Why is ATC Technology required in Tubular Batteries or all types of Lead Acid batteries? ATC is called Automatic Temperature Compensation. Generally, the specific gravity of liquids increases with decreasing temperature, which means as temperature decreases, the liquid contracts, making it denser. Similarly, the viscosity of a liquid also increases with decreasing temperature. So, the ATC […]
What’s Bi-directional technology in Inverter/UPS/Solar PCU? Today, the usage of power backup and storage devices like Inverter with Charger/Solar hybrid PCU/Battery Energy Storage Systems/Lift Inverters/heavy duty UPS, and Electric vehicles has increased. Every building requires the same to store the energy through solar Grid or Wind Sources, use the energy in the case of Blackouts, […]
Why is ATC Technology required in Tubular Batteries or all types of Lead Acid batteries? ATC is called Automatic Temperature Compensation. Generally, the specific gravity of liquids increases with decreasing temperature, which means as temperature decreases, the liquid contracts, making it denser. Similarly, the viscosity of a liquid also increases with decreasing temperature. So, the ATC […]
What’s Bi-directional technology in Inverter/UPS/Solar PCU? Today, the usage of power backup and storage devices like Inverter with Charger/Solar hybrid PCU/Battery Energy Storage Systems/Lift Inverters/heavy duty UPS, and Electric vehicles has increased. Every building requires the same to store the energy through solar Grid or Wind Sources, use the energy in the case of Blackouts, […]
Why is ATC Technology required in Tubular Batteries or all types of Lead Acid batteries? ATC is called Automatic Temperature Compensation. Generally, the specific gravity of liquids increases with decreasing temperature, which means as temperature decreases, the liquid contracts, making it denser. Similarly, the viscosity of a liquid also increases with decreasing temperature. So, the ATC feature helps solve this challenge in Lead Acid batteries by changing the boost or bulk voltage to change as per the temperature change in the ambient around the battery.
In most parts of the world, summers are scorching hot; the temperature crosses 50 ֯C. Winter experiences bouts of extreme weather spells, often touching the -40-degree Celsius mark in some parts.
Year-round frequent power cuts urge industrial and household users to seek help in power backups. These power backup technologies often store energy in lead-acid batteries.
Extreme changes in the outside weather impact the health and performance of Lead-acid batteries, including Tubular Lead Acid and VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid), also called SMF (Sealed Maintenance Free) batteries. That’s why you frequently hear people complaining about their batteries malfunctioning even when the inverter is running in mint condition.
Extreme weather conditions result in reduced battery life, frequent need for water input, reduced battery storage solution, improper battery charge, and high electricity bills. Therefore, your batteries demand your attention during hot summers and frigid winters if you intend to use them for longer. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9065670
With skyrocketing inflation rates, battery costs and electricity tariffs are increasing. Hence, sub-optimal battery charging and reduced battery life are a matter of concern. Knowing how temperature changes affect battery charge and discharge is essential.
To reach the heart of the problem, you must look at the battery composition. Lead-acid batteries are lead metal (Pb) plates immersed in water and sulfuric acid electrolyte. The composition of the electrolyte makes it suitable for electricity conduction.
Electrolytes are liquid; therefore, like other liquids, they change state in extreme weather. A higher temperature expands the battery electrolytes, and a drop in temperature contracts them. Imagine the state of your Lead-Acid battery when the temperature drops to zero— electrolytes in the battery are still water. Still, they have changed their state entirely (ice at zero degrees Celsius).
When the outside temperature, called ambient temperature, increases, the electrolytes’ movement increases, and the battery charges in less time, also requiring a lesser charging current. Quite the contrary is the situation when the temperature drops. The battery needs more charging time to provide the same backup as it would in higher ambient temperatures.
But your inverter does not sense outside temperature nor detect the change in the state of the electrolytes. It supplies the same current and voltage, assuming the outside temperature is the same throughout the year. As a result, the battery fails to provide optimal power backup.
Hence, the fact is that batteries dispense ideal performance only at a controlled temperature. So, often nothing is wrong with your battery; the inverter fails to provide an optimum current for charging the batteries perfectly.
Do extreme outside temperatures impact the charging of Lead-Acid batteries?
