SEMINAR ON

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF THE BATTERY

STORAGE SYSTEM BUILT FOR THE
PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT IN BAHIR-DAR
UNIVERSITY
YACOB ASCHALEW
ZENA DESTA
School of Computing and Electrical Engineering
Institute of Technology
Bahir Dar University
Submitted to Dr. TASSEW TADIWOS
March, 2012

CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1
2. OBJECTIVE ......................................................................................................2
3. PARTS OF THE PV PLANT ...........................................................................2
4. BATTERY[1] .....................................................................................................3
i. How lead-acid batteries work ........................................................................3
ii. Types of Lead-acid battery ............................................................................5
iii. Operating Behavior and Characteristics of Lead-Acid Batteries ...........6
5. CHARGE CONTROLLERS ...........................................................................8
6. STRESS FACTORS ..........................................................................................8
7. REFERENCES ................................................................................................16
APPENDIX A .........................................................................................................17
APPENDIX B .........................................................................................................19

1. INTRODUCTION
The PV system that is set up in Bahirdar University is the first of its kind in our country. It is
rated capacity of 10kW. It is partly grid connected and partly functions as an off-grid backup
system in the case of power cuts. It is designed to fulfill a range of functions. Firstly, it
contributes to a reliable power supply for the university campus, given the frequent power cuts
lasting up to one day. Secondly, being the largest PV installation in Ethiopia so far, the system
functions as a University of Bahir Dar maiden project for the use of photovoltaic in Ethiopia.
Thirdly, it is equipped with sensors for research on PV at the IoT. Fourthly, it serves as a PV
teaching facility and demonstration plant for students.
Already, renewable energy is crucial for the Ethiopian electricity supply. While electricity
production is still extremely low compared to the industrialized countries of the western world,
85% of the installed capacity of 929MW consists of hydropower plants. Most the remaining 15%
are diesel generators which serve as back-up systems during power failures as well as for the
power supply in off-grid regions. Up to now, with its 6,000km of high-voltage transmission
lines, the grid mainly connects the economic centers with each other and with hydropower
plants. This leaves 85% of the population without a connection to the national power grid.
Furthermore, depending on the seasonal rainfall and the resulting water levels, the Ethiopian
Electricity Power Company (EEPCo) has to cut off customers from the power supply`
frequently. Yet, with an irradiance of between 5 & 7kWh/m2 per day, solar power appears to be
an ideal option to stabilize and supplement the national power supply and to replace costly diesel
generators, especially in regions without grid access.

2. OBJECTIVE
Main objective is to make analysis on the performance of battery storage system by gathering
data for different months when load demand varies, effect of outage of the grid supply, effect of
weather (temperature) variation.

Specific Objectives:
a) Level of utilization of the battery (average load status, length of operation cycles) for
variation in load demand
b) Comparison of the battery status for different weather conditions
c) Properties of the backup net without failures and during blackouts.
d) Influence of active and reactive power on battery time during a blackout

3. PARTS OF THE PV PLANT

The PV plant in the IoT is almost complete and is facilitated with these components.
Solar panel: Solar World & Webel, collect suns energy
DC/AC inverter: SMA Sunny Boy Grid-Tie Solar System Inverters,
Sol Save: switch from grid connected to island system and the reverse
Feed-in-Cabinet: Over voltage protection from grid, fuses and Power measurements
Charge Controller: XTH 6000-48, Control battery voltage, send control signal for Sol
Save and conversion between the battery power and AC load or supply.
Battery: Storage of solar energy and supply during grid outage
Remote Control Unit: RCC-02, used as data logger for battery status and measure
output power of the charge controller.
Sensors: measure module temperature of PV panel, cell temperature of the battery bank
& irradiance
Among these components our prime concern is on the charge controller & Battery storage
system.

