What is a BMS? functionality and efficiency

In today’s age, batteries are standard in almost every sector of life. The key sectors include automotive, aerospace, ev charging ,energy storage, defense, electronics, and the military. The role of batteries in storing and supplying the power is undeniable. It is crucial to pay attention to the battery’s safety and life. 

The BMS (Battery Management System) plays an incredible role in this regard. Uncover information on BMS key working concepts, benefits, types, preventive measures, etc. Sounds intriguing? Let’s keep unveiling facts right in this useful article!

What is a battery management system?

1. Definition

BMS (Battery Management System) refers to an electrical control unit. Using this system, you can optimise and oversee battery functioning. You can also ensure safety and increase the efficiency of your rechargeable batteries. 

2. Importance

Suppose you will not incorporate the BMS in renewable energy systems or EVs (Electric vehicles). Then, you are going to put the system at risk. This way, you can experience accidents with the battery as well as lower working life. Therefore, setting up the BMS is truly essential and crucial. 

3. Benefits

Multiple benefits exist when it comes to BMS (Battery Management System). Some of the key and notable ones are:

Cell Voltage Balancing

BMS keeps the distribution of the voltage at a uniform level at each cell of the battery. This way, you can avoid non-uniform voltage and can effectively optimise your battery. You can enjoy better efficiency from each cell and avoid individual cell failure. 

No Overcharging

BMS does not allow your battery to overcharge. It cutoff the electricity supply when your battery reaches full charging. This way, you can avoid any damage to your battery. It does so by utilising the monitoring system. This feature is desirable in EV (Electric Vehicles). In other words, the excess energy is released in the form of thermal energy, which ultimately affects battery capacity.

Prevent Discharging

BMS prevents your battery from draining out completely. Indirectly, this feature prevents your battery from suffering from lower life or irreversible damage. When your battery experiences optimum charging, the BMS cuts off the supply of electricity. 

Maintains Temperature

Temperature greatly affects the battery’s effectiveness, performance, and efficiency. Through a sensor, the BMS oversees the temperature of the battery. This way, you can protect your battery from reaching higher temperatures. You can minimise the thermal stress of your battery and indirect degradation. This point is valid, especially for the higher demanding applications.

Offers Real-time Battery Health Information

The BMS system features a user interface with a screen on it. This digital screen displays the key and crucial parameters of the battery’s functioning. The key parameters include battery temperature, voltage, state of charge, and current. End users of the battery can make an informed decision regarding the utilisation of their battery. This way, you can enhance the battery performance and system reliability. 

How does a BMS work?

BMS comprises multiple sensors, including the voltage controller, temperature controller, state of charge finder, temperature maintenance, and fault finder. All these sensors transfer data to BMS regarding each scenario in real-time.

BMS then examines the data and ensures every cell of the battery is functioning optimally. Suppose any of the parameters of the battery is not working up to the mark. Then, the battery performs optimisation and adjusts that parameter. This way, the BMS ensures the proper functioning of the battery throughout. 

Types of battery management systems

Many types of BMS exist in the market. Let’s uncover key details about each type right in the following section:

1. Centralised Type

In a centralised battery management system there exists only one control unit. It plays a great role in monitoring all the battery aspects. The key aspects include temperature controlling, cell balance, voltage control, and other parameters. This type of BMS is highly suitable for the effective management of stationary systems for energy storage.

2. Distributed Type

In the distributed type of BMS, you place a small control and monitoring unit in the entire battery pack. Every small unit is responsible for controlling the specific cells. The distributed type of battery works well with EVs and larger battery arrangement systems. You can flexibly scale or upgrade these systems whenever you want. You can avoid single-point failure, and this way, it improves the reliability of the overall system. 

3. Modular Type

The modular type consists of isolated modules which you can remove or add depending on the configuration and size of the battery. The modular type is scalable, and this feature makes this battery to be applicable to variable battery sizes. This indirectly makes the modular type highly flexible.

4. Master Slave Type

It is similar to the modular type but features better characteristics. In this BMS, you can design the modules for separate master-slave functions. Options exist to remove the operation that you dont want to use. 

