Remote battery monitoring and management field trial

Backup power battery installations and UPS systems, particularly those subject to extreme weather conditions, both hot and cold, experience accelerated aging. High ambient temperatures coupled with continuous charging, which in turn further increases cell temperatures, result in accelerated grid corrosion that cuts battery life in half or more. Continuous charging current and voltage cannot be controlled to compensate for manufacturers´ specifications because each cell in a string behaves differently. Temperature compensation practices have resulted in inadequate cell charging. The practice of float charging has been accepted as a standard for batteries. A new system that uses an entirely different approach to battery management is being tested in field applications. The system is nonintrusive and it continuously monitors the state of charge (SOC), charges the batteries only when needed and as much as needed, performs operational tests, identifies cell degradation at early stages, and identifies failures. This paper describes findings gathered during a field trial of a remote, nonintrusive battery monitoring and management system in telecommunications applications. Preliminary findings include identification of marginal and failed cells, identification of marginal charging, possible design issues, and detailed monitoring of ambient conditions