4. BATTERY[1]
Energy storage is required in hybrid systems particularly those involving solar cells, as energy
generation and consumption do not generally coincide. The solar power generated during the day
is very often not required until the evening and therefore has to be temporarily stored. Longer
periods of overcast weather also have to be considered. Most PV systems have batteries, an
exception being solar water pumping systems: the water is pumped when sufficient sunlight is
available and stored. The most common type of battery found in solar systems comprises
rechargeable lead-acid-batteries. These are the most cost-effective and can handle large and
small charging currents with high efficiency. In PV systems, the storage capacities are generally
in the range of 0.lkWh to 100 kWh

i. How lead-acid batteries work

Lead-acid batteries consist of multiple individual cells, each with a nominal voltage of 2V. When
built as a block assembly, the cells are accommodated inside a shared housing and wired in
series internally. In our campus, it has been installed an assembly of 24 cells connected in series
to generate 48V.
By connecting the cells in series or parallel, different system voltages and capacities can be
created. A battery cell is a container filled with electrolyte made from diluted sulphuric acid
(H2S04), in which two plate units of different polarity are mounted. The plates serve as electrodes
and consist of a grid-shaped lead carrier and the active material. The porous active material is the
actual energy store, its sponge-like structure providing sufficient surface area for the
electrochemical reaction. In the charged state, the active mass in the negative electrode is lead
(Pb) and in the positive electrode lead dioxide (PbO2). To isolate the positive from the negative
electrodes, 'separators' are used.
When electricity is drawn, electrons flow from the negative to the positive pole via the loads,
causing a chemical reaction between the plates and the sulphuric acid. This causes lead sulphate
(PbSO4) to form on the surfaces of both sets of plates, as sulphur from the acid binds to the
active material. The electrolyte is therefore used up as the battery is discharged. This reduces the
concentration of the acid. This change can be measured extremely well with a hydrometer, which
makes it possible to check the state of charge of a battery cell. When recharging the battery using
the PV module, with a voltage that is higher than the current battery voltage, the electrons move

in the other direction (i.e. from the positive pole to the negative pole). This reverses the chemical
change that took place during discharging. The process is not completely reversible. Small
quantities of lead sulphate do not dissolve again (sulphation).The battery's capacity has lessened
slightly as a result of the discharging/charging process. This capacity loss is greater the deeper
the discharge was. If only part of the battery capacity is used, the decrease in capacity is
relatively small. Thus, if used in applications with small discharge capacities, the service life of
the battery - that is, the number of cycles - increases considerably.
Figure1 shows the relationship between discharge depth and number of cycles for a particular
battery supplied by HOPPECKE for the PV plant (OPzS 800 type). Batterys service life in terms
of cycles is normally specified for cycles with a given discharge depth and with a fully charged
battery in each cycle. The cycle life of a battery is defined as the attainable number of cycles
before the capacity in the charged state falls to 80 per cent of the rated capacity. After that point,
the battery can still be used; but the available capacity falls continuously and the risk of sudden
failure increases, particularly as a result of a short circuit.

Figure 1 Number of cycles Vs. Depth of Discharge for OPzS 800.

ii. Types of Lead-acid battery

Lead-acid batteries can be divided into different types according to the plate technology and the
type of electrolyte that they use. In solar installations, usually lead-acid grid plate batteries with
fluid electrolyte (known as solar batteries or modified starter batteries), gel batteries, tubular
plate batteries and block batteries (individual cells) are used.
Lead-acid grid-plate batteries with fluid electrolyte (wet cells)
Lead-acid gel batteries
Stationary tubular plate batteries (types OPzS and OPzV)
Block batteries with positive flat plates (OGI block)
For heavy-duty long-term operation over 15 to 20 years and all-year-round use, in particular for
larger-sized stationary power supply systems, the deep-cycle tubular plate batteries are a choice.
Tubular plate batteries are available as enclosed OPzS-type batteries (from the German Ortsfeste
Panzerplatte Spezial - Stationary Tubular Plate Special), which have fluid electrolyte and special
separators, or as sealed OPzV batteries (Ortsfeste Panzerplatte Verschlossen - Stationary Tubular
Plate Sealed), which have gel electrolyte. They are standard in emergency power systems and not
specially developed for the solar industry. These products are mature, have been around for
decades, and are an excellent choice for stand-alone solar applications.
Stationary tubular plate batteries differ from solar and starter batteries in the design of the
positive electrodes, which are formed as tubular plates. In these plates, the rods are surrounded
by permeable tubes through which the electrolyte can pass. The protective sleeve ('tube')
mechanically secures the active material in the space inside and also limits sedimentation (when
fine particles of the active material fall down to the bottom of the battery case). Tubular plates
are particularly stable and ensure that the battery has high cycle resilience. The cycle resilience
of OPzS and OPzV batteries (Figure 2) is significantly higher than other battery types. At 50 per
cent discharge depth they have a life of around 3500 cycles, reaching 5000 cycles if only 45 per
cent of the nominal capacity is discharged. OPzS batteries require maintenance every 0.5 to 3
years; OPzV batteries are maintenance free.

