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Handbook of Alternative Technologies for Substation Emergency Power

Alternatives to Conventional Lead-Acid Battery Installations
Technical Report
Handbook of Alternative Technologies for Substation Emergency Power

Alternatives to Conventional Lead-Acid Battery Installations
1010603
Final Report, August 2005
EPRI Project Manager S. Eckroad
ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1395 PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA 800.313.3774 650.855.2121 askepri@epri.com www.epri.com
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES

THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED BY THE ORGANIZATION(S) NAMED BELOW AS AN ACCOUNT OF WORK SPONSORED OR COSPONSORED BY THE ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC. (EPRI). NEITHER EPRI, ANY MEMBER OF EPRI, ANY COSPONSOR, THE ORGANIZATION(S) BELOW, NOR ANY PERSON ACTING ON BEHALF OF ANY OF THEM: (A) MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (I) WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD, PROCESS, OR SIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS DOCUMENT, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR (II) THAT SUCH USE DOES NOT INFRINGE ON OR INTERFERE WITH PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS, INCLUDING ANY PARTY'S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR (III) THAT THIS DOCUMENT IS SUITABLE TO ANY PARTICULAR USER'S CIRCUMSTANCE; OR (B) ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING ANY CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF EPRI OR ANY EPRI REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) RESULTING FROM YOUR SELECTION OR USE OF THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY INFORMATION, APPARATUS, METHOD, PROCESS, OR SIMILAR ITEM DISCLOSED IN THIS DOCUMENT. ORGANIZATION(S) THAT PREPARED THIS DOCUMENT EPRI Solutions, Inc.
NOTE
For further information about EPRI, call the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at (800) 313-3774 or email askepri@epri.com. Electric Power Research Institute and EPRI are registered service marks of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. Copyright 2005 Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
CITATIONS
This report was prepared by EPRI Solutions, Inc. 942 Corridor Park Boulevard Knoxville, TN 37932 Principal Investigators H. Kamath T. Key This report describes research sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The report is a corporate document that should be cited in the literature in the following manner: Handbook of Alternative Technologies for Substation Emergency Power: Alternatives to Conventional Lead-Acid Battery Installations. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2005. 1010603.
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Emergency power systems in electric substations play a critical role in substation reliability. This handbook characterizes backup power systems that offer high reliability, measurable capacity, and low maintenance for substation backup power applications. The handbook discusses better application of existing energy storage technologies as well as new technologies not yet commonly used in these applications. Reliability is the most important success criterion, while better condition monitoring and simplified maintenance requirements are also given high priority. Results and Findings In addition to lead-acid batteries, other candidate energy storage technologies, including hybrid combinations of technologies, are characterized. Although many technologies have the potential for substation applications, none is a clear winner over lead-acid batteries at this time. In most cases the candidate technologies, including hybrid combinations, should be watched because new developments are coming out of investment made for other energy storage applications. Methods of improving the life and reliability of lead-acid batteries through investment in new testing and monitoring techniques should also be considered in the future. Challenges and Objectives Stationary lead-acid battery banks require regular maintenance and have limited lifetimes. Ensuring system integrity and capacity for large series strings of electrochemical cells can be difficult. In addition, advances in energy storage technology for other applications, such as electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and distributed power systems, have led to utility interest in evaluating new designs and storage devices for substations. The main objective of this report is to update utility personnel on available energy storage technology options and related power conversion, monitoring, and control systems that are relevant to substation backup power applications. The emphasis has been placed on long-term storage requirements and related equipment that are compatible with utility industry facilities and infrastructure. This report is of value to substation designers and utility planners in the T&D area who are interested in reducing operating costs and improving system reliability for substation backup power systems. Applications, Value, and Use This report describes the recommended practices for substation backup power design and maintenance to achieve better reliability, longer life, and lower costs. The evolution of substation backup power design has been slow to date, but enhancement of this area is possible with the application of techniques from other industries with similar requirements. These techniques include the use of new technologies for energy storage, monitoring, and testing. v
EPRI Perspective Increased pressure to reduce maintenance costs, extend life, and predict reliability is leading the utility industry to look at alternatives in all areas of substation operation, including backup power systems. Prior EPRI work has shown that avoidance of costly, unexpected failures in existing substation batteries would result from more widespread use of cell-level condition monitoring. However, new technology is another answer to longstanding maintenance and monitoring challenges in substation backup power systems. Energy storage technologies being developed for applications outside the utility industry may provide reliability and cost advantages in future utility substations. Design best practices and application engineering guidanceas presented in this handbookare essential to exploiting the newer technologies. Some of the candidate technologies being considered for substations include advanced batteries, electrochemical capacitors, fuel cells, and hybrids of these technologies combined with conventional batteries. Although the results of this current effort point to no clear winners over traditional solutions, a benchmark for ongoing comparison and evaluation has been established. Users of this handbook are encouraged to follow the ongoing development and demonstration of the new technologies presented herein. Approach EPRI initiated a research project to assess current practices and future alternatives for substation backup power systems. Earlier stages of this project included a survey of current utility practices, measurement of actual loading in selected substations, and an overview of the latest technology options for substation backup power systems. This report summarizes the previous work and adds cost-benefit studies for alternative technologies as well as guidelines to designing for new technologies in this application. Two areas are considered: The application of new technologies that can replace existing lead-acid systems and show advantages in performance, cost, footprint, or reliability The use of monitoring equipment, enhanced operational methods, or new augmentation technologies to extend life and enhance condition assessment of existing lead-acid battery technologies
Keywords Substation Battery systems Battery maintenance Backup power Emergency power Energy storage
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ABSTRACT
Emergency power systems in electric company substations play a critical role in substation reliability. This report is intended to characterize backup power technologies that can offer high reliability, measurable capacity, and low maintenance for substation backup power applications. Both the application of new technologies and the better care of existing energy storage technologies are covered. Candidate technologies that are characterized include lead-acid and advanced batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheels, and fuel cells. In addition, some hybrid combinations of these technologies are described. Candidate technologies were selected based on reliability as the number one success criterion, while better condition monitoring and simplified maintenance requirements were also given high priority.
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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1-1 Background ...........................................................................................................................1-1 Approach ...............................................................................................................................1-3 2 SUBSTATION BACKUP POWER APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND CURRENT PRACTICES ..............................................................................................................................2-1 General Requirements for Substation Backup Power...........................................................2-1 Characterization of Substation Loads ...................................................................................2-3 Differences in Stationary Battery Applications..................................................................2-3 Classification of Substation Loads....................................................................................2-4 Description of Individual DC Load Types .........................................................................2-5 Relay Equipment .........................................................................................................2-5 Circuit Breakers ...........................................................................................................2-7 Breakers with Spring Charged by Battery and DC Motor........................................2-7 Breakers Operating on Compressed Air and Hydraulics ........................................2-9 Motor Operated Disconnects and Circuit Switchers ....................................................2-9 Communications, SCADA, and Power-Line-Carrier (PLC) Equipment......................2-12 DC Loading in Typical Substations.................................................................................2-13 Design and Construction of Substation Battery Systems....................................................2-15 Sizing and Design...........................................................................................................2-15 Installation ......................................................................................................................2-18 Maintenance ...................................................................................................................2-19 Replacement and Disposal.............................................................................................2-19 Survey of Existing Substation Battery Systems ..................................................................2-20 DC Power Bus Voltage...................................................................................................2-21 Backup Times.................................................................................................................2-22 Battery Selection ............................................................................................................2-22
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Battery Maintenance.......................................................................................................2-24 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................2-29 3 TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVED PRACTICES FOR EXISTING LEAD-ACID BATTERY SYSTEMS ...........................................................................................3-1 Vented Lead-Acid Substation Batteries.................................................................................3-1 Strengths and Weaknesses of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries.............................................3-2 Vented Lead-Acid Cell Construction.................................................................................3-3 Lead-Acid Grid Alloys: Lead-Calcium, Lead-Antimony, and Lead-Selenium ...................3-4 Vented Lead-Acid Battery Construction ...........................................................................3-5 Lead-Acid Battery Performance .......................................................................................3-6 Discharge and Charge Voltage....................................................................................3-6 Coup de Fouet .............................................................................................................3-6 Self-Discharge .............................................................................................................3-8 Effects of Temperature ................................................................................................3-8 Sulfation.......................................................................................................................3-9 Hydration .....................................................................................................................3-9 Degradation .................................................................................................................3-9 Life Expectancy .........................................................................................................3-11 Vented Lead-Acid Vendors.............................................................................................3-12 Sizing Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Substations ........................................................3-13 Lead-Acid Substation Battery Installation............................................................................3-15 Lead-Acid Substation Battery Maintenance ........................................................................3-15 Standard Testing and Inspection....................................................................................3-16 Standard Maintenance Procedures ................................................................................3-18 Capacity Testing.............................................................................................................3-19 A Definition of Capacity..............................................................................................3-19 Types of Capacity Tests: Time-Adjusted vs. Rate-Adjusted Tests ............................3-21 Performing and Interpreting a Capacity Test .............................................................3-22 Ohmic Resistance Measurement ...................................................................................3-23 Advanced Testing Methods ............................................................................................3-24 Replacement and Disposal .................................................................................................3-26 Improving the Reliability, Life, and Performance of Lead-Acid Substation Batteries ..........3-26 Assessing Battery Improvement.....................................................................................3-26 Life-Cycle Cost Analysis ............................................................................................3-27
Duty Cycle Profile for Evaluating Performance and Operational Improvements .......3-28 Establishing a Baseline: Lead-Acid Battery Life-Cycle Costs ....................................3-30 Techniques for Improving Lead-Acid Battery Reliability, Life, and Performance............3-33 Optimizing Substation Equipment..............................................................................3-33 Adding Redundant Battery Strings.............................................................................3-34 Continuous Battery Monitoring .......................................................................................3-35 Battery Recombination Catalysts ...................................................................................3-39 Recombination Catalysts in Flooded Lead-Acid Batteries .........................................3-39 Recombination Catalysts in VRLA Batteries..............................................................3-40 Manufacturers ............................................................................................................3-41 Hydrocap Corporation ...........................................................................................3-41 Hoppecke ..............................................................................................................3-41 Philadelphia Scientific ...........................................................................................3-42 Application of Recombination Catalysts to Substation Batteries ...............................3-42 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................3-44 4 ALTERNATIVE SUBSTATION BACKUP POWER TECHNOLOGIES..................................4-1 The Case for Innovation ........................................................................................................4-1 Lessons Learned from Past Experience ...............................................................................4-3 Candidates for Substation Backup Power Sources...............................................................4-4 VRLA Batteries .................................................................................................................4-7 Vented Nickel-Cadmium Batteries....................................................................................4-9 Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries .......................................................................................4-12 Zinc-Bromine Batteries ...................................................................................................4-15 Vanadium Redox Batteries.............................................................................................4-18 Regenerative Zinc-Air Batteries......................................................................................4-19 Lithium Ion Batteries.......................................................................................................4-20 Lithium Metal Polymer ....................................................................................................4-23 Ultracapacitors................................................................................................................4-23 Flywheels........................................................................................................................4-26 Fuel Cells........................................................................................................................4-28 Hybrid Alternatives .........................................................................................................4-31 Internal Combustion Engine Generators with Energy Storage ..................................4-31 Fuel Cells with Power Assist......................................................................................4-32
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Vented Lead-Acid Batteries and Ultracapacitors .......................................................4-34 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................4-35 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................5-1
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-1 Typical Substation Battery System (Left: 25-Ampere Battery Charger; Middle: DC Distribution Panel; Right: 125-Volt, 150-Ah Flooded Lead-Acid Battery Bank)............2-2 Figure 2-2 Large 500-kV Substation Equipment Rack That Includes Conventional Discrete Electromechanical Relays in the First Section on the Left (Individual Relays Require Less Than 10 Watts Power) .....................................................................2-6 Figure 2-3 Outdoor 13.2-kV Feeder Circuit Breaker Cabinet That Includes Feeder Relay........2-6 Figure 2-4 Typical Multifunction Electronic Relays in a Substation Equipment Rack (1025 Watts).....................................................................................................................2-7 Figure 2-5 150-MVA, 3-Phase, 161-kV SF6 Gas Circuit Breaker with Motorized Spring Charger ..............................................................................................................................2-8 Figure 2-6 Solenoid Trip (Top) and DC Motor Spring Recharge Current (Bottom)....................2-9 Figure 2-7 Cleveland Price 3-Pole Motor-Operated Disconnect Rated 161 kV, 1200 Amps .......................................................................................................................2-10 Figure 2-8 Closing Current for the Motor-Operated 161-kV Disconnect ..................................2-10 Figure 2-9 Opening Voltage and Current for the Motor-Operated 161-kV Disconnect ............2-11 Figure 2-10 S&C Model 2010 Load-Break Circuit-Switcher (69 kV through 230 kV)...............2-12 Figure 2-11 Power-Line-Carrier Communication and SCADA Equipment in Control House...............................................................................................................................2-13 Figure 2-12 Sample Duty Cycle Diagram ................................................................................2-15 Figure 2-13 Distribution of Substations by Voltage Class ........................................................2-20 Figure 2-14 Substation Emergency Power DC Voltage...........................................................2-21 Figure 2-15 Substation Emergency Power Duration................................................................2-22 Figure 2-16 Types of Backup Power Systems in Use..............................................................2-23 Figure 2-17 Frequency of Battery Maintenance.......................................................................2-25 Figure 2-18 Frequency of Capacity Testing on Batteries.........................................................2-26 Figure 2-19 Top Concerns of Utility Design and Maintenance Personnel Regarding Substation Battery Maintenance ......................................................................................2-27 Figure 3-1 Substation Battery Installation ..................................................................................3-1 Figure 3-2 Cross-Section of a Flooded Lead-Acid Battery ........................................................3-4 Figure 3-3 Discharge Curve for a Lead-Acid Battery .................................................................3-6 Figure 3-4 Coup de Fouet..........................................................................................................3-7 Figure 3-5 Effect of Temperature on Capacity of Lead-Acid Batteries ......................................3-8 Figure 3-6 Capacity Changes over the Life of a Battery ..........................................................3-10
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Figure 3-7 Effect of Temperature on the Life of Lead-Acid Batteries.......................................3-12 Figure 3-8 Lead-Acid Battery Discharge Voltage.....................................................................3-20 Figure 3-9 Lead-Acid Battery Discharge Voltage at Different Rates........................................3-20 Figure 3-10 Capacity as a Function of Battery Life..................................................................3-22 Figure 3-11 Substation Battery Evaluation Duty Cycle ............................................................3-29 Figure 4-1 Large Nickel-Cadmium Substation Battery.............................................................4-10 Figure 4-2 Cobasys NiGuard Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery.....................................................4-14 Figure 4-3 Block Diagram of a Zinc-Bromine Flow Battery ......................................................4-16 Figure 4-4 Zinc-Flow 45 Zinc-Bromine Battery ........................................................................4-17 Figure 4-5 Maxwell Ultracapacitor Module...............................................................................4-25 Figure 4-6 ESMA Ultracapacitor Module .................................................................................4-26 Figure 4-7 Beacon Power High-Energy Flywheel ....................................................................4-28 Figure 4-8 ReliOn Independence 1000....................................................................................4-30
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-1 Loads at a Typical Distribution Substation...............................................................2-14 Table 3-1 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (Most Common Maintenance Schedule)....................................................................................3-31 Table 3-2 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (IEEERecommended Maintenance Schedule) ..........................................................................3-32 Table 3-3 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (No Maintenance Schedule).............................................................................................3-33 Table 3-4 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Single Installation with Two Vented Lead-Acid Substation Batteries (Most Common Maintenance Schedule).........................................3-35 Table 3-5 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Serveron Battery Monitoring System and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule...............3-38 Table 3-6 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Catalytic Vent Caps and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule .........................................3-43 Table 3-7 Summary of Life-Cycle Cost Analyses for Lead-Acid Substation Battery Improvements ..................................................................................................................3-44 Table 4-1 Comparison of Battery Technologies for Substation Backup Power Systems...........4-5 Table 4-2 Comparison of Other Technologies for Substation Backup Power Systems .............4-6 Table 4-3 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for a Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Battery in Substation Battery Application ...........................................................................................4-9 Table 4-4 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Nickel-Cadmium Battery in Substation Battery Application ...........................................................................................................4-12 Table 4-5 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery (Cobasys NiGuard) in Substation Battery Application ......................................................................4-15 Table 4-6 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Zinc-Bromine Battery (Premium Power ZincFlow 45) in a Substation Battery Application....................................................................4-18 Table 4-7 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vanadium Redox Battery (VRB Power Systems 5-kW VRB ESS) in a Substation Battery Application .......................................................4-19 Table 4-8 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Lithium Ion Battery in Substation Battery Application........................................................................................................................4-22 Table 4-9 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Fuel Cell in a Substation Battery Application .........................................................................................4-33 Table 4-10 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Ultracapacitor with Fuel Cell in a Substation Battery Application ...........................................................................................................4-33
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Table 4-11 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Lead-Acid Battery with Ultracapacitor in a Substation Battery Application .........................................................................................4-34 Table 4-12 Net Present Value Analysis Summary for Alternatives to Lead-Acid Substation Batteries .........................................................................................................4-35
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INTRODUCTION
Battery-based substation emergency power systems represent a strategic investment for utilities. These power systems provide backup energy for substation control power, and must be uninterruptible and available at all times. Battery power is used to power relay monitoring and protection, breaker trip and close coils, spring compression motors, and switches during periods of ac power loss at the station. These systems constitute major components in more than 100,000 utility-owned substations in the United States. The power industrys increased emphasis on more systematic asset management, enhanced reliability, and infrastructure security have motivated a closer look at substation backup power. At the same time, changes in energy storage technology and related support systems have provided new opportunities for design improvements. This handbook is the culmination of a three-year effort to assess alternatives to the vented leadacid batteries that constitute the vast majority of substation batteries today. The effort began with a survey of current utility practices, a compilation of the problems (real and perceived) with existing substation batteries, and identification of opportunities for improvement. This was followed by identification and characterization of alternative energy storage technologies in substation emergency power applications, as well as the recognition of methods for improving the performance of existing batteries. This handbook summarizes these efforts and includes life-cycle cost analyses of the most compelling options for enhancing the life and reliability of substation emergency power systems, either through new technology or through improvement of conventional systems. It is intended to provide engineering guidance for mitigating system reliability concerns, and insight into the operation and maintenance resource issues that often lead utilities to consider alternatives to existing products. The results of this research are expected to lead to higher reliability and lower maintenance and capital costs in substation equipment by drawing on the latest developments in energy storage and alternative power technologies.
