, it is a good idea to extend the life of lithium-ion polymer batteries by using it under normal operating temperatures as often as possible.
If you use Lithium batteries in a low-temperature environment (below 4℃), the battery life will also be reduced. Some older Lithium batteries of mobile phones cannot even be charged under low temperatures. However, unlike in high temperatures, once the temperatures rise, the molecules in a battery will heat up and immediately return to the previous charge.
Having explored battery performance under these extreme temperatures, the question now becomes if there are any batteries that can be used in environments with low or high temperatures.
Currently, GREPOW’s batteries can be used at temperature ranges of -50 ℃ to 50 ℃ or 20 ℃ to 80 ℃. Our low-temperature Lithium batteries’ discharging current of 0.2C at -50℃ is over 60% efficiency, over 80% efficiency at -40℃, and around 80% efficiency at -30℃.
We can further custom-make batteries depending on your specifications.
Charge-discharge cycle
To get the most out of lithium-ion batteries, you need to use it often so that the electrons in the Lithium batteries are always in a flowing state. If you do not use lithium batteries often, please remember to complete a charging cycle every month and do a power calibration, i.e. deep discharge and deep charge, once.
After the nominal number of charge and discharge cycles is used up, a battery’s ability to store power will drop to a certain level, but the battery can continue to be used.
Lithium batteries have no limit on the number of times they can be recharged. Regular manufacturers can charge and discharge batteries at least 500 times, and the capacity is maintained at more than 80% of the initial capacity. If charged and discharged once a day, batteries can be used for two years. Usually, batteries in mobile phones are charged 1000 times or more, which causes the batteries to be severely non-durable.
Below is a proper method of maintaining your mobile device’s battery:
When you charge your phone, fully charge it each time.
Do not fully discharge the battery. The battery needs to be charged when the power is less than 10%.
Charge with the original charger; do not use a third-party charger.
Do not use your mobile phone while it is being charged.
Don’t overcharge: stop charging after the battery is full.
According to the experimental results, the life of a lithium battery continuously declines with an increase in the number of charges.
Lithium battery cycle specified by the national standard
In order to measure how long the rechargeable battery can be used, the definition of the number of cycles is specified. Actual users use a wide variety of tests because tests with different conditions are not comparable, and the comparison must define the definition of cycle life.
Lithium battery cycle life test conditions and requirements specified by the national standard are as follows:Charge at 1C under the environment temperature of 20 ° C ± 5 ° C. When the battery terminal voltage reaches the charging limit voltage of 4.2V, change to constant voltage charging until the charging current is less than or equal to 1 / 20C, stop charging, leave it for 0.5h to 1h, and then discharge it at 1C to the termination voltage of 2.75V.
After the discharge is completed, leave it for 0.5h to 1h, and then perform the next charge and discharge cycle two consecutive times. Less than 36min, the end of life is considered, and the number of cycles must be greater than 300 times.
Having gone over the national standard, we should explain the following:
The standard specifies that the cycle life test is performed in a deep charge and deep release mode.
The cycle life of the lithium battery is specified. According to this model, the capacity is still more than 60% after ≥300 cycles.
However, the number of cycles obtained by different cycling systems is quite different. For example, the other conditions above are unchanged, and only the constant voltage of 4.2V is changed to a constant voltage of 4.1V for the cycle life of the same type of battery. In this way, the battery is no longer under a deep charge, and the cycle of life can be increased by nearly 60%. Then if the cut-off voltage is increased to 3.9V for testing, the number of cycles should be increased several times.
With regard to this statement that the charge and discharge cycle is one less life, we should pay attention to the definition of the charging cycle of a lithium battery: a charging cycle refers to the full charge of the lithium battery from empty to full, and then from empty to full the process of. And this is not the same as charging once.
In addition, when we talk about the number of cycles, we cannot ignore the conditions of the cycle. It is meaningless to talk about the number of cycles aside from the rules because the number of cycles is just a way to measure battery life.
If you want to learn more about batteries or our custom-made batteries, please contact us at sales@himaxelectronics.com and visit our website: https://himaxelectronics.com/
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According to Yakgear, kayak fishing has advantages over the traditional method by boat. Just to name a couple, anglers can fish more economically and in smaller bodies of water.
