What is BS EN 62509 - Photovoltaic battery charge controllers about?
BS EN 62509 is an international standard that establishes minimum requirements for the functioning and performance of battery charge controllers (BCC) used with lead-acid batteries in terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) systems.
BS EN 62509 could be used in conjunction with IEC 62093, which describes tests and requirements for the intended installation application.
Additionally, BS EN 62509 addresses the following battery charge control features to the battery charge control functions:
- Photovoltaic generator charging of a battery
- Load control
- Protection functions
- Interface functions
BS EN 62509 was written for lead-acid battery applications. It is not limited in terms of the BCC capacity to which it may be applied, however, the requirements for test equipment when applied to BCC with high voltage or current, for example, greater than 120 V or 100 A, may be difficult to achieve.
Note: The approaches in BS EN 62509 may be applicable to other power sources and other battery technologies like Ni-Cd batteries by using the corresponding values of cell voltages.
Who is BS EN 62509 - Photovoltaic battery charge controllers for?
BS EN 62509 on photovoltaic battery charge controllers is useful for:
- PV module manufacturers
- PV power system manufacturers
- Photoelectric device manufacturers
- The solar energy engineering industry
- Product designers
- Quality assurance and testing personnel
Why should you use BS EN 62509 - Photovoltaic battery charge controllers?
A battery charge controller regulates the flow of electricity from the PV generator to the battery. Its function is to regulate the voltage and current from the PV array in order to prevent overcharging and over-discharging of the battery.
BS EN 62509 provides guidance on the functionality and performance requirements of photovoltaic battery charge controllers, which mainly aim to ensure BCC reliability and maximize the life of the battery. It sets out the specifications like energy performance requirements, battery charge controller protection, and fail-safe criteria that can help you enhance the performance of photovoltaic batteries charge controllers.
BS EN 62509 also lays the framework for carrying out tests to determine the functioning and performance characteristics of charge controllers, which is useful to ensure the aspects such as the enclosure, physical connection sturdiness, and safety of the photovoltaic batteries charge controllers.