Background
The largest single component in substation backup systems is the bank of batteries, which requires regular maintenance and has a limited (though fairly long) operating life. Most existing backup power systems use a single string of vented lead-acid cells rated between 100 and 400 ampere-hours, usually designed to provide eight hours of backup power. In addition to those powering the substation dc bus, a second set of batteries is sometimes installed to provide power to communications and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. 1-1
Introduction
Occasionally, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system with ac output is used to provide power to lighting or to ac-powered communications equipment. Vented lead-acid substation batteries are notorious among utility engineers for their extensive testing and maintenance requirements, as well as their tendency to noticeably degrade as they age. Substation batteries require visual inspection, voltage testing, electrolyte specific gravity measurement, electrolyte filling, and other time-consuming operations on a regular basis. Many utilities are willing to pay a higher initial capital cost to avoid paying for maintenance activities. Alternative solutions, such as valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, have been attempted with limited success. VRLA batteries were thought to have the advantages of conventional vented lead-acid batteries but without the cumbersome maintenance requirements. Unfortunately, the batteries did not live up to their promised life expectancy batteries warranted for 20 years commonly failed after only 5 years of operation, compromising substation reliability to an unacceptable degree. Nickel-cadmium batteries have many advantages over vented lead-acid batteries, including better performance in extreme temperatures, but are more expensive to buy and maintain than their vented lead-acid equivalents. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has recommended testing and maintenance procedures to ensure the reliability of stationary batteries. Most utilities do not follow the full course of recommended procedures, preferring to follow cheaper abbreviated procedures or performing no maintenance at all. Utilities are apparently willing to accept the decrease in reliability as a result of these abbreviated procedures. Battery monitoring systems, which can improve reliability considerably, have not found wide application because of the initial capital cost of such systems. A key aspect of the substation application is the fact that most batteries are located in environmentally uncontrolled locations, where temperatures can rise or fall with weather conditions. This affects the reliability and degradation of all batteries, including conventional vented lead-acid batteries, but can be the bane of alternatives that have not been tested in a harsh environment. It is possible that new technologies can provide cost-effective alternatives to the traditional leadacid battery. The proper evaluation of these alternatives should consider not only the technology itself, but the applications engineering experience drawn from years of utility experience, as well as life-cycle cost analysis of the alternatives.
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Introduction
Approach
This project began with a study of current practices, including a utility member survey to determine design and maintenance experience and interest in investigating alternatives to conventional substation batteries. Members were asked to provide dc load data used in estimated backup requirements. In addition, measurements were taken at several substations to characterize dc loads in more detail. Results of this work were published in EPRI reports 10089751 and 1002075.2 Subsequently, a second study examined technologies and techniques that could improve the life and reliability of substation backup power systems while reducing maintenance costs, either by improving standard lead-acid battery designs or by replacing them entirely. The results were published in EPRI report 1009811.3 This handbook summarizes the earlier work from this project, and adds full technical and economic assessments of promising technologies in the substation application. It is intended to be the first reference handbook for a substation engineer interested in alternatives to lead-acid substation batteries. Section 2 of this document revisits the technical requirements and utility preferences for substation batteries, based on a survey of utilities, investigation of typical utility substation configurations, and testing of substation hardware. Section 3 describes techniques that can help improve the life and reliability of vented lead-acid batteries, and/or reduce the maintenance costs associated with those batteries, with a life-cycle cost analysis of the options. These techniques may be the best way to improve on current practice for users hesitant to experiment with untested technologies. Section 4 describes alternative products to vented lead-acid batteries, from relatively common solutions such as VRLA and nickel-cadmium batteries to more exotic technologies such as vanadium redox flow batteries and fuel cells, with explanations of their technical operation as well as the economic case for their deployment.
Results of Survey on Substation Batteries. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1008975. Assessment of Alternatives to Substation Batteries: Current Utility Practices. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1002075. 3 Assessment of Alternatives to Substation Batteries: Characterization of Energy Storage Technologies: Interim Report: Task 3. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2004. 1009811.
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SUBSTATION BACKUP POWER APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND CURRENT PRACTICES
Before exploring the alternatives, it is worthwhile to explore the philosophies and best practices related to existing lead-acid substation backup power systems. The information in the following sections was drawn from utility surveys and from field examinations of a variety of utility substations. In addition, a number of industry documents were used as references, including the following EPRI and IEEE documents: EPRI report 1006757, Stationary Battery Guide: Design Application, and Maintenance, Revision 2 of TR-100248 IEEE Std 450-2002, IEEE Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 484-2002, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation Design and Installation of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 485-1997, IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1106-1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation, Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1115-2000, IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications
General Requirements for Substation Backup Power

Substations house the transformers, circuit breakers, switches, and reclosers required for proper operation of the power transmission and distribution system. The controls, switches, and other loads at a substation are usually powered from a dc power system, which has three main components: A battery charger, which rectifies normal ac station power, feeds the station dc loads, and charges the backup battery via a branch circuit breaker in the dc power panel The dc power panel, which is the distribution point for the dc bus A series-connected battery, which feeds the main breaker of the dc power panel and picks up the load in the event station power is lost or a load transient is beyond the rating of the battery charger
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Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices
The third component, the battery, is often considered the least predictable, and therefore the least reliable, in the substation power system.
Figure 2-1 Typical Substation Battery System (Left: 25-Ampere Battery Charger; Middle: DC Distribution Panel; Right: 125-Volt, 150-Ah Flooded Lead-Acid Battery Bank)
The technical specifications for a substation battery vary with the size and type of substation, but the substation battery application can be characterized by several general requirements: Low-rate, long-duration discharge: The battery is expected to deliver power for 8 to 16 hours. The average current drawn for most of this period is small relative to the total charge delivered (in ampere-hours). Momentary high-current discharges: In addition to the low-rate discharge, the battery is expected to deliver brief pulses of high current from time to time during the discharge to power momentary loads such as switchgear operations. Such loads are relatively short, usually lasting only a few seconds. Standby operation: The battery is expected to operate only in the uncommon case that the ac-driven battery charger cannot provide power to the dc power bus. When such a case arises, the backup system is expected to take over all loads immediately. The rest of the time, the battery is in a standby mode. Noncycling operation: The battery is expected to spend most of its life fully charged, without repeated discharge and charge cycles. High-temperature environment: The battery is expected to operate in installations with temperature extremes. Batteries are usually installed in the station control house, which is rarely temperature controlled; temperatures can rise as high as 50C. Temperature may drift 10C or more from the mean temperature in the control house. Long life: The battery is expected to reliably meet all service requirements for at least 20 years.
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Minimal maintenance requirements: The battery is expected to require as little maintenance as possible, preferably no more than occasional testing that can be performed remotely.
In general, a replacement for the substation battery will be expected to be a drop-in replacementvoltage levels, load profiles, and operating conditions will not be changed for the sake of a new technology.
Characterization of Substation Loads

Let us now examine the types of loads that a substation backup power system is expected to carry. The following sections discuss the types of loads commonly encountered in substations. These sections are a summary of a more complete discussion of substation loads, which can be found in the first interim report for this project.4 Differences in Stationary Battery Applications Many users and technology developers mistakenly believe that substation batteries (and other switchgear backup batteries) are identical to batteries used in other stationary standby applications. This is not the case. While all standby batteries experience float charge for the vast majority of their lives, they face very different requirements during discharge: Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries provide backup power to computers, servers, and other critical loads for short periods of time in the event of ac power failure. UPS systems are designed to provide power at a fairly constant rate for relatively short durationsusually between 5 minutes and 1 hourwith the expectation that a backup generator will be available to provide power for longer periods, or that the UPS will provide enough time for critical systems to turn off gracefully. UPS batteries are sized to provide large currents relative to the size of the battery, throughout the short discharge period. They are generally located in controlled environments (air conditioned rooms or enclosures). Telecommunications backup batteries provide backup power to telecommunications systems such as telephone wire lines and remote cellular telephone towers in the event of ac power failure. These batteries are designed to provide power to a large, fairly constant load for a substantial length of time (4 to 8 hours). They are sized with a small current draw relative to the size of the battery, and are generally located in controlled environments (air conditioned rooms or enclosures). Most telecommunications batteries are designed to provide a 48-Vdc output. Switchgear batteries, which include substation backup batteries as well as much larger generation plant backup batteries, provide backup power to switchgear and control equipment in the event of ac power failure. These batteries are designed to provide a fairly small load for a fairly long duty cycle (8 hours), but must occasionally supply fairly high
Assessment of Alternatives to Substation Batteries: Current Utility Practices. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1002075.
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currents lasting brief periods of time. Switchgear batteries are generally located in uncontrolled environments without air conditioning or other cooling systems. These differences mean that a battery designed for telecom or UPS service may not operate suitably in a switchgear backup application. A telecom battery must be suitably oversized to ensure that it can meet the short-duration, high-current discharges required in the switchgear application. It must also be able to survive the uncontrolled environment in which most substation batteries operate.5 It should be noted at this point that substations may have more than one battery installed, and not all of them may be switchgear batteries. A power-plant-to-transmission-line switchyard examined in an earlier part of this project has five different backup systems: a large 250-Vdc switchgear battery, a 125-Vdc UPS battery, two 48-Vdc communications batteries, and a 24-Vdc battery for microwave equipment.6 In general, this report focuses on switchgear batteries, although some of what is described here is also applicable to telecommunications and UPS batteries. Classification of Substation Loads A typical substation will include both ac and dc loads. The dc loads, with battery backup, are designed to carry out all critical substation operations even if normal ac power is lost. Loads that are not likely to be on the dc system are space conditioning, noncritical lighting, and convenience receptacles. All equipment necessary for the station to function and provide required circuit control and protection operates from the dc bus, or via a UPS system providing ac power with dc battery backup. One of the first tasks in designing a substation emergency power system is the classification of critical station loads and determination of the likely order of operation and duration. The resulting information defines the duty cycle served by the backup power system. The approach used here comes from standards developed by IEEE to size stationary batteries, particularly for backup power applications.7,8 First, all loads are divided into two types: continuous and noncontinuous loads. Continuous loads are energized throughout the battery duty cycle. These loads are those normally carried by the battery charger and those initiated at the inception of the duty cycle. Typical continuous loads include relays, continuously operating motors, power converters and inverters, indicator lights and work area lighting, continuously energized coils, annunciator loads, and communications systems.
The author would like to acknowledge Mike Swift of Swift Industrial Power for pointing out the differences between these applications. 6 Assessment of Alternatives to Substation Batteries: Current Utility Practices. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1002075. 7 IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications. IEEE, 1997. IEEE Std 485-1997. 8 IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications. IEEE, 2000. IEEE Std 1115-2000.
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Noncontinuous loads are energized during only a portion of the battery duty cycle. These loads may come on at any time within the duty cycle and may be on for a set length of time, be removed automatically or by operator action, or continue to the end of the duty cycle. Typical noncontinuous loads include critical ventilation system motors, fire protection system actuators, motor-driven valve operations, and lighting. When lead-acid batteries are used for substation batteries, special consideration is given to momentary loads, which are noncontinuous loads not exceeding 1 minute per occurrence. Typical momentary loads include switchgear operations, motor-driven valve operations, isolating switch operations, field flashing of generators, motor starting currents, and in-rush currents. An understanding of the peculiar characteristics of lead-acid batteries9 has led to the common practice of assuming that all momentary loads last a full minute in length, and that the momentary loads occurring during a one-minute period are added (that is, four 25-ampere loads, each lasting 5 seconds and occurring over the space of a minute, are considered to be one 100-ampere load lasting 1 minute). It is important that this practice not be used when sizing backup power systems using other technologies, since other technologies do not have the same limitations as lead-acid in this respect. The use of momentary loads for lead-acid batteries is a type of shortcut in sizing lead-acid batteries, and is a result of long familiarity with this technology. Applying such rules to other technologies may result in backup systems that are sized vastly larger than necessary. Description of Individual DC Load Types The wide range of substation sizes, types, and vintages has led to a great variety in the equipment that one might encounter in the substation. Devices that may serve the same purpose in two different substations may produce very different load profiles. The variation in dc loading is important to consider when examining alternatives to lead-acid batteries in this application. The following sections are a summary of the main types of equipment connected to the substation dc power panel, including the typical time and current characteristics. This should not be considered an exhaustive list. Relay Equipment The number of relays varies with the size of the station, ranging from one or two multifunction units for a single circuit station to hundreds of relays in large equipment racks in major stations, as shown in Figure 2-2. Relays are also built into outdoor equipment such as circuit breaker or switch control cabinets, as shown in Figure 2-3.
See section on coup de fouet in the next chapter.
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Figure 2-2 Large 500-kV Substation Equipment Rack That Includes Conventional Discrete Electromechanical Relays in the First Section on the Left (Individual Relays Require Less Than 10 Watts Power)
Figure 2-3 Outdoor 13.2-kV Feeder Circuit Breaker Cabinet That Includes Feeder Relay
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Relays are classified as continuous loads: variations for different operating modes are not considered, and the maximum load is used in estimating power requirements. Many older substations still use discrete single-function electromechanical relays. The power required to run these relays is relatively small, typically only a few watts per device. These older designs are gradually being replaced with the more powerful electronic relays of the type pictured on the right side of Figure 2-4.
Figure 2-4 Typical Multifunction Electronic Relays in a Substation Equipment Rack (1025 Watts)
Multifunction relays combine several functions into one relay device, which provides programmability and improves the accuracy and response of station protection. The power demand of electronic relays is not significantly more than that of the electromechanical type. Nameplates typically show 10 to 25 watts maximum, and the current drawn on a 125-Vdc battery system is likely less than 200 milliamps per relay. Circuit Breakers There are many different sizes and types of circuit breakers in substations. However, none place a very large continuous load on the dc battery system. The breaker dc load is momentary, lasting less than one minute. All breakers have at least one trip and one close solenoid, which typically require a few milliseconds each to operate. Most breakers charge or compress springs to store the required mechanical energy for tripping. Older breakers use compressed air or hydraulics to accomplish spring charging. The newer generation of outdoor breakers is more likely to use a spring charging motor for both closing and tripping energy. The dc-motorized breakers are similar in design to switchgear breakers.
Breakers with Spring Charged by Battery and DC Motor
A 2002 vintage 150-MVA, 161-kV SF6 gas circuit breaker is shown in Figure 2-5. The dc loading from this breaker includes a small steady-state draw to power indicators and a momentary draw to trip and close the solenoid and to recharge the spring via a dc motor.
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Figure 2-5 150-MVA, 3-Phase, 161-kV SF6 Gas Circuit Breaker with Motorized Spring Charger
The steady-state load is very low, estimated at less than 10 watts continuous. According to the nameplate, the momentary solenoid loads are 1.9 amps to close and 12 amps to trip. For this particular device, the voltage must be between 90 and 140 Vdc during close operations, and between 70 and 140 Vdc during trip operations. The spring recharge dc motor load, based on the nameplate, is 43.5 amps to start the motor and 9.8 amps to run it. In order to determine the duration of these momentary loads and to verify nameplate data, field measurements were taken at the site. Figure 2-6 shows the load measurement results for a momentary trip and recharge of the spring mechanism. The top trace is the trip-coil solenoid followed by the motor start shown at 5 ms per division. The bottom trace is the motor starting in-rush, running, and pulling in current shown at one second per division. Similar tests run on other motor-operated circuit breakers resulted in similar results.10
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Figure 2-6 Solenoid Trip (Top) and DC Motor Spring Recharge Current (Bottom)
Breakers Operating on Compressed Air and Hydraulics
Older substations often have breakers that use compressed air or hydraulic systems to recharge the trip and close springs. Such systems often still rely on the dc bus for the solenoid trip and close operations, but do not draw the spring-recharge dc motor load. Motor Operated Disconnects and Circuit Switchers The Cleveland Price 161-kV, 3-pole switch shown in Figure 2-7 is rated at 1200 amps with basic impulse insulation level (BIL) of 750 kV. The switch arms are moved in tandem by a motordriven screw mechanism. The motor is rated at 125-Vdc, 18 amps, and 0.75 hp. Measured results for closing are shown in Figure 2-8, and results for opening are shown in Figure 2-9.