Figure 2 Cross section through a tubular plate (left) and Components of OPzV battery (right) [1]
iii. Operating Behavior and Characteristics of Lead-Acid Batteries
Battery capacity, Voltage and Current
The capacity C of an accumulator is the quantity of electricity that can be discharged under the
respective discharge conditions until the battery is fully discharged. The nominal capacity is the
product of the constant discharge current In and the discharge time tn.

The nominal capacity is determined by the geometry and number of parallel-wired cells.
However, this is not a constant value. It depends upon the temperature, the discharge cut-off
voltage and, above all, upon the discharge current. With a low current discharge, the depositing
of sulphur in the plates takes place slowly. This achieves a greater penetration depth than with a
greater current discharge. With high current discharge, the sulphur molecules deposited at the
beginning block the rapid penetration of the following molecules. The result is that more power
can be discharged from a battery by discharging it slowly at low currents than by discharging it
rapidly at high currents. Hence, the manufacturer specifies a rated capacity (i.e. the electricity
that a battery can supply when fully charged) under defined conditions. The rated capacity
always stands in relationship to the associated discharge current or - as it is usually represented
in the trade - the discharge time that the capacity relates to. The usual rated capacities are C10 for
stationary, C20 for starter and Cm for so-called solar batteries. For the particular installation of
the battery bank (OPzS 800), the rated capacity is determined to be C10 = 800Ah, which is a
capacity, remained after 10% discharge of fully charged battery bank.

Like the capacity, the current is specified depending upon the charging or discharging period.
While the charge current is produced by the PV modules, the discharge current depends upon the
load.
Typical currents for a battery in a solar system are as follows.
Maximum charge current:

Medium charge current:

Medium discharge current:

OPzS and OPzV batteries are generally offered as single cells each 2V. In operation, the voltage
at the electrodes fluctuates according to the operating conditions. To protect the battery, two
limit values are defined, which must be adhered to. During charging, the charge cut-off voltage is
the upper limit. For discharging, the discharge cut-off voltage is the permissible lower limit.
Another parameter is the gassing voltage, above which a battery starts gassing significantly in
the charging process.
The open-circuit or no-load voltage of a battery is called the resting voltage and cannot be
measured immediately after charging or discharging since a thermodynamic equilibrium has to
set in first. The resting voltage relies upon the electrolyte concentration. Depending upon the
state of charge and the battery type, it fluctuates somewhere between 1.96V and 2.12V per cell.
In practice, for example, it is somewhere between 12V and 12.7V for a 12V battery.

Charging and Discharging

During the charging process, the battery voltage gradually increases. At some point it reaches a
value at which slight gas formation begins (water separates into hydrogen and oxygen). The
escaping gas mixture is highly explosive (oxy-hydrogen gas). Close to this gassing voltage, it is
defined as a charge cut-off voltage for the specific battery. This voltage must be controlled with
a charge controller so that the battery does not sustain any damage through lack of fluid and an
excessive acid concentration, and so that the risk from oxy-hydrogen gas is minimized. Since the
charge cut-off voltage depends upon the temperature, the charge controller also needs to measure
the temperature and include this in its charge algorithm.