What the general public might not know is that batteries are needed for motorized kayaks.
What do I need to know before choosing a battery?
Users should be aware of the basic terms outlined below:
Voltage (V):Like water pressure, it is the pressure from an electrical circuit’s power source that pushes charged electrons (current) through a conducting loop.
Ampere hours (Amps, A): This is the measurement of the current of electricity. It is also used to represent the battery capacity (Ah).
Life cycles: This is the measurement of battery life or the number of complete charge/discharge cycles that the battery is able to support before its capacity falls below 80% its original.
Depth of discharge (DOD): The DOD is often paired with life cycles, representing the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery.
Operation temperature (℃):This is the battery’s operating range of temperature. The battery should not be used outside this temperature rang as it will be damaged and become a safety hazard.
Watts:Watts represent how much energy is stored in the battery. If you want your electronics to work properly, you must confirm that the watts of the battery are sufficient (higher than the devices you used).
Where is the battery used on a kayak?
There are only three instances where we will need batteries on a kayak: When you need to charge your phone and power your light source and fish finder. The batteries must provide sufficient voltage and capacity to these devices while you are fishing so that you have enough power.
What is the best battery for kayaking?
A 12V and 10Ah battery is sufficient for most fish finders while providing extra power for other devices. Most people choose between either Lithium-ion Polymer or Lead-Acid batteries.
Lead-Acid batteries
Lead Acid batteries have the advantage of lower cost and little to no maintenance fee, but they can be heavyweight.
For safety reasons, users should choose a brand new Lead-Acid battery and ensure it is made of strong materials that prevent leakage of hazardous chemicals.
Lithium-ion Polymer (LiPo) batteries
Users have also used LiPo batteries by connecting them in series or parallel. They have they advantage of weighing less than other traditional power sources although they range from having 200 to 500 cycles.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries
LiFePO4 batteries have a cycle life of more than 2,000, and they do not require frequent as much maintenance and replacements as compared to their Lead-Acid counterparts. These batteries are also more environmentally friendly.
Why Himax?
Himax is a cell and battery pack manufacturer that specializes in Lithium batteries. As we have various designs for numerous applications, we can custom-make Lithium batteries for your marine uses.
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Batteries for industrial applications have certain characteristics, such as high discharge and large capacity. These batteries consist of three parts: Customized battery + BMS + Charging system
Industrial applications
Let’s look at where industrial batteries are used. Industrial applications cover a wide area, but we can separate them into 3 larger categories:
– Measuring, Mapping and Surveying equipment
– Detection and Inspection equipment
– Filming and Production equipment
In these three industrial areas, the batteries must be adjusted according to their different use.
For example, in areas with extremely cold temperatures, the batteries should have the ability to withstand low temperatures and continue to discharge at low temperatures all while fulfilling the charging capabilities. If a device can be charged in these extreme environments, users can save time and the cost that it takes to remove and replace a battery or device in these settings. This can increase the overall efficiency.
Why are industrial batteries needed?
Technically, not all industrial applications require industrial batteries. However, they are the preferred norm as a complete power system will ensure that a customer’s equipment maintains sufficient power without causing any delays or decreasing inefficiency due to power problems.
The BMS
A BMS (Battery Management System) is the intelligent component of a battery pack that is responsible for advanced monitoring and management. It plays a critical role in safety, performance, charge rates, and longevity. By monitoring the SOC (State of Charge) of the battery and managing the charge and discharge, the BMS can overall increase the efficiency and life of the battery.
Major functions of the BMS:
Overcharge protection
Over-discharge protection
Overcurrent protection
Overheat protection
Short-circuit protection
Cell monitoring & balancing
Communication interface
Self-diagnosis
Power gauge
Customized batteries
It is impossible for one battery to fit all the different industrial applications. Its voltage, capacity, and discharge current may easily meet the requirements of one device, but its size, internal resistance, temperature range, charging rate, and may not meet the requirements of another device. It is for this reason that industrial batteries must be customized. Take a forklift that must operate a cold storage warehouse or facility. Let’s say that the ambient temperature at which the forklift works in such an environment is -10℃ to -40℃.
