Let your BMS manage the chargers

Let your BMS manage the chargers

Keeping a lithium battery full all the time will reduces its lifespan. After 10 years a battery will loose 17% of its capacity if its average state of charge is 50%, and it will loose 28% of its capacity if it is full most of the time (*).

TAO BMS can control the chargers to stop the charge at a set SOC and restart them when the SOC gets low.

New latching relay driver (LRD)

New latching relay driver (LRD)

Latching (bi-stable) relays have the great advantage to maintain their contact position indefinitely without any power being sent to the coil. They save a lot of energy compared to standard contactors that can consume up to 0.4 A to maintain their contacts closed (10 Ah per day / 300 Ah per month). But they need to be commanded by pulses…

Choosing the right relay

Choosing the right relay

To get the most out of the BMS and protect your electrical installation you need some heavy duty relays. They open or close the power circuits, can handle high current and are remotely commanded by the BMS. In this article I look at the two main categories of heavy duty relays: Typical use for heavy duty relays are: Disclaimer: all…

BMS comparison chart (v2.02)

BMS comparison chart (v2.02)

As each manufacturer only puts forward what they think will make you buy their product, it is very difficult to make a comparison based on a set of criteria. You can download a BMS comparison chart with more than 100 criteria grouped in 17 sections. There are currently 4 BMS and more will be added as we get input from manufacturer and users.

Which lithium battery to buy?

Which lithium battery to buy?

A quick search on Internet for a 12 Volt 200 Ah lithium (LiFePo4) battery returns prices ranging from USD 406.00 to USD 4,185.00… all with seemingly the same great benefits and similar characteristics! What are the differences between all these batteries and how to choose the battery that is best suited to your application? This article provides some insight so…