BatteryPoweredMonitors:

GoodIdeaorNot?

GlennAlber,Consultant
EddieDeveau,DirectorOfEngineering,Albrcorp

Introduction
Moreandmorebatterymonitorsarebeingintroducedtothemarketplace,andwithnewproductscomenew
ideas.Oneofthenewerapproachesistopowerthemonitormodulesfromthebatterybeingmonitored.
Almostallofthesebatterypoweredmonitorsaredesignedtomonitorfromonetofiveindividualcellsor
batterymodules,andtheirelectronicsarepoweredfromthatpartofthebatterystring.Inotherwords,the
monitorsaretappingthebatteryforthepowertheyneedforoperation.Thevoltagerequiredtopowerthe
monitormodulesrangesfrom6to16voltsand,inthecaseofVRLA12voltmodulemonitoring;thetypical
voltagecanbeashighas56volts.
Whilepoweringthemonitorfromthebatteryisagoodideafromaneaseofinstallationstandpointand
managingmonitoringequipmentcost,itisnotagoodideafromtheeffectsithasonthebatteryfloatcurrent
andcellvoltages.Thispaperwillpresenttendifferentargumentstoexplainwhy.

EE101
Let'sreviewhowcurrentflowsthroughastringofbatterieswithmonitormodulesattached.Figure1shows
howcurrententersthestringfromthechargerandthendivides,withsomeofthecurrentflowingthroughthe
batterycellandsomeofthecurrentflowingthroughthemonitormodule.

A60cell,KCR9,flooded
substationbatteryisbeingused
toillustrateatypicalbattery
monitorapplication.

Thebatteryisratedat330Ah
(amphours)anddraws50to
65maat2.25voltspercell.

Figure1:Currentflowingthroughastringofbatteriesandmonitormodules.

Page 1 of 6
CircuitAnalysis
1. Totalcurrentoutofthechargerisdeterminedbytheseries/parallelloadcomprisedofbatterycells
andmonitormodules.
2. Eachmonitormoduledrawsaconstantpower(P=ExI),whichmeansthatthecurrent(I)drawnby
themoduleequalspower(P)dividedbyvoltage(E).Thus,amonitorpoweredbyalowinputvoltage
willdrawahighercurrentthanamonitorpoweredbyahighvoltage.
3. Sincecellvoltageswithinastringareneverexactlyequal,thecurrentdrawnbythevariousmonitor
modulesvariesfromcellgrouptocellgroup.
4. Totalcurrent(ITotal)enteringthebatteryequalsI1+I2and,sincethecurrentisconstantalltheway
through,itmeansthatthesumofthecurrentthrougheachcellgroupplusthecurrentthroughthe
monitormodulemustadduptothetotal.InFigure1,thesumofI1+I2isequaltothesumofI3+I4.

WhyPoweringaMonitorOfftheBatteryCanbeDetrimentaltotheBattery
1. CurrentDifferencesThroughtheString
Sincecurrentdrawnbyamonitoringdeviceisnotthesameforeachcellgroup,andknowingthatthe
totalcurrentmustbeconstant,itiseasytorecognizethatthefloatcurrentthroughthebatterycells
variesfromgrouptogroup.Thiswillobviouslyleadtofloatimbalances.
Thetypicalpowerrequirementfortoday'smonitorsis1.5watts.Ifthemonitorispoweredbyfourcells
asshowninFigure1,thenthecurrentdrawncanvaryabout10ma,dependingonthefloatvoltageof
thegroupanda3%variationinthepowercircuitryofthemonitor.
Thetypicalfloatcurrentfora330Ahfloodedcalciumbatteryis50to65maatachargervoltage
of135volts.Adifferenceof10marepresentsa16%to20%potentialdifferencebetweencellgroups,
whichwillleadtounderchargeandoverchargeproblems.