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Figure 2-7 Cleveland Price 3-Pole Motor-Operated Disconnect Rated 161 kV, 1200 Amps
Figure 2-8 Closing Current for the Motor-Operated 161-kV Disconnect
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Figure 2-9 Opening Voltage and Current for the Motor-Operated 161-kV Disconnect
A circuit switcher differs from a motor-operated disconnect in that the switcher is capable of load break via a linear-tube-type circuit breaker. An example is shown in Figure 2-10. In this case the tube is a single-gap, SF6 puffer-type interrupter, rated for 6-cycle close or interrupt. The dc motor load is similar to that of the disconnect device with the addition of solenoids and additional control equipment. The S&C data indicate about 8 amps for the solenoid and about 15 amps for the motor operator at 125 Vdc. However, in Note 1 of the equipment data (see Figure 2-10), a minimum of 75 amps is recommended for starting the motor.
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Figure 2-10 S&C Model 2010 Load-Break Circuit-Switcher (69 kV through 230 kV)
Communications, SCADA, and Power-Line-Carrier (PLC) Equipment Communications and control equipment forms an essential part of every substation. These loads are considered continuous loads, and operate across the entire emergency power duty cycle. Control and communications loads vary greatly from substation to substation, but rarely exceed a few amperes in magnitude. Some examples of control and communications equipment are shown in Figure 2-11.
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Figure 2-11 Power-Line-Carrier Communication and SCADA Equipment in Control House
DC Loading in Typical Substations The type of loads found in substations varies widely from substation to substation. Table 2-1 shows the loads that might be found in a recently built distribution substation, along with the current, duration, and estimated number of operations one might expect from them during an 8-hour period during which the ac power has been interrupted. Note that most loads are momentary loads that might occur at any time during the 8-hour duty cycle.
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Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices Table 2-1 Loads at a Typical Distribution Substation
Number of Devices in Substation 20 6 6 12 2 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 1 1 1 Power Load at 125 Vdc (W) 12.5 250 1500 1125 500 750 4750 875 6250 1875 437.5 625 3125 125 125 400 Estimated # of Operations During 8-Hour Duty Cycle n/a 6 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 8 n/a n/a 1
Device Relays and Controls 13.2 kV Breakers DC Motor 13.2 kV Breakers In-Rush 13.2 kV Breakers Solenoids 69 kV Future Breaker DC Motor 69 kV Future Breaker DC Solenoids 69 kV Future Breakers In-Rush 161 kV Breaker DC Motor 161 kV Breakers In-Rush 161 kV Breakers Solenoids 161 kV MOD Motors Close 161 kV MOD Motors Open 161 kV MOD Motors In-Rush SCADA Equipment Comm, Alarms, Annunciators Control Building Lighting
Current Draw (A) 0.1 2 12 9 4 10 20 7 50 15 3.5 5 25 1 1 3.2
Duration (s)
Load Classification Continuous Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Noncontinuous (Momentary) Continuous Continuous Continuous
cont. 4.9 0.04 0.03 6 0.04 0.05 7.2 0.02 0.05 4.45 4.8 0.03 cont. cont. 1
The next step toward understanding how the loads occur in regular operation is the construction of a duty cycle diagram, a figure that shows the total load at any time during the duty cycle. In general, the backup power system is sized so that it operates properly even in the worst possible case. To ensure this capability, random loads are placed at the most critical times in the load, where they simulate the worst-case load on the battery. An example of a duty cycle load profile for the same substation is shown in Figure 2-12.
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Figure 2-12 Sample Duty Cycle Diagram
When the duty cycle is arranged in this way, the designer often assumes that noncontinuous and momentary loads will all occur at the same time, producing short periods with a very high power load at the most critical point in the duty cycle. Such a profile might seem somewhat unrealistic, but designs based on these profiles ensure that the battery will always be able to provide powereven in the worst possible case. If a less conservative design strategy is used, the designer must catalog conditions under which the battery would not support the load, along with the probability that such conditions would occur and the severity of the adverse effects that may occur as a result of battery failure under those conditions. The potential cost savings for small systems such as a substation battery are rarely large enough to make this effort worthwhile.
Design and Construction of Substation Battery Systems

Sizing and Design The load for a substation backup dc system consists of a relatively small base load (about a few watts per MW of substation capacity) with a few short-duration but high-current loads arising from solenoid pull-in power, dc motor in-rush, gear mechanisms for charging circuit breaker trip strings, and motorized switch movements. The backup power system must be sized to provide the overall energy drawn over the backup period and to support the dc bus during the momentary high-current loads, all while remaining within the specified voltage range. 2-15
Sizing procedures for stationary batteries are well defined in two IEEE standards: IEEE Std 485-1997, IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1115-2000, IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications
These two documents describe sizing procedures for all stationary batteries, including those intended for substations, generation plants, telecommunications installations, and remote power. Narrowing the specification to apply to the specific requirements of substations and generalizing the procedures to apply to all types of backup power systems, we can derive general guidelines for substation backup power, which can be summarized in the following steps: 1. All sizing is designed toward the most severe possible scenario. In most cases, this worstcase scenario is rather unlikely, but designing for this case ensures that the emergency power system is able to meet all its requirements in all other possible cases. 2. All loads, whether constant resistance, constant current, or constant power, are considered either constant current or constant power for purposes of sizing. Loads on the dc bus are divided into the categories of continuous and noncontinuous. For lead-acid batteries, noncontinuous loads are further divided into regular noncontinuous loads and momentary loads. 3. A duty cycle diagram showing the total load at any time during the duty cycle is constructed. The diagram shows all expected loads along with their expected beginning and ending times. Loads for which the beginning times are known but the end times are unknown are assumed to continue through the rest of the duty cycle. Loads for which beginning times and ending times are unknown (that is, random loads) are placed at the most critical time of the duty cycle. For substations, continuous and noncontinuous loads are more or less well defined in power level, duration, and timing. It is typically the momentary loads that are the hardest to predict. Since the worst-case scenario is often considered to be the end of discharge, the battery is often sized so that it can operate all momentary loads occurring at once at the end of the discharge period (usually 8 hours). 4. The output voltage of the dc backup system is based on the desired dc system voltage. As described above, the most common system voltages are 24, 48, 125, and 250 Vdc. The output voltage often defines the number of cells in series when a battery is used as the dc backup system. 5. The backup power system is sized for capacity, as measured in ampere-hours, assuming the system always remains within the allowable voltage range defined for the substation. The capacity is sized according to the most demanding section of the load duty cycle. The IEEE sizing standards describe a sophisticated sizing methodology that takes into account the ampere-hours drawn during each section of the load profile as well as the current capability of the power source. Many substation battery manufacturers and substation
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designers have software sizing tools that can automatically size batteries according to the IEEE methodology. 6. Factors of margin are now added to the capacity to account for additional considerations, such as the following: Temperature: Battery performance can be seriously affected by temperature. This is particularly the case for lead-acid batteries operating at lower than room temperature. The IEEE standards include temperature correction charts for operation of batteries under various environmental temperatures. Since different battery chemistries are affected differently by temperature, the temperature correction factor changes from technology to technology. Design margin: The backup system is typically oversized somewhat to account for growth in substation loads, unforeseen changes in operating environment, and the effects of improper maintenance. The design margin is usually in the vicinity of 1015%. Aging factor: The performance of the backup system can be expected to degrade as it gets older, so a certain degree of margin is added to account for the loss in capacity or capability that may occur. The amount of margin is often determined by the replacement criteria for the system. For lead-acid batteries, for example, the battery is usually replaced when capacity falls to 80% of its original capacity. Since the battery needs to meet all requirements at 80% of its original capacity, the original capacity must be 1/0.80 = 1.25 times the requirement. The aging factor in this case is 1.25. Capacity at delivery: Battery vendors sometimes deliver batteries with less than rated capacity when delivered, anticipating an increase as the active mass forms over the first few years of operation. The capacity at delivery may be as low as 90% of the rated capacity. Provided that the aging factor and design margins are greater than the temporary capacity shortfall, no additional margin is needed. For example, if the delivered battery has 90% of its rated capacity but has an aging factor of 1.25 (so that all requirements can be met at 80% rated capacity), no additional margin is required.
The sizing methodology rarely results in a perfect match with a commercially available technical solution. The typical solution is to select the next higher capacity alternative, and consider the additional capacity a part of the design margin. The conservative nature of the sizing process highlights an important facttraditionally, sizing of substation backup power systems has stressed design margin and reliability over the initial capital cost of the system. This attitude is natural, since the failure of a substation battery system can be a very critical problem indeed, and the cost of oversizing the battery is small in comparison to the costs related to the failure of the substation battery system. Furthermore, it is notable that despite the extreme conservatism in design and construction, user complaints of poor battery reliability are not uncommon. It is possible that one of the underlying assumptions in battery sizing is not true, and sizing is not truly conservative. In many cases, the problem lies in the unspoken assumption that batteries will be properly maintained after installation, which is often not the case. This subject is discussed in greater detail in the maintenance section below. 2-17
Installation The backup power system is usually installed inside the substation control house, a small building inside the substation itself. In some cases, the battery is placed in a weatherproof enclosure and housed outdoors, although this is quite rare. Installation procedures for substation batteries are described in three IEEE documents: IEEE Std 484-2002, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation Design and Installation of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1106-1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation, Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1187-2002, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation Design and Installation of Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for Stationary Applications
Despite the existence of three separate standards, the fundamental requirements for backup power installations are the same for all technologies: The installation location should be clean, dry, well ventilated, and well lit, with adequate space for the use of necessary installation and maintenance equipment. The backup power device and installation must be protected from natural and man-made dangers, including earthquakes, wind, rain, flooding, fire, explosion, projectiles, corrosive fluids, and pressurized gases. Where required, the equipment should be anchored in a way appropriate to the seismic zone in which the facility is located. The installation location will minimize temperature extremes and temperature gradients across the backup power system. If necessary, the substation backup power system will be placed in a location with appropriate environmental controls (HVAC). Appropriate facilities must be on hand in the event of a chemical spill or other safety issue related to the backup power system. This may include acid or alkaline spill kits for the safe containment and removal of spills; safety showers; and water facilities for rinsing. The charger and power distribution panel should be as close as possible to the backup power source. The backup power system should be located away from nearby equipment with arcing contacts. There must be sufficient space and facilities in the control house to perform installation and maintenance in a safe and unconstrained way.
Many users perform a capacity test or other acceptance test immediately after installation, to set a baseline for measuring the aging and performance degradation of the battery over time. Such testing should be done regardless of the technology used in this application.
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The installation process can be quite time-consuming and expensive in relation to the cost of the battery. The installation process must be repeated every time the battery is reinstalled. For this reason, it is desirable that the substation backup power system have a long service life, so that the substation can go as long as possible before the backup power system needs to be replaced. Maintenance Required maintenance for substation backup power systems is performed at regular intervals, along with other maintenance required at the substation. For traditional lead-acid batteries, the maintenance regime consists of a number of operations, including visual inspection for physical damage, float voltage measurement, electrolyte level measurement, and battery float charging current. Substation battery users seem to have a strong aversion to conducting appropriate battery maintenance (see section below on battery maintenance of existing substations). This distaste may arise from technical misunderstanding of the importance of maintenance, lack of financial resources to perform it, or disgust at the innumerable tedious steps involved in monthly voltage measurement, quarterly specific gravity checks, and yearly capacity tests. Regardless of its source, the dislike of maintenance leads to an important part of the requirements of a substation battery: Battery maintenance must be as quick, simple, and inexpensive as possible, and must not be required at intervals shorter than for other regular substation maintenance. Where possible, monitoring and condition assessment must be a part of the battery system. Remote monitoring capability may be desirable to many users, especially those with substations in remote rural areas. Replacement and Disposal At the end of their useful life, substation backup systems must be replaced or refurbished to ensure continuous reliable service at the substation. Replacement criteria are generally defined on the basis of time (for example, replacement every 15 years) or performance (for example, replacement when capacity falls below a certain percentage of initial capacity). It is often the utility that sets the replacement criteria, based on past experience with batteries. The manufacturer should be consulted in the decision for replacement criteria, particularly for unproven technologies. Improper operation or maintenance may shorten the life of the backup system; it is generally suggested that an inspection and testing program be used to assess the backup system at regular intervals to determine whether replacement is necessary. Disposal of an old system can often be problematic. Many technologies used in backup power systems use toxic materials that require special disposal. Most users will prefer that the manufacturer of the backup battery handle transportation and disposal of the old system, following the standard practice with lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries. Manufacturers of these types of batteries recover and recycle a large part of the materials from old batteries and dispose of the rest in a safe way. 2-19
Replacement and disposal procedures should be defined and documented when the emergency power system is first installed into the substation. Disposal procedures should identify all toxic and controlled materials contained in the backup system for safety reasons.
Survey of Existing Substation Battery Systems

While general requirements can provide an initial direction in the search for alternative backup power systems, more-detailed specifications are required to determine what products and techniques are truly viable in the application. Substation battery designs are highly dependent on the size and type of the substation. In 2003, EPRI conducted a survey of utility practices for substation backup power systems.11 The survey sample included 45 utilities, primarily in the United States, reporting on a total of 15,892 substations. Most of the utilities that responded operate between 100 and 1000 stations. This sample size is believed to represent approximately 12% of all utility-owned substations in the United States, and an estimated total of 120,000 substations, not including customer-owned substations. With this total, a rough estimator for number of utility-owned substations is one for every 2500 in population. The breakdown of substations surveyed, based on primary voltage, is shown in Figure 2-13. More than half of the substations in the survey sample were in the voltage class of between 69 kV and 169 kV.
Figure 2-13 Distribution of Substations by Voltage Class
Approximately 83% of substations in the survey were reported to have some form of central battery energy storage system. While these systems are always connected to substation dc loads, the battery is normally on float charge, and dc loads are serviced by the ac-driven battery charger. When ac power to the charger is lost, the batteries become the primary source for all loads required to operate the substation. Smaller stations, particularly those in rural areas that
11
For a full description of the survey and its results, see Assessment of Alternatives to Substation Batteries: Current Utility Practices (EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003, 1002075).
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may consist of only a single step-down transformer and a recloser device, often rely on control batteries built into equipment, and on capacitors that provide for one breaker operation in case of a power outage. When substations do have a central battery energy storage system, it is specified by several parameters, including dc voltage, total backup time, type of battery technology, nature of loading, and life. DC Power Bus Voltage The voltage of the dc system depends on the substation critical load size and the distances between the battery systems and loads in the substations. In the 2003 survey, utilities reported using 24-, 48-, 125-, and 250-Vdc systems. These voltage levels arise, in part, from the long experience with strings of lead-acid batteries. The 24-, 48-, 125-, and 250-Vdc systems have traditionally been serviced by 12-, 24-, 60-, and 120-cell lead-acid strings. Based on the survey, the 125-V battery-based backup power systems (60 lead-acid cells in a single series string) are used in about 65% of substations. 48 Vdc is used in about 29% of substations, 250 Vdc in 4.3%, and 24 Vdc in less than 2% of cases.12 The dc bus voltage specification is actually a voltage range, determined from the operating voltage of substation equipment. For a 125-V bus, this range usually extends from 105 V to 140 V (1.75 V/cell to 2.45 V/cell for a 60-cell battery).
Figure 2-14 Substation Emergency Power DC Voltage
If substation dc bus voltage falls below the minimum level, there is a danger that equipment will shut off. If the voltage rises above the maximum voltage, there is a danger of damage to the equipment. In an ideal case, the voltage limits for each load will be known prior to the design of
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the substation dc backup power system, and the operating voltage range can be chosen accordingly. In practice, all substation equipment may not be specified at the time of design. In addition, equipment may change over the lifetime of the substation battery. Backup Times A 4- to 8-hour backup time is usually specified for a substation backup power system. The 2003 survey indicated that 56% of the systems are designed for a 48 hour range; only 5% reported less than 4 hours. About 40% of installations in the survey reported greater than 8 hours, up to 16 hours. 100% redundant designs, in which 200- to 800-Ah cells are used to ensure sufficient capacity under all conditions, are not uncommon. Additional redundancy can be achieved by using parallel strings; only about 15% of substations reported using more than one seriesconnected battery string.13
Figure 2-15 Substation Emergency Power Duration
Battery Selection Most utilities use vented lead-acid stationary batteries with lead-calcium grids for their substation batteries. Vented designs, despite their need for regular maintenance and watering, are generally considered more robust and reliable than valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) designs. Lead-calcium grids result in a smaller current during float charge operation than lead-antimony grids, making the former more suited for standby operation. In the 2003 survey, 76.5% of installations were reported to use standby vented lead-acid batteries, the majority with leadcalcium grids. These results are illustrated in Figure 2-16.
