Owner manual

APPLICATIONS
Deep discharge damage to lead acid battery banks is often a major concern, both as a system
reliability issue and an economic issue relating to replacement costs of batteries and cycle life
based on depth of discharge. The BATTERY SAVER (BS) can reduce damage to expensive
batteries by controlling deep discharge.
VERSIONS
The BS1 can be used as a low-voltage load disconnect (LVD) to automatically turn lights or
other non-essential loads off when battery voltage drops too low. These loads are
reconnected after the systems has recharged some. Loads can be staged for
disconnect, turning off the least useful ones first and leaving the essential loads on, by
using multiple BATTERY SAVERs.
The BS6 can be used to signal the start of a stand-by generator or other auxiliary charger to
recharge the battery, avoiding deep discharge without temporarily losing the loads.
The BATTERY SAVER can be used as the only control in a small stand alone systems, or as
one of many control elements in large, modular control system for multi-kilowatt applications.
In many small applications charge regulation is not as much a concern as deep discharge
damage. In these cases LVD can be the only type of control electronics needed. Some
systems that already have charge regulation may need the addition of a LVD circuit. The BS1
can be added to existing systems without requiring a complete new control.
RELATED SYSTEM EQUIPMENT
The BATTERY SAVER is an integral part of a low voltage D.C. power system that includes a
charging source, a battery and a load. These items should be installed according to the
instructions provided by the equipment supplier, and this manual assumes that the rest of
the equipment installation has been properly completed.
CHARGING SOURCES: Connect charging sources with their own regulation devices directly
to the battery, using properly rated over-current protection devices.
Note: The BATTERY SAVER can remain connected to a battery being charged by an
alternator, battery charger, etc. without damage to the BATTERY SAVER. No disconnect
or isolation switches are required.
BATTERIES: The BATTERY SAVER is designed to be used with the most common lead-acid
batteries. These are wet cell batteries using pure lead, lead antinomy and/or lead calcium
grids. The factory standard set-points are selected to correspond to approximately an 80%
depth of discharge. These settings may need to be adjusted when using sealed,
maintenance free batteries, or vented pocket plate nickel-cadmium batteries. For these
batteries, consult the battery manufacturer for recommended set-points.
LOADS: The load is considered the item or equipment that the PV system is powering.
System loads such as lights, radios, DC/AC inverters, etc. must be rated for the proper DC
input voltage. DC loads not exceeding the rated BS1 load current (see specification
section) can be connected to the load terminals of the BS1, which provides the automatic
LVD function. Higher current, or inductive loads such as pumps, motors or inverters
should be connected directly to the battery, using properly rated over-current protection
devices (fuses or circuit breakers).
GENERATORS (for Generator start): The BATTERY SAVER (version 6) can automatically
turn on a standby generator when the battery voltage drops low. The generator must be
equipped with a two wire auto-start feature.