Standard inverters are fed the information to charge batteries, considering the ambient temperature is 25 ֯C. So, even if the ambient temperature crosses 40 ֯C, the batteries will be charged at 25 ֯C ambient temperature.
At 25 degrees Celsius, a boost voltage of 14.4V is set in the inverters to charge the Lead-Acid batteries, implying that if your battery is 12V, it will stop charging only after reaching 14.4 volts.
However, in no place worldwide the outside temperature remains at 25◦C throughout the year. Therefore, one thing that regular inverters ignore is the ambient temperature.
At high ambient temperatures, an ordinary inverter overcharges the battery. However, in low-temperature conditions, the inverter does not increase the boost voltage to charge it for longer to provide us with a proper backup. Here is why it happens:
The battery does not need a boost voltage of 14.4V when the ambient temperature is 40 ֯C. Instead, its requirement reduces to 4.13V to be fully charged. But a standard inverter continues to feed the battery with a high boost voltage of 14.4V. The higher boost voltage overcharges the battery, increasing its internal battery temperature. Your battery requires more water intake and sometimes releases toxic fumes, which are detrimental to your health.
Overcharging at a higher boost voltage reduces battery life and increases electricity bills. Scientifically speaking, every 8◦C rise in the optimum charging temperature reduces the battery life by half.
Extreme ambient temperature impacts VRLA batteries impact more due to their temperature-sensitive technology— When the temperature increases beyond 30 degrees Celsius, its cycle life reduces drastically.
Battery charging in low temperature.
When the ambient temperature drops to zero, the battery does not charge fully due to frozen electrolytes. Due to repeated undercharging, a time comes when the battery does not charge beyond a certain level, which is less than a full-charge level. As a result, the battery requires a higher boost voltage of 14.85V at zero degrees Celsius, which is beyond the abilities of a normal inverter. Hence it continues to deliver a low boost voltage of 14.4V even at this ambient temperature. The only solution to this battery charging problem is ATC. You will learn about this revolutionary technology in the section below.
How does ATC Technology battery charging issues?
We at Su-Vastika have official patents for ATC (Automatic Temperature Compensation) technology and equip our inverters with it. ATC is a unique feature integrated into high-quality Lead Acid batteries. ATC technology allows the inverter to sense the ambient temperature and manage its charging accordingly.
When the outside temperature is 40 ֯C, it reduces the Boost voltage to 14.13V. Similarly, and at zero degrees Celsius, various types of Lead-Acid batteries charge at a higher boost voltage of 14.85V due to ATC. These voltage changes happen due to ambient temperature sensors that inform the inverter about the outside temperature.
The processor inside the inverter undergoes complex calculations and charges the battery at the required Boost Voltage. So, technically, your inverter increases and decreases the Boost voltage with the help of integrated ATC technology and charges the batteries according to the outside temperature.
Benefits of ATC technology for various Lead Acid Batteries
Here are some prominent benefits of ATC technology for various Lead-acid batteries
Increase battery backup time.
The battery backup time reduces significantly when temperatures are below 20 degrees Celsius. The ordinary UPS/inverter with no ATC does nothing to increase the battery storage solution. The ATC technology increases the backup time of your batteries by optimally charging the batteries at the right Boost voltage.
Reduce water topping requirement.
ATC helps tubular batteries reduce the need for frequent water topping as it does not let the battery temperature rise beyond the safe limits.
Increase life cycles
In the case of VRLA batteries, ATC increases the cycle life by 20 per cent by regulating the internal temperature of these batteries.
Reduce electricity bills
By avoiding overcharging and undercharging batteries, the ATC helps save electricity and significantly reduces power bills. Batteries attain their full charge, and the battery life of inverters increases by a minimum of 1 year.
ATC is also important for the Solar Charge Controller:
The ATC feature is very important for the Solar Charge Controller, which takes power from the sun and either gives DC output or can be used in the PCU or solar inverters. If the solar controller is used for the Lead Acid battery, then the same features and advantages are required by the solar charge controller as required by the Inverter/UPS charger. Nowadays, still in E scooters, people are using VRLA batteries and chargers without any ATC, and if they use the charger with ATC, their life and backup will increase.