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Figure 2-16 Types of Backup Power Systems in Use
Other battery designs are sometimes preferable to vented lead-acid in the substation application. VRLA batteries are sometimes used when space limitations preclude the use of vented batteries, or when the maintenance requirements of vented batteries cannot be met. VRLA designs are less tolerant to temperature extremes, and are generally less robust than vented designs, so such installations must be environmentally controlled, and the installation can be expected to have a much shorter life than a comparable vented installation. Despite the frequently used maintenance-free designation, VRLA batteries do require regular inspection and maintenance. Electrolyte specific gravity and electrode condition cannot easily be checked for VRLA batteries, limiting the ability to monitor state-of-health. Despite these shortcomings, 14.1% of systems were reported as using VRLA batteries. Users sometimes prefer nickel-cadmium batteries because of their greater tolerance for lowtemperature or high-temperature environments. Although their generally superior cycle life is not taken advantage of in substation applications, nickel-cadmium batteries also have a better highcurrent capability, allowing them to be sized somewhat smaller than equivalent vented lead-acid batteries. This characteristic partially offsets their higher capital cost. Nickel-cadmium batteries used in substation applications tend to be of the vented, pocket-plate type, which maximizes standby life and energy capacity. Nickel-cadmium batteries accounted for 6.7% of substation batteries in the 2003 survey. Other types of lead-acid batteries are also sometimes used. Some utilities use lead-acid batteries with lead-selenium grids, which are said to hold certain advantages over lead-calcium grids, but 2-23
which come at a higher price. A smaller number of utilities reported using deep-cycle vented lead-acid batteries, built with lead-antimony grids, which generally have much better cycle life than lead-calcium batteries but exhibit greater standby current and water loss and last a shorter period of time in a standby application. Plant or Manchex batteries are used in a few installations. A very small number of substations were reported to use commercial UPS systems to back up the ac-dc rectifier rather than using batteries directly on the dc bus.14 Other technologies have been examined by utilities on a trial basis, including lithium ion, lithium metal polymer, nickel-metal hydride, and zinc-bromine. While these technologies hold advantages over the more common technologies, they have yet to be adopted widely. Battery Maintenance Most utilities derive their maintenance procedures from the guidelines described in two IEEE documents: IEEE Std 450-2002, IEEE Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications IEEE Std 1106-1995, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation, Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Nickel-Cadmium Batteries for Stationary Applications
These standards prescribe a schedule of monthly, quarterly, and yearly tests, with appropriate corrective actions in the event that measured parameters are outside reasonable bounds. These procedures are designed to ensure that batteries remain in optimal operating condition, extending their life and improving their reliability. In actuality, substation battery maintenance procedures vary widely from user to user. In the 2003 survey, utility substation managers were asked, How often does your company check and maintain its battery-based emergency power systems? The results are shown in Figure 2-17. As can be seen, a majority of users (60%) responded that they checked batteries less frequently than once a month. A substantial number reported that they checked less than twice a year.
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Figure 2-17 Frequency of Battery Maintenance
Further survey questions asked what types of maintenance were done on batteries. Results showed that the utilities performed visual inspections fairly commonly, while other operations were less well represented. A subset (about 25%) of respondents seem to follow the general guidelines described in the IEEE standards, including monthly checks of the specific gravity on pilot cells and quarterly checks for link resistance, battery internal resistance, and specific gravity on all cells. About 16% of respondents seemed to use some form of condition monitoring. Roughly 20% of respondents seem to do no battery maintenance at all, except for visual inspection.15 When asked whether capacity tests are conducted on a regular basis (see Figure 2-18), 56% of respondents replied that such tests were never conducted on their batteries. Only about 10% of the respondents said they conducted such a test more often than once in three years.16 If this sample is representative of utilities in general, it would mean that 90% of utilities are likely to have little or no information about the state-of-health of a given substation battery at any given moment.
15 16
Results of Survey on Substation Batteries. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1008975. Ibid.
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< 3 Years: 10.3%
Never: 56.4%
3 - 6 Years: 30.8% > 6 Years: 2.6%
Figure 2-18 Frequency of Capacity Testing on Batteries
Given this record on maintenance, it is perhaps unsurprising that users would list battery reliability as an important concern. In Figure 2-19, all technical complaints related to batteries cell failure, post corrosion, case failure, acid leaks, and so onare collected under the single column labeled Battery Reliability. While maintenance might not always prevent these problems from occurring, it can ensure that they are caught before they lead to a serious problem.
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Figure 2-19 Top Concerns of Utility Design and Maintenance Personnel Regarding Substation Battery Maintenance
To summarize, it appears that substation battery maintenance is generally not performed to the level recommended by the IEEE standards, and that lack of time and resources probably plays a strong role in the decision not to maintain batteries to this level. Given the fact that most users are willing to spend more for oversized batteries in order to prevent failures, it seems curious that they are unwilling to spend money on maintenance and testing. This is a reflection of the principle that utilities are generally more willing to spend money on capital than on maintenance. Nevertheless, the testing and maintenance procedures detailed in the IEEE standards are recommended for a reason: it is impossible to gauge the condition of a battery without testing it regularly. In the absence of regular testing and maintenance, battery degradation will not be detected and corrected until it is too latewhen the battery is called upon to deliver power during an ac power outage, and the battery is not able to meet the expectations placed on it. To the user, such a problem may appear to be a sudden failureafter all, the battery exhibited no problems when it wasnt being used! The effects of a substation battery failure are not mild by any standard. Without a power source, the substation controls and switchgear all go off-line. This can mean a long service interruption to all the customers served by the substation, and will usually require service personnel to go to the substation to bring it back on-line. This can be an expensive and time-consuming, not to mention embarrassing, prospect. 2-27
Given the strong economic and technical rationale to perform testing and maintenance, why do utilities try to avoid doing it? One reason might be that the life-cycle cost of maintenance, when properly performed, is often much larger than the capital cost of the battery. In other words, it costs more to maintain the battery than you paid for it in the first place. This analysis ignores the fact that the battery is not being maintained for its own sake, but because it may be needed in an emergency. You are paying for reliability, not just for a battery. Another reason might be that users feel that the probability of battery failure is small despite the fact that adequate maintenance is not being performed, or that the consequences of a battery failure would not be serious, and so choose to invest time and money elsewhere. In fact, substation battery failures seem to occur relatively rarely, even at utilities which do no maintenance on their batteries at all. These facts bring up an important question: Why are battery testing and maintenance important? If failures are so rare even if no maintenance is done, arent complex and expensive maintenance procedures unnecessary? Why fix what isnt broken? But at the same time, why do lead-acid batteries have the reputation of failing at the worst possible time? If there is any agreement about lead-acid batteries, it is that you cannot rely on them to be available when you need them. Why are they so unpredictable? These seemingly contradictory observations can be explained: Batteries do not fail only at times when they are most needed, but those are the times when failure is most likely to be noticed. The low incidence of detected battery failures does not mean that the batteries are in good shape. Substation emergency power systems are rarely called upon for serviceac power outages at the substation are not very common. When they do occur, outages tend to be relatively short, so that even a degraded battery may be able to service the load long enough to cover the outage. Whatever the rationale for trimming down on maintenance, there is no question that such a choice reduces the reliability of a battery. How can a utility address these reliability problems in a reasonable way? One path is to try to improve the reliability of lead-acid batteries, through investing either in improved maintenance or in capital equipment such as remote monitoring systems that can effectively perform maintenance in lieu of personnel. These options are explored in Section 3. Another path is searching for technology alternatives that do not require the same level of maintenance. Alternatives to lead-acid substation batteries may provide highly reliable operation without the need for substantial testing and maintenance procedures. The ideal emergency power system would deliver perfect reliability with no maintenance at all. Explorations into alternatives and how closely they approach this goal are examined in Section 4.
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Conclusions Despite the occasional complaints, most utilities are not unhappy with the performance of existing substation battery systems. The initial cost is low, and most systems provide reliable service for many years without problems. The most important concern, of course, is that the system be ready to provide energy when needed. A secondary concern is that the system should not require a great deal of labor-intensive maintenance. The fact is, however, that maintenance will be a part of any backup power system, as it is with any equipment. The key to effective design will be to minimize the overall life-cycle cost of the battery without compromising its reliability. We will discuss methods for doing this in the following sections of this handbook.
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TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS AND IMPROVED PRACTICES FOR EXISTING LEAD-ACID BATTERY SYSTEMS
This section addresses techniques that can improve the reliability or extend the life of present substation batteries. These techniques are primarily geared toward vented lead-acid batteries, but with some modification can also be applied to VRLA and nickel-cadmium batteries.
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Batteries

Vented lead-acid batteries, also called flooded lead-acid batteries, are the most traditional form of lead-acid batteries, with over a century of history as commercial products. Although these batteries are used in a number of applications, the vast majority of the market (over 90%) lies in the transportation sector, in cranking batteries for vehicles. Most of the remainder of the market is split evenly between motive power applications (such as forklift batteries), telecommunication stationary batteries, and switchgear batteries, including substation backup power systems (see Figure 3-1).
Figure 3-1 Substation Battery Installation
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Technology Enhancements and Improved Practices for Existing Lead-Acid Battery Systems
The wide use of vented lead-acid batteries has led to an equally wide appreciation of their advantages and limitations. When people speak (and complain) of batteries in the utility industry, they are generally speaking of vented lead-acid batteries. Strengths and Weaknesses of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries Two factors have contributed to the dominant position of vented lead-acid batteries in substation backup power systems. The first and lesser reason is the initial cost of lead-acid batteries, which is often a fraction of the cost of the most reasonable alternative. The cost advantage is likely to remain even if alternatives are mass-produced in quantities similar to those of lead-acid batteries. Low-cost battery manufacturing requires both low bulk material cost and large manufacturing volume to amortize the fixed costs of capital equipment. To compete on cost, even at large volume, an alternatives bulk material cost would need to be cheaper than that of leada difficult prospect. The second, more important reason for the continued use of vented lead-acid batteries is the legacy of usage and familiarity with which they are associated. The performance characteristics, maintenance requirements, and design requirements of lead-acid batteries have been well attested and documentedas have their failures and weaknesses. Newer solutions may not be as well understood. Hence, lead-acid is the proverbial devil you know. Despite their strengths, lead-acid batteries have several weaknesses that form serious annoyances to utility users. The most common complaint is that lead-acid batteries are not reliable. That is, in the users eyes, these batteries seem to deteriorate in an unpredictable fashion and seemingly fail without warning. In reality, battery degradation is fairly predictable, but depends on a number of variables, including temperature, usage, and maintenance. Problems can be avoided if batteries are routinely tested, indications of degradation are identified, and maintenance personnel are dispatched to do something about the problems when they are found. While these operations can be expensive and time-consuming, it is surely unfair to blame the batteries for failure when the users have not performed the required maintenance. The real problem seems to be that batteries need maintenance and monitoring at all. Most users would prefer to install batteries and then forget that they exist. Nevertheless, like all equipment, batteries do need regular maintenance. Maintenance for vented lead-acid batteries principally consists of visual inspection and water filling, with voltage testing and capacity testing at regular intervals. The maintenance required for the battery is usually performed along with other routine maintenance required by the substation; it rarely requires special personnel or visits to the substation. But even these relatively simple procedures are sometimes seen as luxuries in a cashstrapped environment, and the call for maintenance-free batteries persists. While truly maintenance-free batteries are likely to be too good to be true, any reduction in maintenance would be valuable. For some applications, such as electrically driven transportation, the low specific energy and energy density of lead-acid batteries are serious disadvantages. This generally does not apply to substation batteries, although smaller space requirements would sometimes be an advantage when the substation building is small. 3-2
Finally, the phenomenon known as coup de fouet is often cited as a disadvantage of lead-acid batteries. This phenomenon is described in more detail below, in the section on lead-acid battery performance. Vented Lead-Acid Cell Construction A vented lead-acid cell is composed of several major components: A negative electrode assembly, constituted by a lead alloy grid supporting a spongy metallic lead active material. A positive electrode assembly, constituted by a lead alloy grid supporting a spongy leadoxide active material. A separator, which keeps the electrodes from physically touching. Electrolyte, consisting of a solution of sulfuric acid in water and occasionally doped with additives to improve performance or life. In substation batteries, the electrolyte concentration is slightly lower than that of electrolytes used in cranking batteries or other applications. This is done to keep the float current as small as possible. Cell connectors, which connect cells electrically within a battery. At the ends of a battery, a terminal takes the place of the connector. Terminals are used to connect batteries together or to connect a battery to its load. Packaging to contain the other components. This is usually a clear, rectangular jar made of rigid plastic. Sometimes, multiple cells are contained in the same jar.
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A cross-section of a typical lead-acid cell is shown in Figure 3-2.
Figure 3-2 Cross-Section of a Flooded Lead-Acid Battery17
In most stationary batteries, there are several pairs of electrodes in a cell. This allows a cell to deliver a higher current without losing the manufacturing advantages of a relatively small electrode plate. These electrodes are connected in parallel, so that each extra pair of electrodes increases the ampere-hour capacity, not the voltage, of the cell. Lead-Acid Grid Alloys: Lead-Calcium, Lead-Antimony, and Lead-Selenium References to lead-calcium, lead-antimony, and lead-selenium batteries may be confusing. At first glance, these names seem to refer to three completely different battery chemistries. In fact, all three are variants of lead-acid batteriesall use lead negative plates and lead-oxide positive plates. The names refer to the different lead alloys used in the construction of the grid within the electrodes of the cell. The difference between the different types can best be explained through a history of lead-acid cell development. Early lead-acid cells used lead plates or foil as the base for both positive and negative electrodes. The cells were then repeatedly cycled to form lead oxide on the positive plate. Cells of this design, called the Plant design after its inventor, are still used in some stationary applications, including substations. Plant cells have poor capacity for their weight and are somewhat expensive to manufacture, but are quite robust.
17
Stationary Battery Guide: Design, Application, and Maintenance, Revision 2 of TR-100248. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2002. 1006757.
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Improvements to the Plant cell resulted in the pasted-plate design, in which the lead active material is rendered into a doughy paste and placed on a solid lead grid that acts as a physical support and as a current collector. While this design allowed much better capacity and material utilization, it became evident that a grid made from pure lead is not strong enough to retain the paste during cycling. Grids made from lead alloys were investigated as a result; antimony was found to be the most effective alloying material, and lead-antimony batteries came about as a result. It was found, however, that antimony promotes self-discharge through electrolysis, resulting in rapid water loss from the cell. Antimony concentrations in the grid are kept as low as possible to minimize these losses. Nevertheless, lead-antimony batteries exhibit significant gassing, which tends to get worse with age, and must be filled relatively frequently (at one- to two-month intervals). The problems with gassing led researchers to investigate other alloys. In the United States, researchers eventually developed lead-calcium batteries, which have far less self-discharge and water loss, but at the expense of cycling ability. Lead-calcium batteries are generally lowmaintenance designs that do not require filling as often as lead-antimony batteries but that are restricted largely to noncycling applications. Today, the vast majority of lead-acid substation batteries in the United States are lead-calcium designs. Other researchers, particularly in Europe, were reluctant to move away from antimony, and instead sought alloys that could reduce the adverse effects of antimony without requiring its elimination. The addition of selenium to the lead-antimony mix was found to demonstrate this improvement, and this development led to lead-selenium batteries. The name is a simplificationin actuality, antimony as well as selenium is present in the grids of these batteries. Lead-selenium batteries have characteristics that fall between those of lead-antimony and lead-calcium batteriesthey exhibit gassing and water loss less than lead-antimony batteries, but more than lead-calcium batteries, and they cycle better than lead-calcium batteries but more poorly than lead-antimony batteries.18 More recently, batteries using other lead grid alloys have been introduced, such as lead-tin and lead-calcium-tin. Many of these alloys are really slight modifications of older alloy formulas. The manufacturers of such batteries often claim significant performance advantages over older designs. Claims associated with such alloys should be carefully weighed with evidence from laboratory testing and field trials before they are accepted. Vented Lead-Acid Battery Construction Substation battery installations using vented lead acid cells usually consist of a number of leadacid cells mounted on a rack. For a 125-V battery, the number is usually 60 cells, although 59cell and 58-cell designs are not uncommon. Vented lead-acid battery installations are sometimes
Carey ODonnell and Charles Finin, Mesa Technical Associates, Inc. A Comparison of Lead Calcium and Lead Selenium Alloys: Separating Fact from Fiction. Paper presented at Battcon 2004, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, May 35, 2004.
