| No more guessing Identifying exactly how much energy is left in a battery is not easy. A voltmeter is useful but will only indicate that the battery is flat when it's too late. In order to keep an accurate record of what is stored in a battery it is necessary to keep account of all the factors that affect it and this is a complex matter. Once a reliable reading of the state of charge of the battery is available, however, life starts to get an awful lot less complicated. No more nasty surprises with batteries going flat unexpectedly and it becomes possible to manage batteries on fact rather than guess work. It is amazing how much power you can have with a little extra knowledge! Intuitive user interface The information available from the BMV 501 is displayed in a simple, easy to read format. The liquid crystal display is illuminated with an effective backlight that switches on or off as a button is pressed or after a period of inactivity. Data is displayed in bold letters, with additional indication that identifies the reading being shown and relays other messages. It is easy to scroll through the various items of information using forward and back keys. Accurate and reliable The data used by the BMV 501 is monitored with an accuracy better than 0,5 % and, employing Peukert's formula, account is taken of the reduction of effective capacity of the battery when the discharge current increases. An optional temperature sensor helps to further improve accuracy where wide temperature variation is expected. Standard information - Battery voltage - Battery charge/discharge current - State of charge of the battery: in Ampere-hour (Ah) or in % - Time to go: the time to go until the battery is flat at the current rate of discharge - Battery temperature (optional) Adjustable over- and under-voltage alarm Next to display readout a potential free normally open contact is available for remote monitoring. Advanced information The BMV 501 records the following data regarding performance and use of the battery: - Average depth of discharge - The deepest discharge that occurred - Number of charge/discharge cycles - Number of times that the battery has been fully recharged - Number of complete discharges - Number of times that the under-voltage alarm has been triggered - Number of times that the over-voltage alarm has been triggered Data readout and storing charge/discharge curves on a computer This can be achieved with the optional Data Link (see: Accessories) Learn more about batteries and battery charging To learn more about batteries and charging batteries, please refer to our book 'Electricity on Board' (available free of charge from Victron Energy and downloadable from www.victronenergy.com ). |