2. AnOpenCircuitMonitor
Ifamonitorfailsopencircuitordevelopsapowerleadconnectionproblem(seeFigure2),thenthat
monitorwillobviouslynotdrawanycurrent.Thismeansthatthetotalbatterystringcurrent(ITotal)
willbeforcedtoflowthroughthecellgroupthatthemonitorisconnectedto.Thecurrentthrough
thatgroupoffourcellswillincreasefromapproximately60matoaround200ma.(Themonitordraws
1.5w/9volts=166ma.)Anopencircuitfailurecancauseseriousproblemsbydrivingthevoltagevery
highonthatgroupofcells.Thisfailureshouldalertthemonitorownerthattherearecellvoltagesin
alarm,butsincecellvoltagealarmsareconsideredmaintenancealarmsratherthancriticalalarms,this
typeoffailuremaynotgetattendedtorightaway.

Page 2 of 6
 IfthepositiveleadtoMonitorModule#2
opensup,thenthetotalcurrentwillbeforced
throughcells5to8.I4willincreasefrom
around60matoatleast200maor,inother
words,thecurrentthroughthosefourcells
willmorethantriple.

Figure2:Currentnotflowingthroughafailedopencircuitmonitormodule.

3. CellReversalDuringDischarge
Duringadischarge,itisnotuncommonforoneormorecellstofailandgointocellreversalordroop
toalowvoltagelevel.Whenthishappens,thevoltagethatpowersthemonitorforthatcellgroup
dropsbelowthelevelrequiredtokeepthemonitoractive.
Forabatterypoweredmonitoringsystemthatcommunicatesviaaserialopticalorwiredlink,its
possibleforanyonemonitormoduletodropoutduetolowvoltage.Atthispoint,theentire
monitoringsystemisdisabledfromcommunicatingdata.Ifthemonitoringmodulesareatthecelllevel
andcommunicatewirelessly,thentheentiresystemisnotlostbutthemodulesmonitoringthefailed
cellswillbe.Thismeansthedatanecessarytocapturethefailureandpotentiallyforwarranty
settlementswillbemissed.

4. OpenCell
Ifacellfailsopen,itwillcauseahighvoltagetodevelopacrosstheopencircuit.Thishighvoltagewill
verylikelydamagethemonitormodulethatisconnectedacrossthecellgroupthathasanopencell.
TheworstcasescenarioisaUPSmonitorthatbridgestwoormorecells.
Forexample:

Takeastandard240cellUPSstringconnectedtoa540voltchargerandopenupanyofthecells.

Whenchargercurrentisinterrupted,all239goodcellsstartdroopingdowntoanopencircuit
voltageof2.08voltspercell.Thataddsuptoavoltageof2.08voltsx239cells=497volts.
Remember,thechargerisat540voltsandthecellsinthestringareat497volts.Thedifference
of43volts(540497=43V)fallsacrosstheopencell.Formonitormodulesthataredesignedto
powerfroma2Vcell,thismodulewillmorethanlikelysufferdamageatthisincreasedvoltage.

Atleastonemodelofmonitorinservicetodaytapsfour12voltmodulesforitspower(typicalUPS
application).Ifabreakoccurredinthestring,thenthevoltagetothatmonitormodulewould
increasetoavoltageof90volts.Mostlikelythemodulewouldsufferdamageatthisincreased
voltagelevel.

Page 3 of 6
5. UnevenVoltageTaps
Somemonitorsrequireafixedinputvoltage.Thisbecomesaproblemwhenthetotalnumberofcells
ormodulesisnotanevenmultipleofthenominalvoltagerequired.Forexample,aUPSmonitor
composedoffourchannelmeasuringmoduleswillnotworkproperlyinstringsthatarenotaneven
multipleoffourcellsormodules.
TypicalUPSstringstodayuseanywherefrom30to50,12VVRLAmodules.Let'sreviewastringof38
12Vmodules.Asshowninthefollowingfigure,thefirstninemonitormodulesareconnectedin
incrementsoffouracrossthefirst36batterymodules.Thelasttwobatterymodulesareconnectedto
thetenthmonitormodule,butthatmodulerequires48voltstooperate,sothepowerleadsmustbe
connectedacrossbatterymodules35to38.
Theresultisanunevenloadconnectedacrossbatterymodules35and36.Thefloatcurrentthrough
thosetwocellswillbelessthanthatoftherestofthebatterystringandwillleadtoundercharging,
whichresultsinsulfatingandlossofcapacity.

