How can batteries be charged?

by admin on June 13, 2013

The batteries can be charged by using good quality AC powered battery charger or from alternative energy sources like solar panels, wind or hydro systems. Make sure an appropriate battery charge controller is used. It is recommended that the batteries may be charged at 10% to 13 % of the Ampere Hour capacity (20 hour discharge rate). Also, for complete charging (return of 100 % capacity ), it is recommended that a 3 stage charger may be used (Constant current bulk charging followed by constant voltage boost / absorption charging followed by constant voltage float charging ).

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Batteries lose capacity in low temperatures. At 32° F, a battery will deliver about 70 to 80% of its rated capacity at 80° F. If the air temperature near the battery bank is lower than 80° F, additional batteries will be needed to provide the same usable capacity. For very cold climates, an insulated / heated battery compartment is recommended.

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How should the inverter battery bank be sized?

June 7, 2013

One of the most frequently asked question is, “how long will the batteries last?”. This question cannot be answered without knowing the size of the battery system and the load on the inverter. Usually this question is turned around to ask “How long do you want your load to run?”, and then specific calculation can [...]

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What happens to battery capacity at low temperatures?

June 5, 2013

Batteries lose capacity in low temperatures. At 32° F, a battery will deliver about 70 to 80% of its rated capacity at 80° F. If the air temperature near the battery bank is lower than 80° F, additional batteries will be needed to provide the same usable capacity. For very cold climates, an insulated / [...]

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What are the Units of Battery capacity?

May 31, 2013

The battery capacity is the measure of the energy the battery can store and deliver to a load. It is determined by how much current any given battery can deliver over a stipulated period of time. The energy rating is expressed in Ampere Hours (AH). As a bench mark, the battery industry rates batteries at [...]

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What are Deep Cycle Batteries?

May 28, 2013

Deep cycle batteries are designed with thick-plate electrodes to serve as primary power sources, to have a constant discharge rate, to have the capability to be deeply discharged up to 80 % capacity and to repeatedly accept recharging. They are marketed for use in recreation vehicles (RV), boats and electric golf carts so they may [...]

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Which devices will not function properly from a Modified Sine-wave Inverter?

May 27, 2013

Any device that uses a control circuitry that senses the phase (for voltage / speed control) or instantaneous zero voltage crossing (for timing control) will not work properly from a voltage that has a modified sine wave-form. Also, as the modified sine wave is a form of square wave, it is comprised of multiple sine [...]

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What are the advantages of Pure Sine-wave inverters?

May 25, 2013

The output wave-form is a sine-wave with very low harmonic distortion and clean power like utility supplied electricity Inductive loads like microwaves and motors run faster, quieter and cooler Reduces audible and electrical noise in fans, fluorescent lights, audio amplifiers, TV, fax and answering machines Prevents crashes in computers, weird print outs and glitches in [...]

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What is a Modified Sine-wave Inverter?

May 25, 2013

In a modified sine wave, the voltage rises and falls abruptly, the phase angle also changes abruptly and it sits at 0 Volts for some time before changing its polarity.

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What is a Pure Sine-wave Inverter?

May 24, 2013

The output voltage of a sine-wave inverter has a sine wave-form like the sine wave-form of the mains / utility voltage. In a sine wave, the voltage rises and falls smoothly with a smoothly changing phase angle and also changes its polarity instantly when it crosses 0 Volts.

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