18
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located in air conditioned buildings, particularly in locations where the outside temperature varies widely. Lead-Acid Battery Performance Discharge and Charge Voltage The lead-acid cell has a nominal voltage of 2 Vdc. The true voltage is a complex function of state-of-charge, electrode composition, electrolyte concentration, temperature, current rate, and other variables. The open-circuit voltage usually ranges between 1.90 Vdc and 2.15 Vdc. A typical cell operates between 1.75 Vdc at end of discharge and about 2.25 Vdc at end of charge, although voltage is sometimes pushed higher during equalization charge. Figure 3-3 shows a typical discharge curve for a stationary lead-acid battery. Note the brief dip in voltage at the very beginning of discharge. This is the infamous coup de fouet, discussed below.
2.3 2.2 2.1
Voltage During Discharge
2.0 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5
50
100
150
200
250
Discharge Time (Minutes)
Figure 3-3 Discharge Curve for a Lead-Acid Battery19
Coup de Fouet Coup de fouet (French for crack of the whip) is a very brief dip in voltage that occurs at the beginning of discharge. Although the voltage recovers rapidly, it often drops below the cutoff voltage. If coup de fouet is not accounted for when sizing the batteries, the dip can cause critical equipment to shut down during a high-current discharge such as a recloser action.
19
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A diagram showing coup de fouet in the discharge voltage curve of a lead-acid cell is shown in Figure 3-4. As can be seen, the voltage drops nearly to 1.75 V/cell, commonly considered the cutoff voltage for a lead-acid cell, and then recovers to 1.95 V/cell.
2.3 2.2
Voltage During Discharge
2.1 2.0
1.9 1.8
1.7 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Discharge Time (Seconds)
Figure 3-4 Coup de Fouet20
The dip caused by coup de fouet is relatively small for low discharge currents, but becomes more and more pronounced as the current increases. At a certain current rate, the discharge voltage falls below the cutoff voltage during the coup de fouet. At this point, the rating of the battery is limited by the coup de fouet instead of by the ampere-hour capacity of the battery. In the leadacid batteries most commonly used in stationary applications, this point is reached at about the one-minute current rating of the battery; that is, the rate at which the battery is fully discharged in one minute. For this reason, most manufacturers do not rate the battery at current rates higher than the one-minute rating. When sizing lead-acid batteries, high currents lasting less than one minute are considered to last the full minute, to ensure adequate conservatism. It is for this reason that momentary loads are separated from other noncontinuous loads in the IEEE standard. It should be noted that coup de fouet also grows worse as the battery ages. The sizing procedure should, therefore, use end-of-life rates for the battery. Coup de fouet is not a serious problem for lead-acid batteries if it is properly accounted for when sizing the batteries. It is, however, an opportunity for rival technologies that do not exhibit this characteristic. Lead-acid batteries are often vastly oversized to account for the dip, resulting in a battery that is significantly larger, and costlier, than might otherwise be needed. Rival technologies can, in principle, be sized much smaller than lead-acid because they are capable of much higher rates than the one-minute current rating. It should be noted that such batteries are usually still more expensive than an equivalent lead-acid battery.
20
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Self-Discharge The electrodes in a lead-acid battery will react chemically with the electrolyte, even in the absence of an electric circuit, causing the battery to discharge. This reaction, called selfdischarge, occurs relatively slowly, and months will pass before the battery is discharged. The self-discharge reaction also effectively consumes water from the electrolyte. The rate of selfdischarge depends on a number of factors; it generally rises with the concentration of electrolyte and with the environmental temperature. Self-discharge is also higher in lead-antimony cells than in lead-calcium cells. A float charge is applied to lead-acid batteries to counteract the effect of self-discharge and ensure the battery is always fully charged. Water must also be added at regular intervals to replace that lost through self-discharge. Batteries for which the self-discharge rate is too high may be suffering from severe degradation and should be tested. Effects of Temperature Temperature has strong effects on the operation of the lead-acid battery. In general, the battery is designed for optimal performance around room temperature, about 77F (25C). The capacity of batteries generally falls with decreasing temperature, as shown in Figure 3-5. This effect is a result of thermodynamic effects as well as increased resistance in the electrolyte.
120
VRLA AGM
100
Capacity (percent)
80
Typical Vented
60 25 50 75 100 125
Temperature (F)
C = (F 32) 5/9 Figure 3-5 Effect of Temperature on Capacity of Lead-Acid Batteries21
When the temperature falls below the freezing point of water, the discharge response of the battery becomes sluggish. At very low temperatures, below -40F (-40C), the electrolyte may freeze, producing an explosion hazard.
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At higher temperatures, the internal resistance of the electrolyte falls and the discharge voltage increases, but the self-discharge rate also rises. The overall result is decreased charge efficiency, which results in further heating and more rapid loss of water to gassing and evaporation. Sulfation During regular discharge, lead sulfate (PbSO4) precipitates on the electrode surfaces in the form of small crystals. As time passes, if the lead sulfate is not cycled, these crystals grow into larger crystals. These larger crystals are more impervious to electrolyte and are less reactive during charge. They also take up more space in the electrode, and their growth puts mechanical stress on the surrounding material. The formation of these crystals, known as sulfation, leads to reduced capacity of the cell in terms of both energy and power. Ultimately, it can lead to cracking and buckling in the electrode as the crystals expand, causing irreversible damage to the cell. The prevention of sulfation is done principally through operational means. Whenever possible, the cells are kept fully charged, so that the concentration of lead sulfate is as small as possible. Batteries that are not being cycled are usually charged with a small current, which maintains the battery at a constant voltage close to the end-of-charge voltage. This operation, known as float charge, counteracts the effects of self-discharge and is an important operating procedure for lead-acid systems. Hydration Whereas sulfation occurs when lead-acid cells are undercharged, a more serious condition known as hydration occurs when the battery remains at a low state of charge for long periods of time without charging at all. At very low states of charge, the lead components of the cell become highly soluble in the electrolyte, causing them to partially dissolve into lead hydrates. These compounds are then deposited in various parts of the cell, particularly separator pores. When the cell is finally charged, these hydrates once again become lead, and form a short-circuit path within the cell. The immediate results are a significantly higher charge current during float charge operation, and a greater self-discharge rate when in open circuit. In serious cases, the short-circuit condition can be strong enough to render the cell unusable. Hydration is an irreversible process that causes permanent damage to cells, and it can occur in a discharged cell in a matter of hours. For this reason, lead-acid batteries should not be left in a discharged state for any length of time.22 Degradation There are a number of degradation modes for lead-acid batteries. Depending on the way a battery is built, used, and maintained, one of these modes usually dominates. Many, but not all, degradation modes ultimately lead to failure.
22
Vented Standby Batteries Installation and Operating Instructions. C&D Technologies Powercom Division, Blue Bell, PA, 2003. RS-1476.
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In the early stages of life, the capacity of a battery actually rises, as shown in Figure 3-6. This is a result of continuing formation of the active material, as well as the slow diffusion of electrolyte into smaller pores. Eventually, the same processes contribute to the decay of capacity by speeding corrosion.
Figure 3-6 Capacity Changes over the Life of a Battery23
Grid corrosion is the most common form of degradation and failure. This mode is common to all forms of lead-acid batteries, and is the dominant mode for those that do not see extreme cycling conditions, including substation batteries. As the battery ages, the lead in the positive grid corrodes to lead oxide. This corrosion is encouraged by float charge operation. As the grid corrodes, it grows, putting mechanical stress on the electrode. This causes linkages between the grid and the active material to break and reduces paths for electrical conduction. This increases the internal resistance of the electrode and gradually decreases the power capability and the energy available for discharge. Low electrolyte level causes increased internal resistance, reducing the power capability of a battery. In addition, the concentration of the electrolyte increases, promoting corrosion. As the electrolyte level drops, sections of the electrodes may become dry, meaning those sections cannot be properly charged. This leads to sulfation and corrosion of those sections, and ultimately to bending and buckling of the plate, causing increased internal resistance and eventual failure. High-temperature operation and improper charging encourage water loss from the cell and shorten the life of the battery. Sulfation, as described above, can reduce the capacity of a cell and ultimately lead to failure. Sulfation can be prevented by ensuring that batteries are properly float charged. In flooded batteries, the proper water level should always be maintained. To prevent failure due to hydration, very deep discharges of lead-acid batteries should be avoided, and batteries should be promptly recharged after discharging.
23
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There are other degradation modes in lead-acid batteries that do not usually lead to failure, but should be taken into account. The most common of these is antimony migration in batteries with lead-antimony electrodes. Antimony in the negative electrode promotes a higher self-discharge rate through local action, in which antimony and lead in proximity on the negative electrode form an electrochemical couple, discharging the lead. During float charge, antimony also promotes hydrogen evolution and water loss. For these reasons, many negative grids are made without antimony. As mentioned above, however, antimony produces useful properties in the positive electrode, so that lead-antimony grids are used in the positive. As the battery ages, some of this antimony is released by corrosion, and then migrates through the electrolyte to the negative electrode. The overall effect is that the float charge current and rate of water loss increase as the battery ages. Lead-acid substation batteries are generally replaced when the capacity drops below 80% of the rated capacity of the battery. The only accurate way to check capacity is through a full capacity test. Life Expectancy The life expectancy of a lead-acid battery depends heavily on the design, manufacturing, and operation of the battery. In the substation application, batteries are generally designed with low electrolyte concentrations and heavy electrode construction, to extend life as much as possible. Operating temperature is often the most important factor in the life of a battery, as shown in Figure 3-7. High operating temperature encourages gassing, evaporative water loss, and corrosion, and in VRLA cells can cause thermal runaway.
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Expected Life (percent of rated)

100
80
60
40
20
0 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
Temperature (F)
C = (F 32) 5/9 Figure 3-7 Effect of Temperature on the Life of Lead-Acid Batteries24
Vented Lead-Acid Vendors There are a very large number of vented lead-acid battery manufacturers, and attempting to make sense of the mishmash of brands, manufacturers, and distributors can be an overwhelming task. Many distributors put their own labels on batteries made by contract manufacturers; two batteries bearing the same label may be built by different manufacturers. To make things worse, cycles of fragmentation and consolidation in the industry over the past two decades have led to brand names that do not necessarily correspond to the company that owns them. For example, the Exide brand name for the stationary industry is owned not by Exide Technologies, but by Enersys, Inc. Based on a survey of electric utilities, the majority of vented lead-acid batteries used in substation batteries are lead-calcium batteries manufactured by East Penn Manufacturing Company, GNB (a division of Exide Technologies), C&D Technologies, and Enersys (formerly Yuasa-Exide). Batteries produced by these manufacturers make up over 90% of vented lead-acid substation battery installations. About 5% of vented lead-acid cells are lead-selenium cells; these cells are sold by Alcad and Storage Battery Systems (SBS). Lead-selenium cells are a special kind of low-antimony cells with a proportion of selenium in the positive electrode. In comparison to lead-calcium cells, leadselenium cells exhibit less corrosion on the positive plate, better cycling performance, and better
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resistance to temperature, while maintaining a low gassing rate. As might be expected, these advantages come at a slightly higher price than lead-calcium equivalents. A smaller percentage of substation batteries are of the Plant or Manchex type, manufactured by Alcad or Enersys. These batteries use thick pure-lead plates that are formed into electrodes through repeated cycling. These batteries are extremely rugged but often require significantly more maintenance than lead-calcium batteries. Sizing Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Substations It is worthwhile at this point to revisit the substation battery sizing procedure examined in the Section 2, to demonstrate its application to vented lead-acid batteries. The procedure below follows the methodology described in IEEE Std 485-1997. 1. Loads on the dc bus are divided into the categories of continuous, noncontinuous, and momentary loads. Recall that for lead-acid batteries, momentary loads are considered to last 1 minute, regardless of their actual duration. 2. A duty cycle diagram showing the total load at any time during the duty cycle is constructed. The diagram shows all expected loads along with their expected beginning and ending times. Loads for which the beginning times are known but the end times are unknown are assumed to continue through the rest of the duty cycle. Loads for which beginning times and ending times are unknown (that is, random loads) are placed at the most critical time of the duty cycle. The output voltage of the dc backup system is based on the desired dc system voltage. The most common system voltages are 24, 48, 125, and 250 Vdc. The output voltage is used to define the number of cells in series. The number of cells in series is calculated by dividing the maximum allowable system voltage by the maximum charge voltage used by the cells: maximum system voltage = number of cells maximum cell voltage As an example, suppose we have a 125-Vdc system with a maximum allowable system voltage of 140 V. If we use lead-acid cells that exhibit a maximum cell voltage of 2.33 V/cell (during equalization charging), then the number of cells should be 140 / 2.33 = 60.09 cells. This result is rounded down to 60 cells in the practical design. The maximum cell voltage is usually encountered during equalization charging, a relatively rare operation. Limiting the number of cells ensures that system voltage will never rise above the allowable system voltage range. Now we must determine the minimum allowable cell voltage, to ensure that the battery voltage will never fall below the system voltage range. The number of cells, along with the minimum allowable system voltage and the battery cable voltage drop, allows us to calculate the minimum cell voltage for operation: 3-13
minimum system voltage + cable voltage drop = minimum cell voltage number of cells
To continue our example, assume that our 60-cell system has a minimum allowable system voltage of 96 V and a battery cable voltage drop of 9 V. The minimum cell voltage is (96+9)/60 = 1.75 V/cell. The minimum cell voltage is used in defining the end of battery capacity measurement, since capacity below the minimum cell voltage is not valuable in this application. Lead-acid battery manufacturers usually specify capacities to several different minimum voltages. 3. We now size the battery for capacity, as measured in ampere-hours, assuming that the system always remains within the allowable voltage range defined for the substation. The capacity is sized according to the most demanding section of the load duty cycle. The IEEE sizing standards describe a sophisticated sizing methodology that takes into account the ampere-hours drawn during each section of the load profile as well as the current capability of the power source. Many substation battery manufacturers and substation designers have software sizing tools that can automatically size batteries according to the IEEE methodology. 4. We now add factors of margin for temperature, load growth over the life of the battery, and degradation due to aging.
Temperature: Battery performance can be seriously affected by temperature. This is particularly the case for lead-acid batteries operating at lower than room temperature. The IEEE standards include temperature correction charts for operation of batteries under various environmental temperatures. Design margin: The backup system is typically oversized somewhat to account for growth in substation loads, unforeseen changes in operating environment, and the effects of improper maintenance. The design margin is usually in the vicinity of 1015%. Aging factor: The performance of the backup system can be expected to degrade as the system gets older, so a certain degree of margin is added to account for the loss in capacity or capability that may occur. The amount of margin is often determined by the replacement criteria for the system. For lead-acid batteries, for example, the battery is usually replaced when capacity falls to 80% of its original capacity. Since the battery needs to meet all requirements at 80% of its original capacity, the original capacity must be 1/0.80 = 1.25 times the requirement. The aging factor in this case is 1.25. Capacity at delivery: Battery vendors sometimes deliver batteries with less than rated capacity when delivered, anticipating an increase as the active mass forms over the first few years of operation. The capacity at delivery may be as low as 90% of the rated capacity. Provided that the aging factor and design margins are greater than the temporary capacity shortfall, no additional margin is needed. For example, if the delivered battery has 90% of its rated capacity but has an aging factor of 1.25 (so that all requirements can be met at 80% rated capacity), no additional margin is required.
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Lead-Acid Substation Battery Installation

Lead-acid batteries are installed on steel racks specially designed for the purpose. The racks are designed for the local seismic zone, and are anchored to the wall to minimize movement and vibration. The racks are insulated with acid-resistant material to withstand potential leaks from the batteries as well. The racks are also grounded in accordance to local codes. Most racks arrange the cells in two tiers, which are separated with enough room to allow maintenance of all cells equally. The electrical connection between tiers is designed to be as short as possible without putting mechanical strain on the batteries or the racks. Cells are oriented so that terminals can be easily inspected for corrosion. Cells in clear jars are mounted so the plates can be easily inspected for damage or sulfation. Because racks are often designed for a specific battery, they are often purchased new with a new set of batteries. The cost of installation includes the removal of an old battery and rack as well as the setup of the new system. In addition, the installation crew also charges the battery to a full state-of-charge. Ideally, a capacity test and any other testing for which records are kept (such as ohmic measurement readings) are also performed to establish a baseline for future testing.
Lead-Acid Substation Battery Maintenance

Maintenance practices for lead-acid substation batteries vary widely with climate, operation parameters, and the outlook of the maintenance personnel. Despite the importance of testing and maintenance, it is not uncommon for procedures to be improperly performed. Testing, for example, is often performed at very long intervals, too long to catch problems with the battery before they lead to failure. As indicated in the 2003 survey, most utilities perform capacity testing more than three years apart for a given battery; many dont perform capacity tests at all. Even when problems are detected, they are often ignored, and action is taken only after the battery fails. There are many stories in which batteries exhibited abnormal behaviorrequiring more frequent filling, for instance, or exhibiting high internal resistancebut were allowed to continue servicing the substation because it was too soon to replace them. The subsequent sudden failure is inevitably blamed on the fundamental unreliability of lead-acid batteries. Similarly, maintenance activities are often given a low priority by battery users. These activities are often tedious and time-consuming for workers, and can be expensive for maintenance managers, especially for substations that are remotely located. It is not uncommon that a substation battery test requires a full day for a maintenance crewseveral hours to travel to the substation, several hours to perform the test, and several hours to return. As a result, there is a powerful temptation to cut corners on the side of both technicians and managers. The majority of battery failures are a result of improper or insufficient maintenance.