Sr. No.	BMS Type	Measure Quality	Noise Level	Safety	Versatility	Assembly Cost	Electronic Cost	Maintenance Measures
1	Centralised BMS	Good	Low	High	Limited	Low	Low	Simple
2	Modular BMS	Excellent	Medium	High	High	Medium	Medium	Moderate
3	Distributed BMS	Excellent	High	High	Very high	High	High	Complex
4	Master Slave BMS	Good	Medium	High	Moderate	Medium	Medium	Moderate

Battery management system for electric vehicle

There are many suppliers of the BMS out in the market. But the one which you should choose is Piwin. You can get any type of charging solution from Piwin.

Whether you are looking for home chargers, portable chargers, fleet chargers, or commercial charging solutions. The latest technology and up-to-date algorithm are what makes Piwin BMS stand out. Get in touch with Piwin to get a quote today!

Sr. No.	Charger Type	Name/ Model	Output Power (kW)	Time of Charging(Typical, 0-80%)	Features	Cost (USD, estimated)	Supported Connectors
1	Public Charging	DC Fast Charger (150kW)	150 or more	10-15 minutes	CCS/SAE Combo, cooling, remote monitoring	$45,000 – $55,000	CCS, CHAdeMO, Type 2 AC
2	Home Charging	Wallbox EV Charger (7kW)	7	2-3 hours	Wall-mounted, Type 2 connector	$500 – $700	Type 2 AC
3	Commercial EV Charger	AC Charger (22kW)	22	30-45 minutes	Stand-alone unit, Type 2 connector, durable construction,	$2,000 – $3,000	Type 2 AC

Each of the Charger types that Piwin offers is state-of-the-art in terms of quality, reliability, and durability. Piwin caters to EV charging products that completely align with the set standards. This is what reflects Piwin’s seriousness and strictness toward its goals and offerings. 

The latest technology and up-to-date algorithm are what makes Piwin BMS stand out. Get in touch with Piwin to get a quote today!

1. Which EV has the best battery management?

There are some EVs exist that feature best in class BMS. Some top-of-the-line variants are:

Tesla

The BMS of Tesla is best in class because it has direct integration with the powertrain of the vehicle. It also features an effective thermal management system. The cell balancing, charging or discharging algorithm that Tesla uses in EVs is incredible. Besides this, Tesla keeps a record of data regarding the fleets for designing and upgrading to effective BMS.

Porsche

Another state-of-the-art BMS system is Porsche. It caters to the high speed and better charging. It makes use of liquid cooling to maintain the temperature of the battery and employs effective cell balancing. The main focus of this EV is to promote user intuitiveness through effortless management of BMS.

Audi e-tron

The BMS of the Audi stand out in terms of reliability and safety. The algorithm it incorporates within BMS auto-optimizes the performance and health of the battery. Apart from this, Audi offers a good warranty in the long run.

Hyundai Kona

The priority of Hyundai for BMS is to cater to long-range and quick charging. The built-in liquid cooling system and advanced charging system cater for achieving rapid charging. Besides this, the BMS also caters to effective temperature management to ensure optimum battery health.

Nissan Leaf

The key notables for the Nissan Leaf battery management system are longevity and durability. What makes it demanding is because cost-effectiveness and reliability. The user intuitiveness in terms of diagnostic and monitoring of the BMS is also remarkable.

2. Why do Nissan LEAF batteries degrade?

There exist multiple reasons which contribute to the battery degradation of the Nissan LEAF. Some of the main factors are:

• With each charging and discharging cycle, the battery suffers unavoidable capacity loss. Although this loss is negligible, it affects the battery life in the long run.
• Draining out the vehicle battery to a maximum level also contributes to battery degradation. On the other hand, draining a shallower battery maintains its health and life for longer.
• The next factor which contributes to the battery degradation is higher temperature. During the operation and the charge phase, the temperature goes higher. No proper temperature management system leads you to face battery degradation.
• Frequent and periodic use of a DC fast charger can negatively impact the life of the battery. This is because it puts your battery under higher stress.

