Improvement of energy management system for maximum battery reliability in standalone photovoltaic applications [articol]

Abstract

This paper aims to ensure the Maximum Battery Reliability (MBR) in the standalone photovoltaic (PV) application by improving the Energy Management System (EMS). In fact, the intermittent nature of PV energy and the unsuitable charge control strategy cause the lead acid battery degradation by the electrolyte stratification, the non-cohesion of active mass, the corrosion and the hard sulfating of the electrodes. In this context, a qualitative analysis of the battery performances under the conventional charge control strategies is presented. Then, the authors propose an advanced charge control strategy based on the multistep current profile in order to avoid the degradation phenomena of battery and increase its reliability. The experimental result shows that the proposed charge control strategy avoids the corrosion phenomenon and the non-cohesion of active mass caused by the overcharge and the hard sulfating phenomenon and the electrolyte stratification generated by the incomplete charge. Finally, an improvement of EMS by properly incorporating the advanced charge control strategy is archived and discussed. The results show that the proposed EMS ensures the maximum battery reliability and preserves its capacity in the standalone PV application.