So-called solar batteries are usually subjected to a daily cycle characterized by charging in the
daytime and discharging during the night. A typical daily discharge may range from 2 per cent to
20 per cent of the battery capacity. In addition, there is a seasonal cycle. During the winter
months, the low solar irradiance results in a low level of energy generation. Depending upon the
discharge depth permitted by the charge controller, the battery's state of charge may fall to 20 per
cent of the rated capacity. During longer periods of time with low solar irradiance, it is possible
that the energy produced by the PV array will not be sufficient to recharge the battery fully and
the cycles take place at a low state of charge. In contrast, with high levels of irradiance in
summer, the battery is operated with a high state of charge, typically between 80 per cent and
100 per cent. Here, there is a risk of overcharging. Between the opposing requirements of
restoring the maximum state of charge as soon as possible in the seasonally variable charging
phase, but without overcharging the battery, the planner needs to set the maximum permissible
battery voltage at the charge controller. A typical threshold value for the maximum cell voltage
for lead-acid batteries is 2.4V for each cell. Some charge controllers enable this voltage to be
exceeded for short periods (e.g. equalization charging or fast charging).

5. CHARGE CONTROLLERS
The PV plant is also supplied with charge controller; XTH 6000-48, which is a series of products
being in market by STUDER INNOTEC with rated capacity of 5000VA and 48V at 25oC. It is
pretends to be a universal controller. This charge controller measures the battery voltage and
current and protects the battery against overcharging. This is achieved by switching out the PV
array when the charge cut-out voltage is exceeded. It also acts like a converter, so facilitating DC
to AC and AC to DC conversion between the battery, the grid or the load.

6. STRESS FACTORS
The battery will be affected in different ways depending on the conditions under which it is
operated. Certain features of the operating conditions have a particularly strong impact on the
damage mechanisms of the battery. These features are termed stress factors. Stress factors are
quantities that are derived from the voltage, current and temperature history of the battery
operation. This paper has identified the major stress factors and their impact on the damage
mechanisms. The major identified stress factors are:

Discharge and Charge rate[A]

[Ah] throughput

Level of usage

Average load status

Total length of operation cycles[Hr]

Temperature

Service life of battery

Charge factor & Battery efficiency

Thanks to Xtender Data logger and analysis tools, one can easily collect data & process it. We
have collected data for 3 months (between March 30, 2011 and July 03, 2012) and the data
plotted (see the Appendix B) for battery voltage & current, AC current & voltage supplied to the
controller from the grid, power output from the controller and temperature of the battery. In our
case we used MATLAB to process the data and measured the above stress factors (see Appendix
A).
Discharge and Charge rate [A]: After writing snippet of a MATLAB code and
manipulating the data we obtained the average discharge current to be 4.7mA and the
charging current 3.4mA for this particular data. But the discharge time is larger than the
charging time. The damage on the battery due to sulphation is minimized since the
discharge current is at lower level so keeps the homogeneity of the current supplied by
the battery.
[Ah] throughput: We have also determined the total throughput of the battery and found
it to be 0.3161Ah during its operation for the three months. The capacity of the battery is
also 6.32mAh on average. Which means the discharge depth is around 0.0395% taking
the rated capacity of the battery 800Ah. The discharge depth is negligible and implies
that unlike standalone PV systems, Battery storage system built here will only supply
power when the grid outage is occurred and not operational at night time.
Level of usage: the battery has been used as a backup 50 times during the outage of the
grid to supply the load which is the Power lab. Total discharge time is 67.25Hr and total
charge time is 165.93Hr. This means that the battery is not much loaded compared to
90days of its null operation.

Average load status: the average load supplied by the battery is determined to be
0.232Watt. This is obtained by taking the average of the discharge current multiplied by
the battery voltage for each data set.
Total length of operation cycles [Hr]: The operation cycle is the time interval between
the battery discharge and recharging again to its rated capacity. It is the sum of the total
discharge and charge time. It is found to be 233.18Hr.
Temperature: The average temperature of the battery is about 42oC. This is above the
maximum allowable temperature for normal operation and life time of the OPzS 800
battery bank (Range of operation -20oC to +40oC). The temperature raise is most
probably is due to the ambient temperature of the battery room and during this season
(between March 30, 2011 and July 03, 2012) the outside temperature is as high as 36oC.
This might warn the need to have an additional ventilation system.
Taking another data set for the coldest weather condition between August 17, 2011 and
October 23, 2012, we calculated the average temperature of the battery and it is found to
be 38.8oC which is closer to the allowed operating temperature.
Taking worst case scenario between the warmest day (April 11) and the coldest day
(August 26) we have plotted these graphs as shown below in figure 3 & 4.
The plot for April 11 shows the highest battery temperature reached 50oC and average
daily battery temperature was 43.8oC and for the August 26 the maximum got to 40oC,
where the battery daily average was 36.6oC. For both cases, luckily the battery was not
operational. Only the stress caused by the external environment is considered.