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Regardless of how attractive it is to ignore them, proper testing and maintenance procedures are absolutely essential in ensuring that substation batteries will perform in the event that they are required. Without these procedures, there is a very good chance that a battery will not meet the life and reliability that the system requires of it. The following sections describe some of the basic testing and maintenance procedures that should be applied to substation batteries, as well as some of the common pitfalls experienced during these procedures. Standard Testing and Inspection Testing and inspection are intended to catch common problems in substation batteries before they lead to more serious failures. These common problems include connection corrosion, electrolyte water loss, and cell capacity loss and internal failures. Simple visual inspection can catch many of these problems; many others can be found through simple voltage measurements. More sophisticated testing procedures, such as ohmic resistance measurement and capacity testing, can be used to detect more subtle problems with a battery or cell. IEEE STD 450-200225 describes suggested inspection and testing procedures for stationary vented lead-acid batteries, including those used for telecom applications in addition to utility applications. This document recommends several types of tests for vented lead-acid batteries. The corresponding document for VRLA batteries is IEEE STD 1188-1996. IEEE STD 11061995 provides such guidelines for vented nickel-cadmium batteries. In addition, EPRI has delineated guidelines for stationary batteries in the Stationary Battery Guide, 1006757.26 While the recommendations made by IEEE standards are a good starting place, they are only suggestions, and are hardly applicable to all stationary battery systems. Different batteries require different testing maintenance, depending on their sizes, applications, operating conditions, and importance. What is reasonable for a battery at a distribution substation in a northern city may be insufficient for one at a large transmission substation in the South, and may be excessive for a rural distribution substation in the Midwest. An operator should tailor any standard maintenance procedure to account for the design, usage, and environmental conditions of the particular batteries, with particular care to include testing that can catch the failures most commonly observed in the given service area.
IEEE Power Engineering Society, IEEE Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing, and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Application, IEEE Std 450-2002. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 2003. 26 Stationary Battery Guide: Design, Application, and Maintenance, Revision 2 of TR-100248. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2002. 1006757.
25
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IEEE STD 450-2002 recommends monthly inspection and testing on stationary batteries. Four times a year, the monthly procedure is augmented by additional testing and inspection, and once a year, the procedure is further augmented with annual testing and inspection procedures. The monthly procedures include a check of the following: a) Float voltage measured at battery terminals b) General appearance of the battery, battery rack, and battery area c) Charger output current and voltage d) Electrolyte levels in the battery cells e) Cracks in cells or evidence of electrolyte leakage f) Evidence of corrosion at terminals, connectors, or racks g) Ambient temperature and ventilation h) Voltage and electrolyte temperature of pilot cells (if used) i) Battery float charging current (or pilot cell specific gravity) j) Unintentional battery grounds k) Operation of battery monitoring systems (if installed) Once every quarter, the following checks are done in addition to the monthly checks: a) Voltage of each cell b) Specific gravity of 10% of battery cells c) Electrolyte temperature of 10% of battery cells Once every year, the following checks are done in addition to the monthly and quarterly checks: a) b) c) d) Specific gravity and temperature of each cell Detailed visual inspection of each cell Cell-to-cell and terminal connection resistance Structural integrity of the battery rack
Few operators of stationary batteries actually implement all of these tests. As described in Section 2, most substation operators restrict maintenance procedures to a few tests, sometimes adding additional ohmic-resistance measurement (usually quarterly) and occasional capacity testing. In addition to the IEEE-recommended schedule, it is strongly recommended that substation batteries are inspected whenever they experience a deep discharge as a result of loss of power to the substation, even if the battery performs as expected. Deep discharge can be defined as a discharge of several hours duration. Deep discharge can seriously damage the battery, especially if it is already in bad shape due to age or other problems. Unfortunately, it is commonly believed
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that a successful deep discharge proves that the battery is in good shape, and there is no postdischarge inspection. Standard Maintenance Procedures In the event that inspection points to a problem, there is a series of standard maintenance procedures that can be applied to correct the problems. These maintenance procedures include water addition, retorquing, corrosion removal, cleaning, and equalization charging. Water addition is performed on vented lead-acid cells when the amount of electrolyte in a cell drops below a certain level. For substation batteries, water addition is usually performed only when necessary, usually once every nine months to a year. Excessive water consumption requiring water addition at more frequent intervals may be indicative of a problem, perhaps with the charger. The battery intercell connections must also be retorqued at regular intervals. Thermal expansion and contraction can lead to these connections becoming loose, leading to poor electrical contact and higher internal resistance. This often shows up during voltage inspection. Battery cleaning and corrosion removal are important functions for a substation battery. Corrosion is caused by the presence of sulfuric acid fumes and an electrochemical potential. It has a particularly deleterious effect on cell electrodes, where it can lead to higher internal resistance. Corrosion can also affect structural parts of the batteries, such as the battery racks. Corrosion should be removed and anticorrosion grease applied as recommended by the manufacturer. Sulfuric acid fumes, along with dust, often settle on the tops of battery cells. This residue must be cleaned off regularly; otherwise, there is potential for a ground path from the cell terminals through the residue. Finally, if the cell voltages across the battery diverge greatly, an equalization charge may be necessary. Cell voltage divergence can be caused by a number of factors, such as a temperature gradient across the battery or manufacturing differences among the cells. If cell voltages are different by very much, the cells at lower voltage will be undercharged (putting them in danger of sulfation) while others are overcharged (causing them to degrade faster). Equalization charge is rarely required for batteries that usually operate on float charge; it is more commonly required on batteries that are cycled often. In an equalization charge procedure, the entire battery is charged at a higher than normal voltage for several hours in an effort to balance the voltage in all the cells. The procedure can lead to a substantial amount of heating and possibly water loss. It is recommended that the manufacturers equalization procedure be used in all such cases to ensure effectiveness without causing damage to the battery.
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Capacity Testing Capacity testing is the full discharge of a battery string to test the level of capacity remaining in the battery. This capacity generally declines over the life of the battery, and can be used as a state-of-health indicator for the battery. When capacity declines to a certain level, for whatever reason, it is recommended that the battery be replaced. There are some generally accepted ideas about when and how to conduct a capacity test. Many of these ideas are documented in IEEE Std 450-2002, which is a best practices manual for stationary batteries in general. This document describes different types of tests, procedures for conducting them, and recommendations for corrective actions on the basis of the results. This section describes the typical methods for capacity testing specifically for substation batteries, as well as why capacity testing is important. A Definition of Capacity In theory, the capacity of a battery cell is determined by the amount of active material in the electrodes. In lead-acid batteries, these materials are lead oxide (in the positive electrode) and lead (in the negative electrode). One electrode will inevitably be slightly smaller than the other, and will be the limiting factor in determining capacity. The capacity is usually measured in ampere-hours. A battery with 3000 ampere-hours worth of electrode material can, in theory, deliver 300 amperes for 10 hours. In practice, however, the situation is considerably more complex. As a battery discharges, the voltage gradually decreases as a result of a number of phenomenaincreased resistance in the electrodes, deposition of lead sulfate on electrode surfaces resulting in reduced reactivity, and so on. Eventually, the voltage on the cell becomes too low to be useful to a load, as shown in Figure 3-8. The lowest usable voltage is defined as the cutoff voltage. For lead-acid batteries, the cutoff voltage is usually defined as 1.75 volts per cell. When one accounts for the cutoff voltage, the battery capacity is measured as the ampere-hour capacity above the cutoff voltage. The battery mentioned in the preceding paragraph, for instance, may deliver 300 amperes for only 8 hours before the voltage falls below the cutoff voltage; the battery may continue to deliver current after 8 hours, but at a voltage too low to be useful. By this standard, the useful capacity is 2400 ampere-hours. The voltage on a battery is also dependent on the current at which it is discharged. At a higher current, the battery voltage will be lower because of internal resistance and polarization effects. This means that the voltage will fall below the cutoff voltage much faster, and the battery will have significantly less usable capacity, as illustrated in Figure 3-9. The 2400-ampere-hour battery above, when discharged at a rate twice as great as before, will have significantly less than 2400 ampere hours, and may only deliver current at a useful voltage for 2.5 hours instead of 8 hours.
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Figure 3-8 Lead-Acid Battery Discharge Voltage
Figure 3-9 Lead-Acid Battery Discharge Voltage at Different Rates
For most lead-acid batteries in stationary applications at float voltage, the manufacturers rating is the capacity at an 8-hour ratethat is, the rate at which the battery reaches the cutoff voltage of 1.75 volts per cell in 8 hours.
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A capacity test on a stationary battery must specify both the cutoff voltage and the rate at which the battery is discharged during the test. These parameters will vary with the application. Types of Capacity Tests: Time-Adjusted vs. Rate-Adjusted Tests Although there is general agreement about the need to do capacity tests, there are differences of opinion about the way they should be done. In particular, there is some contention among manufacturers and users of stationary batteries over whether to use time-adjusted or rate-adjusted tests. While both tests are valid, there is disagreement over which is more appropriate and more accurate for specific applications. Both methods are described in IEEE Std 450-2002. In the time-adjusted method, the battery is simply discharged at the manufacturers rated current until it reaches the cutoff voltage. In a substation battery application, the rate is usually the 8-hour rate specified by the manufacturer, and the cutoff voltage is 1.75 V/cell. The capacity is calculated directly from the duration of discharge. Since the voltage of the battery is temperature-dependent, a compensation for temperature is included in the calculation. The main indictment of the time-adjusted method is that it leads to excessive conservatism in the replacement of batteries. As the capacity of the battery decreases, it is more heavily affected by the magnitude of the current, so that the cutoff voltage is approached somewhat earlier than it would seem purely from a decrease in ampere-hours. This may cause users to replace batteries that actually have enough energy to meet the requirements of the system. In the rate-adjusted method, the rate is adjusted for end-of-life conditionsthat is, it is adjusted for the capacity that is expected at the end of life. For example, if the capacity at the end of life is expected to be 80% of the initial capacity, then the rate used for the discharge test is 80% of the manufacturers rated current. This rate is used throughout the life of the battery. This results in a somewhat larger capacity at the beginning of life, and less conservative measurement at the end of life. The rate-adjusted method is often stated to be more accurate than the time-adjusted method, especially for relatively short discharges (discharges less than one hour in length). While this may be true, it should be noted that the rate-adjusted method provides significantly less margin for failure, so a more conservative threshold may be appropriate. In the substation battery application, the discharge time of the battery is quite long, so that the difference between time-adjusted and rate-adjusted tests is relatively small. The time-adjusted method is usually accurate enough for making predictions about battery life in this application. The time-adjusted method is also much simpler to employ than the rate-adjusted method, and is more likely to be followed over the entire lifetime of the battery. For these reasons, the timeadjusted method is more likely to be employed in the substation application.
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Whether a rate-adjusted or time-adjusted testing method is chosen for a battery, it is important that the same method is used throughout the life of the battery to ensure that the trend data for capacity over time are valid and useful. The same is true of temperature compensation methods that are used for the battery. Performing and Interpreting a Capacity Test Once discharge rates and cutoff voltages are decided, conducting a capacity test on a substation battery is fairly simple. The technician disconnects the battery from the charger and connects it to a constant-current load set for the appropriate discharge rate. The technician then allows the battery to discharge until it reaches the cutoff voltage. The battery and individual cell voltages are recorded before, after, and at regular intervals during the test. The time that the battery takes to discharge is then used to calculate capacity, with a temperature compensation factor. These factors are listed in IEEE Std 450-2002. The capacity of the battery follows an arc-shaped path over the life of the battery, as shown in Figure 3-10. The initial capacity of the battery may be somewhat below the manufacturers rated capacity, as active material is still forming. As the battery ages, the capacity will gradually rise, and then plateau before slowly declining. The decline eventually becomes more precipitous, with rapid degradation at the end of life.
Figure 3-10 Capacity as a Function of Battery Life27
27
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It is recommended that the battery be replaced when the capacity drops to a certain percentage of the original capacity. For substation batteries, this percentage is usually 80%, but can be as high as 85% for some batteries, especially in hot climates where degradation may occur more rapidly than normal, or in cold climates where lower capacity can affect performance. Capacity testing will also catch individual cells that may have degraded faster than the others in the battery. If a battery contains such cells, their voltages will drop faster than the others in the battery, possibly causing them to enter reversal, a condition in which cells are forced into a negative voltage. This is not a problem at low rates for brief periods of time, but can lead to dangerous conditions such as hydrogen generation and electrolyte leakage if it continues for an extended period of time. If low-capacity cells are found during capacity testing, they should be replaced. Sometimes an equalization charge is attempted before replacing the cells; this procedure is described below. Capacity testing is a useful tool for determining the health of the battery, and must be performed often enough to monitor the condition of the battery. It does, however, put some strain on the battery, especially the lead-calcium batteries commonly used in substation applications. For this reason, capacity testing should not be performed too often. It is generally recommended for substation batteries that a capacity test be performed every two to three years for a wellperforming battery. Once the capacity has degraded below a certain level (usually 85% of rated capacity) it is recommended that capacity testing is done every year. Some users have attempted to replace capacity testing with ohmic testing or other types of testing. These tests are excellent tools for quickly finding poorly performing cells or standard maintenance issues such as loose connections or corrosion, in addition to the standard capacity test. They can also be used to estimate capacity for relatively young batteries, but the accuracy of the data from these tests is limited, and should not be used to make any predictions for the life of the battery. Only data from capacity tests should be used in trending when the purpose is estimating the remaining life in a battery. Ohmic Resistance Measurement A more advanced form of electrical testing involves the measurement of the ohmic resistance of the battery string or each battery cell to estimate the health of a battery. This health is often related to the remaining capacity in the battery. While capacity loss is not the only failure related to batteries, it is often the earliest indication of degradation in a battery. Testing for capacity loss can help catch other failure modes as well. Ohmic resistance testing should be used to find cells that have low capacity relative to their peers, or to find batteries that have significantly degraded in health since the previous test. It should not be considered an accurate tool to determine the remaining capacity in a cell or battery. There are three methods that are commonly used to test ohmic resistance: the resistance method, the impedance method, and the conductance method. In the resistance method, the dc resistance of a cell or battery is calculated from the instantaneous change in voltage when it is discharged at a certain rate. A load is applied to the cell or battery, causing a drop in voltage due to internal 3-23
resistance. The load is then removed, resulting in a recovery in the voltage. The dc resistance tester monitors the current and cell voltage just prior to the removal of the load, and the cell voltage just after the removal of the load. The internal resistance is then calculated by dividing the difference in voltage by the current. The dc resistance tester most commonly used in the utility industry is the Cellcorder built by Alber Corporation, based in Boca Raton, Florida. In the conductance method, an ac voltage of known frequency and amplitude is applied across a cell or battery. The ac current that flows in response to the applied voltage is then measured. The measured conductance is the ratio of current to voltage, where the current is the component in phase with the ac voltage. The conductance value varies with battery manufacturer, type, and size. The conductance testers most commonly used for substation testing belong to the Celltron line built by Midtronics, Inc. of Willowbrook, Illinois. In the impedance method, a low-frequency ac current is applied to the battery through a series capacitor that blocks the dc voltage of the battery. The small ac voltage drop across the cell terminals is then measured. The voltage measurement is then divided by the ac current passing through the battery to calculate the cell impedance. The impedance tester most commonly used in the utility industry is the BITE tester built by Megger (formerly AVO International). Earlier EPRI research28 tested the efficacy of these testing methods in determining the capacity of both vented lead-acid batteries and VRLA batteries. In general, the three methods were deemed equally valid for judging ohmic resistance. Ohmic resistance was found to be a reasonable qualitative indicator of cell or battery capacity, although the data are not accurate enough to measure the exact capacity of individual cells or batteries. In this sense, ohmic resistance testing is useful in identifying low-capacity cells in a battery. Ohmic testing on a regular basis is strongly recommended for all types of batteries, particularly vented lead-acid and VRLA batteries, since it can quickly identify weak cells and battery strings, allowing personnel to replace them before they lead to failures. Nonetheless, capacity testing is the only effective way known at present that can accurately measure the capacity of a lead-acid battery, and as such is the most accurate predictive tool for the lifetime of a battery. Advanced Testing Methods Newer methods of testing and evaluating battery cells and strings are constantly being researched. A promising area of research is the use of multifrequency electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). An EIS device injects pulses of ac voltage or current of various frequencies and waveforms into a battery or cell, and interprets the current or voltage response to diagnose problems such as sulfation, corrosion, and hydration. EIS has been used for many years in battery research and in the defense industry. More recently, it has become a common diagnostic and manufacturing quality control tool for small battery cells produced for the portable electronics industry. It has not been used to a significant degree with large stationary cells, for a number of reasons. The need to inject and detect multiple frequencies
28
Stationary Battery Monitoring by Internal Ohmic Measurements. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2002. 1002925.