3. How to take care of your electric vehicle’s battery?

There are ways exist by employing which you can greatly take care of your vehicle Battery or BMS. These ways include:

• Never fully charge or discharge your vehicle battery. Keep the minimum and maximum charging range between 20 per cent to 80 per cent.
• Consider reducing the frequent use of DC chargers to charge up your vehicle. Instead, give priority to the Level 2 charger.
• Always use a shaded area to park your vehicle because parking your vehicle open to the sun can lead to excessive temperature build-up.
• Ensure the BMS system, especially the software, remains up to date. This is because you can experience efficient charging.
• Change your driving habits and employ eco-driving mode. This will help you experience optimum energy consumption. 

Why does the battery management system malfunction, and how can it be avoided?

Multiple reasons contribute to the malfunctioning of the battery management system. Some of the key reasons for your attention are:

1. Poor Balancing of Cell

With time, as you use the vehicle battery, each cell experiences a different degradation level. The role of the BMS is to keep this degradation at an optimum level. If BMS cannot do so, then you will experience degradation in the life and performance of the battery.

Preventive Measure: Try to balance the cells and calibrate them. You can also employ capable BMS for this purpose. Deal with the maintenance and configuration effectively. 

2. Over-discharge/ Overcharge

Utilizing a battery above and beyond specified limits of voltage may lead you to experience over-discharge or overcharging. This can lead you to face irreparable damage to the battery cells.

Preventive Measure: Set the limit on voltage by using the BMS. This can lead you to avoid overcharging or over-discharging. 

3. Extreme Temperatures

Exposing your battery to peak temperatures can negatively affect the safety and performance of the battery. This phenomenon can damage the battery cells.

Preventive Measure: You can set up the temperature sensors within your battery pack and operate them through BMS. This provides you with complete control of the battery temperature. Besides this, you can also set up a cooling and ventilation system for your battery. 

4. Defective Components

As time passes, different components, like microcontrollers, sensors, and relays, may fail to perform their function. They can also experience wear and tear with time. 

Preventive Measure: Test and inspect the various components of the BMS from time to time. This will help you keep your BMS in optimum working condition. Ensure using the qualitative and reliable components. 

5. Software Issues

The BMS’s main element is the software, which assists in its hassle-free operation and functioning. There are times when the issues reside with the software on the backend. The errors, glitches, or bugs can lead you to malfunction with your BMS.

Preventive Measure: Make sure to deal with the updation of the software behind your BMS on a periodic or daily basis. Regularly check for the available updates. This can help you effectively cope with the unpredictable issues with your BMS. 

6. Poor Calibration

If the BMS does not work as intended, then it can lead you to experience inaccurate control or readings. This can eventually mislead you. 

Preventive Measure: Follow the manufacturer’s specs to accurately calibrate your BMS. To ensure the level of accuracy, make sure to employ periodic checks. This way you can achieve high-end accuracy and precision in your BMS functioning. 

7. Rusted Terminals

As time passes, rust or corrosion develops on the battery’s terminals. This leads to poor transfer of data or communication between the BMS and the battery.

Preventive Measure: You can avoid or prevent this from happening by utilizing the proper cleanliness measures periodically. It helps you cater to the effective data communication between the BMS and the battery. You can also achieve high-end efficiency in the operation of the BMS. 

8. Improper Installation

This is also another obvious reason for the malfunctioning of the battery. It can be improper installation. Poor connections and installation setup both play a key role in this regard. 

Preventive Measure: Try installing your BMS in an area featuring an optimum level of moisture, and that location does not face extreme vibrations or impact. Apart from this, make sure every component is in optimum working condition after installation. Also, ensure tight connections and firm component placement so that they can overcome jittery effects. 

Summarize

As the EV mainly run on the battery, it is crucial to have sufficient knowledge about the BMS management and operation. Because this is what keeps your vehicle moving. After reading the above article, you now have in-depth insights on BMS, its working, benefits, and types. If you are going to use the BMS in your vehicle, then you can effectively manage and operate it. 

The above precautions and BMS management measures will help you do so. The information in the above article regarding the top EVs offering best in class BMS assist you in good selection.

This way, you can make an informed decision about selecting an EV and get the most out of your vehicle battery. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below regarding the above article. You can also ask any question or seek out assistance through the comment section. 

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