At this point, one must ask: Can the battery powering the forklift discharge at -40℃? Can the discharge current start the forklift? How long can the battery keep supplying power? Mor importantly, how long does the forklift work?
Forklifts working in cold storage facilities generally need to be driven to a separate room with normal temperatures for charging. This is because a Lithium battery’s charging performance below 0 degrees is extremely poor, and the battery may pose a safety hazard. When the battery returns to normal temperatures, moisture can generate on the surface. If the battery is also used or stored in an environment with high humidity for a long time, the battery cells will corrode and affect the battery life.
Himax low-temperature LiPo battery charge curved
On the other hand, if the battery has been customized to work in low-temperature environments, then the battery will be able to be charged in the cold storage facility without having to go through the hassle of moving the forklift to another space. This will overall increase efficiency and save on costs, which is why a customized battery is important for industrial applications.
The charging system
In general, the power of industrial battery chargers is relatively large; after all, the voltage and capacity of industrial batteries are relatively large, but the essentials of industrial battery chargers are to create synergistic effects with industrial batteries.
Industrial batteries are biased towards customized energy solutions, so chargers need to be able to detect the state of the battery to provide the highest quality charging solution, such as determining its own charging cycle rate to adjust the charging current based on the battery’s discharge state. Through the BMS, the charger can detect whether the battery has an abnormal voltage gap and remind the user that the battery needs to be replaced. Fail-safe designs also protect the battery and device when the state of charge is abnormal.
Advantages of an industrial battery system
The profitability of the manufacturing industry is constantly in a state of flux. Therefore, capacity and cost control are particularly important, and cost reduction will help factories have a greater advantage in profitability and bargaining power. Being able to achieve this goal allows these companies to maintain their profitability despite the rise and fall of commodity prices. If you want to learn more about industrial batteries, please contact us.
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The cycle life of a Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery is more than 4 to 5 times that of other lithium ion polymer batteries. The operating temperature range is wider and safer; however, the discharge platform is lower, the nominal voltage is only 3.2V, and the fully-charged voltage is 3.65V.
Lithium iron phosphate is mostly used to replace traditional lead-acid batteries. We also often find that lithium iron phosphate batteries are used in household solar energy systems, fishing, golf carts, outdoor portable energy storages, and electric motorcycles.
What is a Lithium iron phosphate battery?
Lithium-ion polymer (LIPO) battery
A lithium ion polymer battery is a kind of rechargeable battery that mainly relies on the movement of lithium ions between positive electrode and negative electrode to work. Lithium ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as an electrode material. At present, the commonly used cathode materials for lithium ion batteries are: lithium cobalt oxide (LCO battery), lithium manganate (LMO battery), lithium-ion ternary (NCA, NMC battery), and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 battery).
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, LFP) battery
A lithium iron phosphate battery is a type of lithium ion polymer battery that uses LiFePO4 as the cathode material and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode.
The LiFePO4 battery, also called the LFP battery, is a type of rechargeable battery. It is the safest Lithium battery type currently available on the market today. It is made to be small in size and light in weight, and the cycle life can reach thousands of cycles.
The difference between LiFePO4 batteries and other li-ion batteries
Inherited some advantages from Lithium-ion batteries
Large current charging and discharging are one of the advantages of LiPo batteries, which allows a device to release more energy in a short period of time. These batteries are used more in racing and power tools: almost all drones and RC model batteries use lithium ion batteries.
Batteries for RC models normally reach 15C, 30C, 50C discharge. Lithium-ion polymer batteries with high discharge rate can reach a maximum of 50C (continuous) and 150C (pulse). They are light in weight, have a long life, and can be manufactured into various shapes. These are just some of the advantages of lithium ion batteries, and lithium iron phosphate batteries have these advantages.
Long cycle life
Because a LFP battery’s cycle life is 4 to 5 times that of other lithium ion batteries, it can reach 2000 to 3000 cycles or more. The LiFePO4 battery can also reach 100% depth of discharge (DOD). This means that, for energy storage products, there is no need to worry about over discharging a LFP battery, and it can even be used for a longer period of time. A good LiFePO4 battery can be used for 3 to 7 years, so the average cost is very affordable.
