How to control the temperature in battery enclosures?solar battery enclosures outdoor

The article will explain how to control the temperature of battery enclosures, which is not about how to install, but how to control the enclosure’s temperature for power supply.

How to control the temperature?

Dr. Allan van der Leij offers some suggestions for controlling the temperature in battery enclosures.
He suggests three ways to control the environment, located under different environmental locations
He provides a description about how to seal each location

Why is controlling the temperature especially important for lithium batteries?

Lithium batteries are more likely to degrade when they are put into an environment with fluctuating temperatures. Exposing the batteries to higher temperatures can actually reduce battery life by up to 40% because high temperature can make lithium batteries more reactive. They also increase the risk of overheating, which may cause thermal runaway and self-ignition. Temperature is a key parameter for successful battery operation. But, by the same token, thermal runaway events can be accompanied by fire and external pressure explosions. Unless configured properly, those events increase as temperatures rise. The good news is that engineers have many options to control the space around batteries and to avoid or mitigate such malfunctions.

How to measure the temperature in battery enclosures

The question is often asked- how do I measure the temperature in my battery enclosure? It’s a pretty simple thing to do. All you need is a basic infrared thermometer with a 902 to 975 spectum. Point the camera at the surface of the batteries, walk around, and key in which direction you are pointing with the up-down buttons on the controller. Not most people are aware, but there are different types of batteries, with each type requiring a different operating temperature.

How to maintain one’s ideal temperatures?

The batteries must be able to operate under extreme temperatures. There are two ways for heat mitigation of battery enclosures – if the batteries are cooled, they will not function at all at too low of a temperature. If the battery is heated, it may protect against overcharging or overheating. thermostatically controlled heating and cooling is an option that assures that there is power available by keeping batteries at their optimal range of operating temperatures.

Conclusion

There are several methods for controlling the temperature in batteries enclosures, sometimes called cells. Refrigerants are very effective but require the use of specialized systems, whether via chillers or absorption logic. Active chilled-film coils is also an option although they require external power sources to run like scrubbers. Alternatively, you can choose to embed passive cooling options into the battery enclosure.

 

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