10

Figure 3 August 26th battery temperature

Figure 4 April 11st battery temperature

Service life of battery: It is given as the number of cycles of the battery for a particular
discharge depth. Referring figure 1, one can notice that the discharge of 0.0395% did
have a little impact on the service life of the battery. Only a discharge depth above 20%
causes a damage mechanism on a battery. So for the particular case, the service life is
constrained by deterioration of the battery and last up to 20 years of its design limit.
Charge factor & Battery efficiency: The charge factor designates the ratio of supplied
charge (the supplied amount of current in Ah) to the dischargeable charge. The ideal
charge factor would be 1. However, because of conversion losses, in practice, it is
anywhere between 1.02 and 1.2, depending upon the discharge depth and the battery.
The inverse value of the charge factor is the charge efficiency, which can be anywhere
between 83 per cent and 98 per cent. However, we have noticed the charge factor is as

11

high as 1.77 and battery efficiency has dropped to 56.5%, which is a clear indication of
strong charging voltage as high as 54V and is around the gassing voltage so reducing the
efficiency.

Properties of the backup net without failures and during blackouts:

During blackouts the AC input voltage drop from around 240V to zero. It is shown in figure 5
for September 21st and the outage stayed for 6 hours. The charge controller learns that outage has
occurred and sends a control signal to the Sol Save to rearrange the switches from grid connected
to island system. By this time the battery discharges through the load. These are phenomenon
observed from the data collected.

Figure 5 September 21st AC input to the charge controller(inverter)

The figure below shows during discharging as indicated by the negative of the battery current
because of the grid outage, the corresponding voltage sags a little bit. During charging as
indicated by the positive battery current, the corresponding voltage becomes higher and
eventually settles down. One can also see that the discharging time is larger than the charging
time. For this day, the Efficiency of the battery is 87% and it is an acceptable figure.

12

Figure 6 September 21st Battery voltage and current

The figure below shows the daily battery temperature variations and transient in temperature by
the time the battery begins charging and discharging.

Figure 7 September 21st Battery temperature

13

Inverter (Charge Controller) Efficiency:

By efficiency, we are really saying, what percentage of the power that goes into the inverter
comes out as usable AC current. This efficiency figure will vary according to how much power
is being used at the time, with the efficiency generally being greater when more power is used.
Efficiency may vary from something just over 50% when a small amount of power is being used,
to something over 90% when the output is approaching the inverters rated output. An inverter
will use some power from the battery even when AC power isnt drawn from it. This results in
the low efficiencies at low power levels.
The 6000VA charge controller draw around 20 watt (see figure 8) from the batteries when no AC
current is being used. For a particular day of September 21st, the efficiency of the charge
controller is 62%. The reduced efficiency is due to the fact that in order to supply an AC load of
116 watt it is required to draw an additional 20 watt from the battery plus the loss associated with
the inverter.

Figure 8 September 21st AC power output from the charge controller(inverter)

14

Another important factor involves the waveform and inductive loads or non-linear loads. As we
know our Power lab is equipped with computers and fluorescent lambs, most of the time it
consumes reactive power. Any waveform that is not a true sine wave (i.e. is a square, or
modified square wave) will be less efficient when powering inductive loads - the appliances may
use 20% more power than it would if using a pure sine wave.
Since the charge controller is programmable, "Sleep Mode" facility can be initiated to increase
overall efficiency. This involves a sensor within the controller sensing if AC power is required.
If not, it will effectively switch the inverter off, continuing to sense if power is required.

15

7. REFERENCES
[1] Planning and Installing Photovoltaic Systems A guide for installers, architects and engineers
second edition, The German Energy Society (Deutsche Gesellshaft fur Sonnenenergie (DGS LV
Berlin BRB), 2008.

