What is industrial battery efficiency?

The efficiency of an industrial battery is the ability of the battery to conserve and release electrical energy with minimum loss, that is, the ratio of output energy to input energy. The output energy is lower than the input energy due to energy loss.

Three different types of industrial battery efficiency:

1. Charging efficiency: refers to the proportion of energy stored in the battery during the charging process.

2. Discharge efficiency: it refers to the proportion of energy stored in the battery during discharge.

3. Energy efficiency: it refers to the proportion of energy recovered from the rechargeable battery in a complete charging and discharging cycle. It is obtained by the product of charging efficiency and discharging efficiency.

How to measure industrial battery efficiency?

1. Coulombic efficiency: Coulombic efficiency is measured by the transfer of electrons during the charging and discharging process, i.e., the number of electrons lost in the whole cycle, which can be measured by a coulometer.

2. Voltage efficiency: Voltage efficiency is the voltage difference between charging and discharging the battery caused by the potential. It is equal to the electrical power output / electrical power input.

5 key factors that affect the efficiency of industrial batteries:

1. Battery lifespan: with long time use, the aging of the battery is getting more and more serious, the efficiency will be greatly reduced. Each type of battery life is different, the aging speed is also by the different. For example; lead-acid battery life of about 1000 ~ 1500 times, while the lithium battery reaches 2000 ~ 3000 times, much longer than the life of lead-acid batteries. When the battery is aging, the liquid electrolyte will slowly dry out to form a solid, so that the electrode attached to a layer of ions. Too long a period of use will also lead to corrosion of the electrode plate and connecting strips, sulfation of the electrode plate, and deformation of the electrode plate. Sparking material off and other phenomena will affect the work of the battery, so that its efficiency is reduced.

2. Internal resistance of the battery: the internal resistance of the battery is affected by various factors, such as the use of time, size, battery configuration, temperature and so on.

In order to reduce the internal resistance of the battery and improve the efficiency of industrial battery. First of all, we should choose the battery with relatively small internal resistance. Lithium batteries have the lowest internal resistance, which is related to the chemical materials it uses and its construction. When over time, the internal resistance will be higher and higher. This is because lithium batteries have a SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) layer, which is a thin film formed by the reaction between the electrode material and the electrolyte at the solid-liquid interface during the initial charging and discharging of the lithium battery. It stabilizes the system and extends its life, when it gradually increases the internal resistance of the battery. In order to avoid this situation, lithium manufacturers tend to add additives to the battery electrolyte to reduce this effect.

3. Battery temperature: High temperature will increase the internal resistance of the battery and reduce the efficiency of the battery. High temperatures can cause oxidation of the cathode electrolyte of lithium batteries, resulting in a loss of capacity. Charging lithium batteries at too high a temperature will lead to the formation of SEI build-up on the anode, easy to damage the battery and reduce its capacity. Lithium batteries are best charged at 0 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius and discharged at -20 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius. Compared to other batteries, lithium battery’s are still better at high temperatures. But the longer it is exposed to high temperature, the worse the performance.

4. Charging current: charging current regulation for industrial battery efficiency is also very important, often need to be controlled at a medium level to improve life and efficiency. Charging current is too high to speed up the charging rate, but high-current charging may also lead to chemical reactions within the battery out of control, thus shortening battery life. Small current charging is too slow, may also reduce the battery capacity, also reduces the industrial battery efficiency. So in summary, or medium current is more friendly to the battery life and efficiency.

5. State of charge: The state of charge refers to the state of charge of the battery, i.e. the remaining power of the battery.

In the discharge cycle, the voltage will drop with the state of charge, will make the battery power drop, and lithium battery voltage drop than lead-acid batteries drop slower, for industrial battery power is better.

Each factor is implicated in each other’s constraints, and only by fully understanding and combining each factor can you make more effective use of your industrial batteries. Before that, you should choose to select a good battery, and then for the next maintenance of industrial battery power.