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and waveforms requires complex electronics; a tester with this capability is inevitably more expensive than simpler devices such as ohmic measurement testers. Furthermore, the data garnered from this testing are rather difficult to interpret, especially in a way that is useful to the substation engineer. Another obstacle is noise that is inevitably present in field environments. Noise in the battery voltage might be caused by battery chargers, nearby electric equipment, or radio frequency interference. Conventional testers are not greatly affected by this noise, but EIS testers are far more sensitive and are more likely to give false readings as a result of noise. Newer testers attempt to address these obstacles by taking advantage of smaller, cheaper electronics and microprocessor technology. The devices being brought to the market incorporate software that interprets the datawith digital signal processing to remove noiseto produce immediate results that mean things to the operator. For example, the tester may detect high impedance at certain frequencies, check it against a database to find that this often corresponds with sulfation, and report this to the operator. The operator can then examine the cell further to see if it is, indeed, suffering from sulfation. EIS testers are a very new technology; the first products for large cells were released in 2004. Thus, the technology is relatively untested in the field, and problems with operation are yet to be determined. Many users believe, and some of the technology developers concede, that EIS will not be an established technology for some time. Several manufacturers are researching spectroscopic testers. World Energy Labs, a company based in San Francisco, California, has released an early version of a product called the Interrogator. The Interrogator is a handheld battery analyzer that allows rapid testing of cells with diagnosis of problems in the field. The product stores data for over 1000 cells at a time, and allows the operator to download the data to a PC for further analysis, including historical trending. According to World Energy Labs, at least two utilities in California are testing this product at the time of this writing.29 Cadex, based in Richmond, British Columbia, is another manufacturer of spectroscopic testing equipment. Cadex has been involved in spectroscopic testing for more than two decades, and has extensive experience producing products for small cells. The company has recently embarked on a program to develop products for larger batteries, including an automotive battery tester and a stationary battery tester. A stationary product is under development. The manufacturers of more conventional ohmic resistance measurements are also interested in EIS testing. AVO International (Megger), Midtronics, and Alber have programs for developing advanced spectroscopic test equipment, but have not yet released products.
29
Communication with Sean Salloux of World Energy Labs, July 12, 2005.
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Replacement and Disposal

Replacement of a lead-acid battery is generally recommended when the battery reaches 80% of its rated capacity. Many utilities also replace the battery when it reaches a certain age, such as 15 years. Some utilities, particularly those that do not do regular capacity tests, use age criteria exclusively. This is risky, since a battery (like any other piece of equipment) can fail prematurely. The battery racks are usually also replaced along with the batteries. Old racks often cannot accommodate the new batteries, especially if a different manufacturer is used for the new battery. Furthermore, the old racks are often damaged by corrosion from acid fumes and leakage, and from age. Since new racks are cheap in comparison to the cost of the battery, it is worthwhile to replace them. Disposal of the old battery and rack is often performed by the battery vendor. Most lead-acid batteries are recycled by the manufacturers, who pay the scrap value; this value is usually just enough to pay for the cost of removal and shipment back to the manufacturer.
Improving the Reliability, Life, and Performance of Lead-Acid Substation Batteries

Assessing Battery Improvement There are four main goals in improving on existing substation batteries:
Improved reliability: The battery should be available to provide power whenever it is needed. While most present lead-acid substation batteries meet this requirement, there is a sense that reliability can be improved. Improved service life: The battery should last as long as possible. Present batteries are specified for 1520 years of life, and most meet or exceed this requirement, but longer life is always better. Improved performance: Performance can mean many different things. In a substation battery, traditional measures of performance such as energy density or current capability do not usually have much value, but might be improved anyway as an incidental benefit. Reduced costs over the life cycle: A battery that is cheaper, particularly over the entire life cycle (including installation, maintenance, and disposal) is obviously desirable. In this application, maintenance costs are the most important consideration, but by no means the only one.
Improvement in reliability is difficult to quantify, but improved service life and performance are relatively simple to factor into life-cycle cost.
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Life-Cycle Cost Analysis In judging the value of a change in substation battery management, it is useful to look at the effect on the life-cycle costthat is, the total cost over the specified life of the equipment, including the effects of inflation and the time value of money. The life-cycle cost incorporates initial capital and installation costs, maintenance cost over the life cycle, repair and replacement costs, and disposal costs as well as residual value of the battery. The life-cycle cost analysis methodology used here is that described in NIST Handbook 135, Life-Cycle Costing Manual for the Federal Energy Management Program, which describes the methodology established by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) for the economic evaluation of energy and water conservation projects.30 The methodology is generally applicable in estimating the life-cycle costs and benefits of capital projects. For the life-cycle cost analyses conducted here, we make the following assumptions:
All values are provided in constant 2005 dollars. All projects are assumed to begin in January 2006. Only dc substation battery equipment is included in the cost analysisthe ac/dc substation battery chargers and dc distribution panel are expected to remain the same for all technologies. All substation projects are expected to last 20 years. Systems lasting less than 20 years will require replacement, which will be factored into capital cost. Systems with life remaining at the end of 20 years will yield residual value, which will also be factored in. The real discount rate used in all analyses will be 3.00%, per the 2005 Annual Supplement to NIST Handbook 135.31 Loaded labor rates for maintenance and other activities are assumed to be $50/hour.
Life-Cycle Costing Manual for the Federal Energy Management Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 135, 1996 Edition. National Institute of Standards and Technology, February 1996. 31 Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis: Annual Supplement to NIST Handbook 135 and NBS Special Publication 709, April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. National Institute of Standards and Technology, April 2005.
30
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The present value of costs occurring at various times is calculated through the following general equation:
n 1 PV = At 1+ d t =0 t
where: PV = Present value t = One time period (that is, 1 year) n = Number of time periods in analysis At = Cost occurring during time period t d = Real discount rate The analyses in all of the following cases have been calculated for a system sized for loads similar to that of a modern distribution substation, such as described in Section 2. A simplified duty cycle diagram for sizing purposes is described in the following section. Duty Cycle Profile for Evaluating Performance and Operational Improvements When evaluating a new, relatively untested technology as a substation backup power source, it is critical that the requirements are fully understood and that the installation is properly sized. An oversized system may be expensive and will not seem cost-effective. An undersized system will not meet requirements and is likely to be judged a failure. For these reasons, it is highly recommended that the sizing methodology recommended by IEEE be followed diligently when sizing new products for a particular installation. In the evaluation of technologies in this report, we will use a worst-case duty cycle typical to that of a modern distribution substation with a 125-Vdc bus and carrying loads similar to those described in Section 2. The duty cycle profile is shown in Figure 3-11. The evaluation profile consists of five load segments. L1 is a 7-A base load that extends the entire 8-hour length of the duty cycle. This load is a conservative estimate for the sum of the continuous and noncontinuous loads in the substation, including relays, controls, SCADA and other communications equipment, alarms, annunciators, and control building lighting.
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Figure 3-11 Substation Battery Evaluation Duty Cycle
L2 and L3 are load envelopes for momentary loads for switchgear operations. L2 is the load envelope for the very short but high in-rush current from the solenoid trip at the beginning of the operation, and the motor in-rush current from the breaker spring charging motor that follows shortly after. Here, it is assumed that several such trips occur simultaneously, so their loads are stacked in the profile. This load lasts roughly 80 to 100 milliseconds for most types of switchgear. In this profile, 150-millisecond duration is a conservative estimate. Note that these in-rush currents are not usually used in sizing the battery, but the battery must nonetheless be able to support them. This is rarely a problem for conventional batteries, but may be an issue for more exotic technologies such as fuel cells if they cannot start up immediately. L3 is the load envelope for the ensuing charging motor operation, which charges the breaker spring. This load lasts roughly 5 to 7 seconds for most varieties of switchgear; in this profile, the 10-second discharge duration is a conservative estimate. These loads are often the defining loads for sizing lead-acid batteries, since momentary loads must be counted as lasting a full minute. An identical set of switchgear loads, L4 and L5, is placed at the end of duty cycle. In words, this duty cycle profile requires the backup power source to service all continuous loads, as well as all momentary loads, immediately upon loss of power to the dc bus. The continuous loads are then powered for 8 hours. At the end of 8 hours, the power source must still be able to power all momentary loads again before shutting down. 3-29
The evaluation profile addresses two common problems with backup power systems. The initial peak load addresses the weak initial response time possessed by some technologies, such as leadacid batteries and fuel cells. The system must be designed to compensate for this weakness, by sizing a larger power source, or by incorporating an auxiliary power source that can temporarily provide power for momentary loads, at least until the main power source can respond. The profile also addresses the capacity problem inherent in some power sources. Many batteries lose the ability to deliver high-current pulses at the end of discharge. The system must be designed so that the power capability at the end of the duty cycle is large enough to service all necessary momentary and noncontinuous loads. This can best be done by sizing a larger power source. It should be noted that the sizing of momentary loads in this sample diagram is different from the sizing described in IEEE Std 485-2003. Specifically, short-term loads shorter than one minute long are specified for their real duration, not for one minute. The one-minute duration specification in IEEE Std 485-2003 was made because the one-minute rating for lead-acid batteries is limited by the voltage drop that results from coup de fouet, which occurs immediately after discharge begins. This initial voltage drop causes lead-acid batteries to hit the minimum voltage within the first two or three seconds before recovering and providing power for the rest of the minute. If one-minute ratings are not used for sizing, in the first few seconds the voltage will drop below the minimum acceptable voltage for the substation dc bus, and loads may go off-line. To prevent this problem, lead-acid batteries must be sized somewhat conservatively. Other types of batteries, which are not affected by coup de fouet, can be less conservatively sized, allowing somewhat smaller (and possibly cheaper) batteries. The profile in Figure 3-11 will be used as a metric for the preliminary evaluation of the technologies described below. These evaluations should not be taken as an endorsement of the technology or product in every case. A complete duty cycle profile, specific to the proposed installation, should be constructed before deciding on a technology alternative, and must be done to appropriately size the system. Establishing a Baseline: Lead-Acid Battery Life-Cycle Costs We can now establish baseline life-cycle costs for lead-acid batteries by sizing a lead-acid battery for the evaluation duty cycle described above, and calculating life-cycle costs with industry quotes and reasonable assumptions for maintenance and other costs across the expected life. The IEEE 485 sizing procedure, applied to the duty cycle described above, results in a 150-Ah, 60-cell battery. In 2005, such a battery costs about $6500, and requires a $500 rack.32
32
Conversation with Mark Swift of Swift Industrial Power, July 12, 2005.
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We now consider three separate cases for estimating life-cycle costs, changing only the maintenance performed between the three. The first case approximates an average maintenance routine, based on responses in the 2003 survey. Testing and maintenance is assumed to consist of the following:
Monthly: visual inspection Quarterly: monthly checks plus specific gravity check on pilot cell and electrolyte filling as necessary Yearly: quarterly checks plus battery internal resistance, link resistance, and specific gravity of all cells Once in three years: capacity testing
For this exercise, it is assumed that this maintenance regimen will not, on average, reduce the life span of the battery. The results of the life-cycle cost calculation are shown in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (Most Common Maintenance Schedule)
Life-Cycle Cost Calculation
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (Most Common Maintenance Schedule)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $7,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes $6500 for battery, $500 for rack 20 man-hours
Monthly Inspection Every month $300.00 $ -
Quarterly Maintenance Every quarter $400.00
Annual Maintenance Once a year $200.00
Capacity Testing Once every 3 years $133.33
End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $23,169.60
Let us now consider the same battery, but maintained as recommended in IEEE 450 (described in detail in the previous section on testing and maintenance). The results of the life-cycle cost calculation are shown in Table 3-2.
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Technology Enhancements and Improved Practices for Existing Lead-Acid Battery Systems Table 3-2 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (IEEE-Recommended Maintenance Schedule)
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (IEEE Recommended Maintenance Schedule)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $7,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes $6500 for battery, $500 for rack 20 man-hours
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $31,759.99
As expected, the life-cycle cost in this case is considerably greater than the cost in the previous example. The advantage gained in the second case is largely in improved reliability, a difficult concept to quantify. It is easy to see why utilities generally choose to perform less maintenance. As we will see later, many of the advantages of improved maintenance can be achieved with much less cost through the installation of a monitoring system. The third case we will consider here is the same battery with no maintenance performed at all. In this case, the battery must be replaced after about 15 years, if not sooner. We will assume here that the battery does not fail before 15 years. The life-cycle cost estimate is still performed over 20 years; the additional cost incurred by replacing the battery at Year 15 is included in the calculation. Note that there is also residual value at the end of 20 years, since the replacement battery has only been in operation for 5 years at that point. The results are shown in Table 3-3.
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Technology Enhancements and Improved Practices for Existing Lead-Acid Battery Systems Table 3-3 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (No Maintenance Schedule)
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (No Maintenance Schedule)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs New Battery Cost Installation Cost Old Battery Disposal (less scrap value) End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $7,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes $6500 for battery, $500 for rack 20 man-hours
No Maintenance Never $ -
$7,000.00 $1,000.00 $ -
Replacement occurs after 15 years Scrap value is equal to disposal cost
$5,001.82 $ $10,365.51
The no-maintenance option is clearly the cheapest from an installation and maintenance standpoint, but it is also the least reliable. The potential costs to the utility if the battery fails are not included in this life-cycle cost analysis. The probability of failure will change with operational and environmental conditions. Batteries have been remarkably successful at choosing the worst possible time to fail. As mentioned in the previous chapter, this is because the batteries are usually only needed at the worst possible time, and failure at other times is not noticed. Techniques for Improving Lead-Acid Battery Reliability, Life, and Performance We will now examine operational and equipment changes that can result in enhanced performance of existing lead-acid battery installations. We will begin with the simplest techniques and proceed to some of the more complex. Optimizing Substation Equipment A simple way of extending the life and reliability of existing substation batteries is to reduce the load on them through the use of new equipment. This increases the length of time that a healthy backup power system can operate. With a smaller load, even a battery that is not optimally performing is more likely to provide enough power to see the substation through critical periods. The simplest way to reduce loads is to replace incandescent emergency lights, which are still the norm at most substations, with dc ballasted fluorescent lights. Several companies provide such lights, which are easily configured to operate directly from the dc voltage on the substation battery. These lights can present somewhat more expense during the construction or retrofit of the substation, but can provide substantial improvements in the reliability of the system. Generally, such changes will lengthen the backup time provided by the battery, but will not 3-33
allow the use of a smaller lead-acid battery. This is because the size of lead-acid batteries depends more on the peak currents during switchgear operation than on the continuous dc load. Other ways to reduce loads should be examined substation by substation. By and large, most modern substation designers use energy-efficient designs, so far as it is possible without compromising performance. Because load optimization varies a great deal from substation to substation, it is difficult to assess the life-cycle cost effects of such changes. In general, these efforts should be considered for their ability to enhance life, reliability, and backup time rather than for any potential to reduce cost. Adding Redundant Battery Strings The addition of redundant strings is the most commonly used method to attempt to improve reliability for substation batteries. It can be considered the baseline method against which to compare the effectiveness of all other approaches. In a system with redundant strings, two identical strings of battery cells are placed side-by-side in the substation building and connected electrically in parallel. Each battery is sized so that it can service the load by itself. In the event that one string fails, the other battery services the load. This is often called 2:1 redundancy (that is, the system has twice the capacity it needs to meet requirements). Additional battery chargers are not required to service redundant batteries, provided that the charge rate is adjusted to ensure that the batteries are properly charged and are maintained at the appropriate float voltage. However, since the charger is itself subject to failure, most systems using redundant batteries also use redundant chargers connected in parallel. In the event that one charger fails, the other picks up the load and the battery charging duties. In some cases, a third or even a fourth redundant battery is added to the system. In such systems, the individual batteries can be sized somewhat smaller than a full-size battery. For example, three batteries can be sized such that if one battery fails, the other two are capable of supplying the full load (3:2 redundancy). Such a solution may be more cost-effective than a 2:1 redundant system. In addition to improving the reliability of the system, the use of redundant batteries clearly increases the backup time available for the substation. Redundant batteries can even improve the life of the strings. When all batteries are operational, the load is divided evenly among the strings. For shorter discharges, this load sharing reduces the depth-of-discharge (DOD) on each string, and the associated wear and tear. The effect of lower DOD on life depends on how often a backup system is used, and the duration of discharge. The main drawbacks to redundant batteries are increased cost, maintenance, and space requirements. For a two-string redundant system, the initial cost of the backup system is increased by the cost of the extra string, usually about $5000 to $10,000, effectively doubling the 3-34
cost of the battery. The space requirements for the battery also double, which can impact the cost of a new substation and make retrofitting an existing substation difficult. Finally, maintenance costs for two battery strings are doubled over the course of the batterys life. Despite these drawbacks, most utilities find that redundant batteries are the easiest, and often the cheapest, way to improve the reliability of substation backup power systems, especially where space and maintenance costs are not serious issues. Table 3-4 shows a life-cycle cost analysis for a substation with the load profile described above, having a fully redundant battery. Here we have assumed that the batteries are both maintained with an average maintenance schedule. As might be expected, the life-cycle cost is twice that of a single battery, and significantly more expensive than having one battery and performing the full course of IEEE maintenance.