16

APPENDIX A
I_bat=0;
P_out_bat=0;
I_bat_red_out=0;
U_bat_red_out=0;
P_in_bat=0;
I_bat_red_in=0;
U_bat_red_in=0;
s=0;
I_bat=reduced_total_datalog_value(2,:,1)
U_bat=reduced_total_datalog_value(1,:,1)
s=size(I_bat)
flg=0;
flg1=0;
hold_initial=0;
hold_final=0;
total_discharge_time=0;
l=0;
k=0;
for i=2:s(2)
if((I_bat(i)<0)&&(I_bat(i-1)>=0))
hold_initial=reduced_time_vector(i);
flg=flg+1;
end
if((I_bat(i)>=0)&&(I_bat(i-1)<0))
hold_final=reduced_time_vector(i);
flg1=flg1+1;
end
if ((flg==flg1)&&(I_bat(i-1)<0))
time_diff=hold_final-hold_initial;
total_discharge_time=total_discharge_time+time_diff;
end
end
hold_initial=0;
hold_final=0;
flg2=0;
flg3=0;
time_diff=0;
total_charge_time=0;
for i=2:s(2)
if((I_bat(i)>0)&&(I_bat(i-1)<=0))
hold_initial=reduced_time_vector(i);
flg2=flg2+1;
end
if((I_bat(i)<=0)&&(I_bat(i-1)>0))
hold_final=reduced_time_vector(i);
flg3=flg3+1;
end
if ((flg2==flg3)&&(I_bat(i-1)>0))
time_diff=hold_final-hold_initial;
total_charge_time=total_charge_time+time_diff;
end
end
for i=1:s(2)
if(I_bat(i)>0)
k=k+1;

17

I_bat_red_in(k)=0.001*I_bat(i);
U_bat_red_in(k)=U_bat(i);
P_in_bat(k)=I_bat_red_in(k)*U_bat_red_in(k);
end
if(I_bat(i)<0)
l=l+1;
I_bat_red_out(l)=0.001*I_bat(i);
U_bat_red_out(l)=U_bat(i);
P_out_bat(l)=-1*I_bat_red_out(l)*U_bat_red_out(l);
end
end
P_in_bat;
P_out_bat;
I_bat_red_out;
I_bat_red_in;
U_bat_red_in;
U_bat_red_out;
I_bat_Outavg=mean(-1*I_bat_red_out)
I_bat_Outstd=std(-1*I_bat_red_out)
I_bat_Inavg=mean(I_bat_red_in)
I_bat_Instd=std(I_bat_red_in)
total_discharge_time
total_charge_time
number_of_times_BatDischarged=flg
number_of_times_BatCharged=flg2
Bat_cap=I_bat_Outavg*total_discharge_time
disp('%%during each discharge & recharge%%')
disp('%%it is assumed that the battery %%')
disp('%%will be recharged to its rated %%')
disp('%%Capacity(For HOPPECKe OPzS-800 %%')
disp('%%it is 800Ahr @10% discharge).
%%')
disp('%%Thus the discharge depth(%) will....')
discharge_depth=Bat_cap*100/800
P_inv_out=reduced_total_datalog_value(6,:,1);
l=0;
for i=1:s(2)
if(P_inv_out(i)>0)
l=l+1;
P_inv_out_red(l)=P_inv_out(i);
end
end
U_bat_avg=mean(U_bat_red_in)
P_inv_avg=mean(P_inv_out_red)
P_out_bat_avg=mean(P_out_bat)
P_in_bat_avg=mean(P_in_bat)
temp=reduced_total_datalog_value(8,:,1);
Temp_Avg=mean(temp)
Inv_efficiency=P_inv_avg*100/P_out_bat_avg
Charge_factor=(I_bat_Inavg*total_charge_time)/Bat_cap
Bat_efficiency=100/Charge_factor
%Temprature Vs. Ubat
%d=reduced_time_vector/24
%plot(d,temp,'-r',d,I_bat,'-b')
%hold on
%ylabel('Ibat(Blue), temp(red)')
%xlabel('Days')

18

APPENDIX B

19

20