Batteries are like Humans: They don’t like getting cold

“The truth about battery operating temperature leaves you quite miserable when you need an installation off grid”, knows Dennis Hill looking back at his 20 years’ experience at Ventech Systems. Every single battery company claims that their batteries will work at a temperature range from at least -20 °C up to 30 °C or higher. “That is simply not true even when you look at the graphs they provide with their battery features. A battery is similar to a human body. It needs warmth to operate efficiently, able to be charged and have a good life span. So, when we put on cloths to keep warm in cold climates, batteries in outdoor installations need a quality enclosure to house them and to keep their temperature stable!” Batteries are the engine room and therefore, battery protection is essential!

The evolution of a battery-life

“When I started work as a telephone technician in the early 1970’s, lead acid batteries had no top and were simply open. They were used as backup power supply for the telecommunication. We had to monitor the batteries and check the electrolyte level and specific gravity on a weekly basis,” remembers Dennis Hill. “That was part of their maintenance program. If the electrolyte level was incorrect, we needed to add water or sulfuric acid accordingly. However normal user of batteries thought of them only as a ‘thing’ that provides energy for some time.”

The development of different types of batteries over the last 40 years has been enormous: lead-acid, nickel fibre structure (FNC®), endurogel, zcell, AGM batteries, Lithium-ion the list goes on. The capacity, life span and efficiency of batteries has improved over the years. But the neglection of batteries in people’s minds has stayed the same as well as the problem of operating batteries in high and particularly low temperatures. Going skiing high up a mountain and having a camera or a cell phone with you, you might have experienced the battery problem firsthand. In a very short amount of time the battery level decreases in frosty conditions, and the power output is drastically reduced until the battery dies completely.

The battery pain point is the ambient temperature

Although all providers claim in their advertisements that their batteries work in a temperature range from at least -20 °C up to 30, 40 or even 60°C in reality it looks different. “Depending on the type of battery, particularly when ambient temperatures drop below zero, every single battery will suffer capacity loss. The battery output is diminished the lower the temperature gets, and charging will slow down or even become impossible”, knows Dennis Hill who manufactures off-grid enclosures all over New Zealand. “And a lot of batteries need quite a bit of time to recover and get the heat back into them as well.” When you carefully read the fine print below the claimed operating temperature of a battery, you’ll find disclosures like >>However it is recommended that the batteries be operated in the temperature range of 20 to 30°C to obtain full life and optimum performance<< or <<Temperature compensation required outside 20 - 30°C<<. “Performance graphs often don’t even show a temperature range below 10°C”, says Dennis Hill and frowns.

Real solution or just problem solving?

Inventive providers have found a solution to the problem and now integrate a heating system within their industrial batteries. When the battery temperature drops to a certain level, the heating will kick in and warm up the battery again. “That sounds like a clever idea, but it is not really a solution to the problem that batteries don’t efficiently work in lower ambient temperatures. When we talk about an installation off-grid, without main power obviously, it doesn’t really make sense to waste precious renewable energy to heat up the battery to perform. The battery is supposed to efficiently store the gathered energy and reliably provide power to critical communication, monitoring or surveilling gear!”, claims the engineer from Ventech Systems. That is almost like needing to put the spare wheel on an ambulance before it is ready to head out and save people’s lives every time it gets cold…

Ventech Systems real solution: Battery protection

The fact everyone knows but nobody seems to think about: Batteries operate most effectively, efficiently and have an extended life span at a temperature level around 20°C. When installing gear off-grid, some manufacturers and customers try to compensate their batteries by overpowering or just exchanging batteries regularly. “Neither is a very sustainable way”, comments Dennis Hill. “We at Ventech Systems really want to educate our customers that there is a more efficient and simple way of maintaining the battery, the power supply and the battery life. When you protect your battery with a suitable enclosure, you’ll get the most out of it!” Keeping the temperature at a constant level, prevents the performance loss before it even occurs.

Maintaining enclosure temperature

Ventech Systems’ solution is to maintain the temperature within the enclosure at around 20° C. “We manufacture our high-quality extreme weather enclosures with three main features to maintain a stable temperature for housing batteries and electronics:

1. Insulation

2. Usage of component heat

3. Thermostatically controlled venting system

The insulation helps to keep the enclosure temperature more stable, even when the outside ambient temperature rises or falls. “By harvesting the heat that comes from the batteries and the operating gear within the enclosure, we keep temperatures warmer to start with.” A patented thermostatically controlled venting system opens when the temperature within the enclosure gets too hot and automatically shuts when the cabinet temperature drops. “The way we vent our enclosures also helps to prevent rime ice that blocks up the filters. Some batteries create heat while operating, similar to an old light bulb. Others operate more like a LED light and don’t radiate any heat. So, depending on the gear and the batteries that will live in the enclosure, we individually calculate and manufacture the cabinet to our customer’s needs!”

Common sense tells us that efficient storage of renewable energy is critical to the success of any operation, and in fact, the way of the future.

Ventech System’s enclosures sustainably protect your batteries and electronics, and guarantee a high-performance level of operation, particularly when installed off-grid.