Conclusion
ATC (Automatic Temperature Technology) is a breakthrough technology that keeps the battery safe from temperature variations in the ambient temperature. It neither lets your battery draw a higher current and overcharge nor undercharges it. The ATC integrated into Heavy-duty UPS offers you reliable power backup for a longer time, reducing your electricity bills simultaneously.
What’s Bi-directional technology in Inverter/UPS/Solar PCU? Today, the usage of power backup and storage devices like Inverter with Charger/Solar hybrid PCU/Battery Energy Storage Systems/Lift Inverters/heavy duty UPS, and Electric vehicles has increased. Every building requires the same to store the energy through solar Grid or Wind Sources, use the energy in the case of Blackouts, reduce the cost of energy, or use the power during peak times to save energy bills. So bi-directional technology is used to switch devices like MOSFET and IGBTs to make them more efficient and use the same devices for charging and drawing power. Electric vehicles will return energy to the grid and draw energy from various sources.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle-to-grid
Let’s look at bi-directional technology, why it is essential for a UPS, and how it protects your appliances from malfunctioning.
What is bi-directional technology?
A bi-directional technology is a technology that allows for two-way charging due to its ability of two-way conversion—from AC to DC and from DC to AC.
A bi-directional technology uses the same PWM (Pulse Width modulation)-based MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) circuit to charge and discharge the battery.
In the presence of an electricity supply from the grid, it pulls the AC power from the grid and converts it into DC to charge UPS/inverter batteries. When the power supply from the grid disconnects, it takes DC power from the battery and transforms it into AC using the same circuit earlier used for charging.
In India, Su-Vastika Solar is the only company using bi-directional technology in its UPS/inverter systems.
Bi-directional technology in UPS/Inverter with charger/Lift inverter/Battery Energy Storage Systems/Electric vehicles
Bidirectional technology opens up new roles and possibilities for the currently employed UPS/inverter systems.
Normally, the main power flows from the utility supply through the UPS/inverter to the load. Similarly, energy from the network charges the battery; any output is fed to the load if needed. And the inverter performs one-way conversion only, converting DC to AC and providing power to the appliances without energy from the main’s supply.
For charging the battery, the bi-directional technology provides pure DC. It uses pure sine-wave output for discharging, which ultimately increases battery life.
How is bidirectional technology paramount in inverters with Charger/UPS/Solar Hybrid PCU/Electric Vehicles/Battery Energy Storage Solutions?
A bi-directional technology is important for an inverter as it improves efficiency.
A switch-mode DC-to-AC inverter using dc-to-dc technology capable of interfacing a battery bank to the AC grid has many benefits over traditional inverters with Charger/UPS.
Let’s look at the benefits of using bi-directional technology in a UPS inverter with charger/Solar hybrid PCU/Electric Vehicles/Lift inverter/Battery Energy Storage Systems.
Reduce harmonics
A bidirectional inverter provides pure sine-wave output during DC to AC conversion. This is the same power the grid supplies when electricity from the main supply is available. Pure since-wave reduces harmonics (the audible noise you hear in fans and fluorescent lights, etc.), prevents resetting your computers, and weird printouts. As a result, your data remains safe.
It makes your inverter more efficient.
Bi-directional technology makes your inverter system more efficient because MOSFET-based technology is far better than any other electronic component in ordinary inverters. As a result, a bi-directional inverter’s conversion power is much superior to inverters without bidirectional technology.
Cost reduction
With bi-directional technology, an inverter uses the same circuit for charging and discharge. Whereas, in ordinary inverters, more components are used, which makes the UPS/inverter system more expensive.
Maintain the health of your appliances.
Harmonics stresses the electrical network and causes unwanted currents and overeating of the appliances. The bi-directional technology reduces power losses, avoids deterioration of voltage quality supplied to the devices, and saves your appliances from misoperation. Resultantly, your load runs faster, cooler, and quieter.
Conclusion
Bi-directional technology is an advanced technology Su-vastika uses in their UPS/ inverter with charger/lift inverter systems. The technology reduces harmonics, improves the system’s efficiency and provides clean power to your appliances.
Su-vastika