For more content on depth of discharge (DOD), you can read this article: What is DOD for LiFePO4 batteries?
However, a LiFePO4 battery is not suitable for wearable devices as its energy density is lower than that of other lithium-ion batteries. Furthermore, the battery compartment has limited space, so the capacity is relatively lower.
Thus, compared to another LiPo battery, a LFP battery does not have quite as good endurance and compatibility with the conditions and internal space of wearable devices.
Why are most lithium iron phosphate batteries 12V?
It is said that the lithium iron phosphate battery can perfectly replace the lead-acid battery. The nominal voltage of a lead-acid battery is 2V, and the six lead-acid batteries connected in series are 12V.
However, the 12V LiFePO4 battery pack is generally composed of 4 battery cells connected in series. The nominal voltage of a single lithium iron phosphate pouch cell is 3.2V. When adding the voltage of the series, we get 12.8V (3.2V * 4 = 12.8V). There are also the 24V (25.6V) and 48V (51.2V), which are commonly used.
In addition, the voltage requirement of most industrial applications is 12V or above, which is also the minimum standard of the nominal voltage of general industrial batteries. There are also many applications that need to reach 220V, even 380V or above, such as an industrial forklift, winch, electric drill, etc.
The sales of 24V and 48V electric forklifts are on the rise especially recently, so a primary concern is over how safe a battery is. Compared to the lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganese oxide batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries are a lot more safe. The advantage of high life can reduce the whole costs of maintaining and replacing the battery as well.
The shortcomings of cold temperature
Compared to other LiPo and lead-acid batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries have poor resistance in low-temperature environments; generally, they can only discharge at -10℃ to -20℃.
However, clients think positively of LFP batteries and their high safety functions. They sacrifice some battery performance and specify that they discharge at -30℃ to -40℃. These batteries are mostly used in the military or deep sea and space equipment.
Learn more about batteries
Keep an eye out on Himax’s official blog, where we regularly update industry-related articles to keep you up-to-date.
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At present, most vehicle GPS on the market is powered by a built-in lithium battery, this power supply method is suitable for many portable digital products. Lithium-ion batteries have the advantages of stable discharge performance, high energy density, small size, and no memory effect.
Vehicle GPS as one of the main products using lithium batteries, in the daily use of GPS, many bad usage habits can cause fatal damage to lithium batteries in-vehicle GPS systems. Since lithium batteries have special requirements in terms of use and daily maintenance when using lithium batteries as a power supply method, we should pay attention to the following:
Many users are accustomed to plugging in the GPS charger when using vehicle GPS, the car’s power supply will automatically charge the GPS batteries, so each time the GPS system is turned on or off is equivalent to charging and discharging the batteries, which will affect the battery life.
Since the main factor that affects the life and capacity of lithium batteries is the number of times the battery is charged and discharged, that’s why the GPS battery in vehicles has become less durable.
The correct use method is to charge the battery when the GPS power is low, and then disconnect the charger after the GPS is fully charged. It should be noted that the GPS battery would be at an over-discharged state by its self-discharge characteristics in case the GPS is not used for a long time. In order to prevent over-discharge, the GPS battery should be charged periodically every month.
The battery capacity of the newly purchased GPS is only 50% or lower, and it can be used normally for the first time. When the battery capacity is insufficient, it should be charged normally according to the instructions of the manual. It is best to use the original charger for charging.
In addition, there are several points to be noted during the use of GPS:
Don’t over-charge and over-discharge the GPS battery. Charging normally when the battery capacity is low, which will not damage the lithium battery.
Use the original charger for charging, don’t use a third-party charger.
Most car GPS lithium batteries are built-in, don’t disassemble or modify the battery without permission.
Avoid exposing the product to extreme environments and protect the battery from liquid corrosion.
In fact, the reasonable and correct use of lithium batteries, and proper maintenance, vehicle GPS service life will be extended according to the battery life.
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