Figure3:Unevenloadofcurrentconnectedacrossabatterymonitormodule.

6. Repair,ReplaceandSafetyIssues
Batterypoweredmodulesarenormallymountedonthebatteryorbatteryrackandthenconnected
viashortleads.ThisbecomesaprobleminUPSbatterycabinetapplications.
Firstofall,theunithastobetakenoffline,andthenmaintenancepersonnelhavetoworkintight
spaceswhilebeingexposedtohighvoltages.Tosavecosts,somemanufacturershaveeliminated
connectorsbetweenthemonitormodulesandthebatteries.Thissubstantiallyincreasesthe
replacementlaborcostsandcreatessafetyproblemsfortherepairtechnician.
Mostusersdonotlikeanydowntimeandmaydelayrepairofafaultymodule.Thisgoesbacktoa
pointmadeinStatement2thataddressesanopencircuitmonitor.Adelaytorepairorreplacean
openmodulewilldefinitelyhurtthebatterycellsthatareconnectedtothatmodule.

7. IncompatibilitywithAdvancedChargingTechniques
SomeUPSmanufacturersuseabatterychargingschemethateffectivelydisconnectsthechargerfrom
thebatteryforaperiodoftime,thusallowingthebatterytorest.Thetimeisdeterminedbyhowlong
ittakesthebatteryvoltagetodrooptoacertaintriggerlevelpresetbythemanufacturer.

Page 4 of 6
 Withbatterypoweredmonitormodulesthatrequiremanymilliampsofcurrent,itwillnottakelong
forthebatteriestodischargetothetriggerlevel,thusdefeatingthebatteryrestperioddesignedby
theUPSmanufacturer.

8. InabilitytoMeasureIntertierandDisconnectSwitchResistances
Batterypoweredmonitorsdonotincludecircuitryformeasuringtheresistanceofadisconnectswitch.
Theswitchisacrucialpartofthetotalconductancepaththroughthebatteryandshouldbe
monitored.Ifamulticellmonitorbridgesthedisconnectswitch,thenitwillbesubjectedtoveryhigh
voltageswhentheswitchisintheopenposition.(Refertotheopencellexplanation.)
Thesemodular,batterypoweredmonitorsalsodon'thaveprovisionsformonitoringtheohmicvalues
ofintertierorinterrowcables.Doingsorequiresanadditionalsetofsenseleadsandwaystoconfigure
andreportthereadings.Themodularsystemshaveadoptedtheapproachofjustmonitoringthe
batteriestheyareconnectedacross.Iftheydoincludethecableconnectorsasacombined
measurement,thenthisreportsasagrossincreaseintheohmicreadingsononlysomeofthe
cells/blocs.Forexample,ifacabinetbatteryhastenshelvesof4012Vblocs,thenthecablefromshelf
toshelfwouldbeincludedineveryfourthblocreading.Thetruevalueoftheblocwillthenbeskewed
and,ifanabnormalincreaseinthereadingsisindicated,thelocationoftheproblemwillnotbeableto
bedetermined.

9. MorePointsofFailure
Themorehardwarecomponentsrequiredtomonitorabattery,thehighertheprobabilityofa
componentfailure.Asstatedearlier,batterypoweredmonitorstypicallyconnectacrossonetofour
batteries.A240cellUPSapplicationemployingasinglecellmonitorrequires240individualpiecesof
hardware.Eachmonitormodulehastohaveitsownpowersupply,A/Dconverter,andsuch.These
circuitsaresharedinanonbatterypoweredmonitorthatmeasureslargenumbersofcellsinadata
acquisitionmodule.
Thesemodulesbeinginstalledonthebatteryarealsoexposedtobeingdisturbedduringbattery
maintenanceintervals.Forexample,infloodedapplications,theexposuretoacidisaconcern,asdrips
occurfromcheckingspecificgravityreadings.Thisacidcanpenetratethecommunicationconnectors
orgothroughairventsorpartlinesontheequipment.
IfmodulesareattachedtothebatteryusingdoublesidedtapeorVelcro,theninherentissuesarise
withthis,asthemoduleswillsometimesfalloff.Also,theadhesiveinthetapemustbeapprovedby
thebatterymanufacturertoensurethattheadhesivedoesnotinteractwiththecasingofthebattery.
Becauseeachmodulerequiresaseparatepowerconnectionfromthebattery,thisrequiresanextra
setofconnectiontobemadefromeachmodule.Thisincreasestheamountofconnectionshavingto
bemadetothebattery.

10. PriceandPerformanceIssues
Astheoldsayinggoes,"Yougetwhatyoupayfor."Thiscertainlyappliestothemonitorproductson
themarkettoday.Itmaybelessexpensivetoownandinstallasmallbatterypoweredmonitor,but
whataretheconsequences?Canauserreallyjustifylowcostoverperformance?
Uponaddingupthecostsoflongtermbatterydamage(shorterlife)duetoimpropercharging,along
withpotentialdischargedatalossonfailingbatteriesandthehassleofreplacingamonitormoduleina
UPScabinetapplication,theinitiallowcostcannotbejustified.

Page 5 of 6
 Bycomparison,aseparatelypoweredmonitorcanberepaired,calibrated,andreplacedwithout
interferingwithbatteryoperation.Itisalsosaferformaintenancepersonnelsincetheydon'thaveto
comeincontactwiththebattery.

History
Backquiteafewyearsago,variouspowercompaniesandtelecomswouldtaptheirbatteriestopower
differentpiecesofequipmentthatrequireddifferentvoltages.Forexample,thenormal125voltsubstation
batteryandthemain48voltcentralofficebatteryweretappedtooperateotherequipment,suchas
communicationandSCADAsystems.Thisobviouslyledtobigfloatvoltageproblems,andthepracticewas
discontinuedafterthecompaniesrealizedwhatwashappeningtothelifeofthebatteries.Historyshowsthat
tappingabatteryisnotagoodidea.

SummaryandConclusions
Thereareanumberofreasonswhytappingabatterytopowermonitormodulesisnotagoodidea.

Unbalanceiscreatedinthefloatcurrent.Theamountofunbalancedependsonthepowerrequiredbythe
monitorandtheamphoursizeofthebattery.Thelowerthepowerrequirement,thelesstheeffect.
However,thelowerthepowerdraw,thesmallerthetestcurrentusedtomakeohmicmeasurements,and
themostimportantparametermeasuredbythemonitorisinternalresistance.

Newgovernmentregulationsforsubstationmaintenance,coupledwiththeneedforincreasedUPS
reliability,aremakingbatterymonitoringaneconomicnecessity.Itisimportantthatdesignengineerswho
specifythistypeofequipment,aswellastheusersoftheequipment,understandmonitorbasicsinorderto
makeintelligentchoices.Priceversusperformancehasalwaysbeenamajorissue,nomatterwhatthe
purchasemightbe.ItisveryimportantthatbothPurchasingandEngineeringunderstandwhattheyare
buying.
Mostofthenewmonitorsbeingintroducedtodayaredesignedtobepoweredbythebatterybeing
monitored.Allofthesemodules,whetherbigorsmall,multipleorsinglechannel,havethesamethingin
common:theyaresubjecttoallormostoftheproblemsdescribedinthispaper.
Inshort,tappingabatterytopowerabatterymonitorissimplynotagoodidea!

AbouttheAuthors
GlennAlbrandEddieDeveau,theauthorsofthisdocument,haveacombinedinvolvementofover60yearsin
batterytestingandmonitoring.Theyhavecoinventedandholdpatentsrelatingtobatterytestequipment,
monitoring,andStateofHealthmeasurementsusinginternalresistancetechnologies.Betweenthem,they
havepioneeredmanyoftheproductswidelyusedthroughouttheindustrytoday.

Page 6 of 6