Table 3-4 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Single Installation with Two Vented Lead-Acid Substation Batteries (Most Common Maintenance Schedule)
Redundant Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery (Most Common Maintenance Schedule)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $14,000.00 $2,000.00 Notes $6500 for each of two batteries, $500 for each of two racks 20 man-hours for each of two batteries
$2,000.00 $2,000.00 $46,339.20
Continuous Battery Monitoring Battery monitoring involves the installation of testing equipment permanently with a stationary battery installation. This allows the remote collection of battery data that can normally be acquired by sending a technician with test equipment, saving some labor. Monitoring can also allow users to collect data continuously for trending purposes. This can allow users to catch problems with a battery long before they lead to failures. The capabilities of battery monitors vary, depending on the manufacturer and the type of battery being monitored. Simple monitors may measure only cell and battery voltages at daily intervals. More sophisticated monitors will measure a variety of electrical and physical parameters, including cell and battery voltage, dc current, ac ripple current, impedance, temperature, specific gravity, and electrolyte levels, with alarms for abnormal conditions. Some monitors are further equipped to perform capacity testing remotely, saving an operator from this time-consuming chore. A few monitoring systems include automated analysis software to attempt to detect 3-35
problems at an early stage. In fact, extremely sophisticated monitoring services are available, in which live operators examine monitored data on a regular basis to find and correct potential problems before they occur. Monitors are usually fitted to the battery when the battery is first installed at a site. A typical monitoring system draws data from each cell to a central control unit. This central unit connects with the users computers through a dial-up connection, SCADA, or Internet connection. The users computer then downloads data from the bank monitor at regular intervals. Naturally, the more often the data are downloaded, the more useful the monitor. There can be cost benefits as well as reliability benefits to monitoring. Because a large part of the recommended testing and maintenance is automatically performed by the battery monitoring system, the overall cost of maintenance for the battery is reduced without reducing the reliability of the emergency power system. The main disadvantage of continuous monitoring is the initial cost, which can equal or exceed the initial cost of the battery. Many substation engineers question whether the cost of the monitoring system is justified by the benefits it provides, especially since one can instead buy a redundant battery bank. As we will see, however, continuous monitoring can be cheaper than a redundant bank because it does not require as much maintenance as a second bank of cells. Since the maintenance cost of the battery is larger than the initial cost, it follows that monitoring is cheaper than 2:1 redundancy. Another potential issue with continuous monitoring is the availability of personnel for data analysis and corrective action. Immediate problem resolution requires, first, that the data from the monitor is received and analyzed in a timely fashion, and second, that teams are on call to service the battery. If these provisions are not fulfilled, the monitoring system will not help. One solution to this problem is the employment of battery monitoring services. These are companies with trained personnel who download data from batteries on a regular basis and notify the utility if there are abnormal conditions. Some companies even perform turnkey maintenance on the battery in response to problems. It should also be noted that, while monitors reduce the amount of maintenance required, they do not eliminate the need for maintenance. Indeed, the monitor itself may require some maintenance during substation visits (though not as much as the battery). Furthermore, failure of the monitor is not impossiblethe reliability of the monitor must be factored into the reliability of the system.
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Overall, the use of a battery monitor is likely to provide the level of reliability attained by following the full course of maintenance recommended by the IEEE, at a significantly lower price. Monitors are particularly important in the following cases:
Installations in which the batteries are particularly susceptible to failure due to operating conditionsfor example, high-temperature environments Remote installations, for which sending testing and maintenance personnel is especially difficult Critical installations where the battery must be especially reliable
For VRLA batteries, which are more sensitive to operating conditions and which have a tendency to fail without warning, monitoring systems are much more critical. It is highly recommended that an appropriate monitoring system be used whenever a VRLA battery is installed in a substation. There are several vendors who sell battery monitoring equipment. One of the better known is Serveron Corporation, based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Serveron sells a comprehensive monitoring system called the BMC 200 Series, developed especially to address the needs of the utility industry. The BMC 200 was developed and tested by EPRI, and is marketed by Serveron under a nonexclusive license agreement. For more information about the Serveron product, see EPRI reports TR-11109233 and 1000577.34 The BMC 200 consists of individual cell monitors connected to a battery bank control system, with versions for either vented lead-acid or VRLA batteries. The system continuously monitors cell voltage and temperature, charge uniformity, and (for vented batteries) electrolyte level and specific gravity for every cell. The system also monitors the overall battery voltage and temperature, and the dc current and ac ripple current. Serverons asset management software acquires data from the system through dial-up, Internet, or SCADA, and reports alarm conditions on all acquired parameters. Serverons system not only monitors the battery and cells, but also controls the charging current for every individual cell, preventing overcharge and improving battery life. In addition, the system performs a special test for current path integrity. In this test, the plates of the cell are depolarized for a millisecond, allowing a test of the batterys current path. This test can quickly detect impedance problems in the battery, whether they are caused by simple problems such as corrosion or loose connections, or by more complex problems internal to the cell. In this way, the monitor picks up problems that may not be immediately evident to a human inspector. Serveron also offers turnkey battery management services. Serveron acquires data from the utilitys battery monitors and compiles them into a comprehensive system history. These data can be accessed remotely by maintenance managers at the utility. In addition, Serveron personnel warn utility maintenance managers whenever anomalies are detected.
33 34
Battery Monitoring System (BMS): Phase 4Field Evaluation. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 1998. TR-111092. Valve Regulated Battery Monitoring System. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2000. 1000577.
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Alber, a battery test equipment manufacturer, also sells a continuous battery monitor called the BDS-256. This system scans up to 256 cells or modules per battery string for cell voltages and temperature, as well as string voltage and current, and saves them at user-selected intervals. In addition, Alber produces a system called the MPM-100, which allows ohmic impedance testing from a remote location. The BDS-256 also has the capability to control a load unit (purchased separately), which can be used to perform capacity testing. The data from these activities are uploaded to management software through phone dial-up, Internet, or SCADA communications systems. The management software compares these parameters to user-specified alarm settings, and notifies the user of any anomalous parameters. Midtronics, another battery test equipment manufacturer, sells a very simple battery monitor called the Monitron that conducts an ohmic resistance test on the battery at regular intervals and reports the results as an assessment of battery condition. The Monitron can also monitor temperature, cell voltage, and battery voltage. A life-cycle cost calculation was performed for the baseline lead-acid substation battery system described above with a Serveron battery monitoring system. The monitoring system was quoted as $7,500 for a 60-cell version, with an additional $2,655 for on-site installation and training.35 The existence of the monitoring system means that monthly visual inspection must continue, but quarterly and annual checks can cease. Capacity testing every three years or so is still required to be done by visiting maintenance personnel. While capacity testing can be automated, it would take investment in the form of a load located at the substation, and so would probably not be cost-effective. The results of the calculation are shown in Table 3-5.
Table 3-5 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Serveron Battery Monitoring System and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Serveron Battery Monitoring System and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $14,500.00 $3,655.00 Notes $6500 for battery, $500 for rack. $7500 for monitoring system 20 man-hours + $2655 for training and installation of battery monitoring system
Quarterly Maintenance Every quarter $ -
Annual Maintenance Once a year $ -
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $24,398.11
Note that, on a life-cycle basis, the cost of the battery monitoring system is significantly less than the cost of a system with redundant batteries, and is, in fact, less expensive than performing the full course of IEEE-recommended maintenance. It is only very slightly more expensive than the cost of the lead-acid base case. Since the battery monitoring system ensures that the battery is
35
Quote from Serveron, July 21, 2005.
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more reliable, this would seem to be a very cost-effective means of improving the viability of substation emergency power systems. Battery Recombination Catalysts Recombination catalysts are installed on lead-acid batteries to reduce the rate of water loss. Such catalysts have been widely used for cycling lead-acid batteries, where the rate of water loss typically is greater than in batteries used in float applications. They have not gained wide acceptance for use in substation batteries, possibly because of their initial cost. Nonetheless, catalyst technologies have the potential to reduce maintenance costs associated with refilling cells, and to improve life. Batteries with water-based electrolytes, including lead-acid batteries, suffer water loss through gassing. Gassing is caused by coulombic inefficiencythat is, part of the charge current acts to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen instead of charging the cell. The hydrogen and oxygen then escape from the cell, causing a net water loss. The rate of electrolysis, while small, can cause significant water loss over time. If the water is not replaced, the cell will gradually dry out, causing significant increases in internal impedance and ultimately leading to failure. The degree to which cells are affected by gassing varies with the design. Modern lead-acid substation batteries are built with lead-calcium grids, which greatly reduce the incidence of gassing. Deep-cycle batteries built with lead-antimony grids, on the other hand, have relatively high gassing rates, and require the addition of water relatively frequently (as often as every week). VRLA cells are greatly affected by water loss, since cells are constructed with a proportionately smaller quantity of electrolyte, and lost water cannot be replaced. Recombination catalysts are designed to cause hydrogen and oxygen from gassing to recombine inside the cell, reducing the amount of water lost in this way. These catalysts play different roles in flooded lead-acid batteries and VRLA batteries. These roles are described in the following sections. Recombination Catalysts in Flooded Lead-Acid Batteries Flooded, vented lead-acid batteries, including those most typically used in substation backup power applications, are designed to contain an excess of electrolyte. This excess allows the use of a fairly high float voltage to maintain a high level of charge. At this voltage, the polarization on the two electrodes is high enough that little, if any, self-discharge is observed. The float charge current, therefore, goes almost entirely toward electrolysis of water in the electrolyte. During electrolysis, hydrogen is produced on the negative electrode, and oxygen on the positive electrode. If gases were allowed to accumulate within the cell jar, the pressure within the jar would rise, possibly ending with rupture of the jar. For this reason, most cells are built with vents to allow these gases to escape.
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Recombination catalysts placed on the vent cap encourage the hydrogen and oxygen gases to recombine into water. The catalysts are usually dispersed metallic particles on a porous ceramic substrate in the shape of a pellet. The pellet is installed in a modified vent cap, which replaces the original vent cap for a lead-acid cell. Hydrogen and oxygen combine on catalyst sites within the substrate to form water, which then drips back into the battery electrolyte reservoir. Vent cap recombination catalysts have a generally positive record. The efficiencies for catalyst products are quoted to be close to 90%, meaning that the interval between refilling is lengthened by a factor of ten. Users have reported only two problems, flooding and catalyst poisoning. Flooding occurs when the water produced by the recombination process stays within the catalyst pellet, instead of dripping into the reservoir. This water covers the catalyst particles, preventing gas from coming into contact with the catalyst, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the catalyst. Flooding tends to occur at the end of charge, when the rate of gassing and recombination is highest. This is a rare event for backup batteries that spend most of their lives in float operation. Many modern vent cap products are constructed to prevent flooding by ensuring that water produced at the catalyst is quickly wicked away and back into the battery. Catalyst poisoning occurs when contaminants occupy catalyst sites, reducing the effectiveness of the catalyst. Over time, the catalyst effectiveness will drop severely until it must be replaced. Catalyst poisons usually arise from side reactions within the battery itself. The most common catalyst poisons in lead-acid batteries are hydrogen sulfide, arsine, and stibine. Hydrogen sulfide is often produced in small quantities at the negative electrode during charging. When leadantimony batteries are used, arsine and stibine can be produced in very small quantities from arsenic and antimony in the battery electrodes. Catalyst poisoning seems to be the limiting life factor for recombination catalysts. For commercial products, the life of the catalyst is usually stated as five years. Catalyst poisoning can be limited through the use of filters installed next to the catalyst on the vent cap assembly. Some manufacturers have claimed an increase in catalyst life by a factor of ten through the use of filters. Recombination Catalysts in VRLA Batteries Catalyst pellets are used in a somewhat different fashion in VRLA batteries, since electrolysis does not occur in them as it does in vented cells. During overcharge, oxygen gas is produced at the positive electrode. In vented lead-acid batteries, the oxygen leaves the cell through the gas vent. In VRLA batteries, however, the battery is partly sealed so that oxygen remains within the cell at a slightly elevated pressure. The oxygen diffuses to the negative electrode and reacts with hydrogen ions there to produce water. This reduces the polarization on the negative electrode, so that hydrogen gas is not generated.
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The oxygen cycle reduces the amount of water lost due to electrochemical processes. There is, however, a certain amount of water lost through simple chemical processes in the cell. One of these processes is the reaction of lead and water at the negative electrode, producing lead oxide and hydrogen:
Pb + H2O PbO + H2 (g) Eq. 3-1
The hydrogen produced in this reaction will escape through the pressure valve. In addition to reducing the water in the cell, the reaction results in a reduced state of charge in the negative electrode; for this reason, this reaction is called negative self-discharge or chemical selfdischarge. Recombination catalysts in a VRLA cell capture the hydrogen produced by negative selfdischarge and react it with oxygen from the oxygen cycle. The water produced in this reaction is returned to the cell, and the negative self-discharge is recovered by the slightly higher polarization on the negative electrode. Recombination catalysts in VRLA cells cannot be added later, but must be installed when the cell is constructed. Many VRLA manufacturers have adopted recombination catalysts in their designs. Manufacturers The recombination catalyst industry is relatively small, with a few well-known manufacturers.
Hydrocap Corporation
Hydrocap Corporation of Miami, Florida, is the best-known manufacturer of catalyst vent caps for vented lead-acid cells. Hydrocap has been in operation for nearly sixty years. Over this time, it has designed products for almost every type of flooded battery, although the greatest demand has been in deep-cycle marine batteries. Hydrocap products are custom designed specifically for each battery design. To design a vent cap for a new design, the company requires a sample vent cap from the battery. Hydrocap vent caps generally cost from $5 to $15, depending on the design.
Hoppecke
Hoppecke is a German manufacturer of batteries, including flooded lead-acid and VRLA designs. Hoppecke markets a recombination catalyst product under the AquaGen brand name. Several different models of AquaGen products are available, fitting the various flooded batteries produced by Hoppecke.
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Philadelphia Scientific
Philadelphia Scientific is a manufacturer of various battery-related equipment and technologies, based (as might be expected) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the recombination catalyst area, Philadelphia Scientific is best known for its extensive work with VRLA catalysts. Several VRLA manufacturers have now adopted Philadelphia Scientifics proprietary technology for use with their VRLA batteries. Philadelphia Scientific does not presently have a product for flooded lead-acid cells. Application of Recombination Catalysts to Substation Batteries Recombination catalysts have found wide application in deep-cycle lead-acid battery applications, particularly in marine and solar applications. These batteries are built with leadantimony grids and consequently have a relatively high rate of water loss, often requiring refilling weekly or monthly. In addition, the batteries themselves are relatively short-lived, with life comparable to that of the catalyst pellet. In substation battery applications, where the rate of water loss is substantially lower, the value of recombination catalysts is less clear. Most substation batteries are filled once or twice a year. This frequency may increase to three to four times a year for older batteries or batteries in hightemperature environments. The addition of recombination catalysts would reduce the frequency to about once in three to four years, reducing corresponding labor costs. This means that, while a regular battery would require refilling roughly 30 times over its life, a battery with installed catalytic vent caps would require refilling only 5 times over its life. While there is some labor associated with installing the catalysts, the savings in time and effort on the part of personnel may be substantial. A life-cycle cost analysis can be produced for the use of this product with the typical battery we have been using as an example. Let us assume that about half of the quarterly maintenance goes toward filling batteries, and that this time can be reduced by a factor of five. The typical vent cap costs between $5 and $10 per vent cap; a cost of $7 per cap yields a total cost of $420 for a 60-cell battery. Let us further assume an installation time of 1.5 hours for one person for vent cap installation, and a five-year life for the vent cap. The results of the life-cycle cost calculation are shown in Table 3-6.
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Technology Enhancements and Improved Practices for Existing Lead-Acid Battery Systems Table 3-6 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Catalytic Vent Caps and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule
Vented Lead-Acid Substation Battery with Catalytic Vent Caps (Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs New Vent Cap Cost New Vent Cap Installation End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $7,420.00 $1,075.00 Notes $6500 for battery, $500 for rack, $420 for vent caps 20 man-hours plus 1.5 man-hours for cap installation
Monthly Inspection Every month $300.00
$420.00 $150.00
Replacement of vent caps only every 5 years
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $22,397.24
The results show a slight reduction in cost with the use of vent caps. This reduction increases as the labor rates increase, so that catalytic vent caps may be a viable option in areas where labor is expensive. By reducing the need for maintenance, catalysts may also improve reliability by reducing the chance of failure due to poor filling practice. This does not address failures related to other maintenance issues, however, so the reliability improvement cannot be called significant.
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Conclusions The options we have considered so far are summarized in Table 3-7
Table 3-7 Summary of Life-Cycle Cost Analyses for Lead-Acid Substation Battery Improvements
Net Present Value Analysis Summary for Lead-Acid Substation Battery Options Description Baseline: Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Most Common Maintenance Schedule Vented Lead-Acid Battery with IEEE-Recommended Maintenance Schedule Cost $23,169.60 Net Present Value $ Reliability Average
Option 1:
$31,759.99
$(8,590.39)
Better than Average
Option 2: Vented Lead-Acid Battery with No Maintenance
$10,365.51
$12,804.09
Much Poorer than Average
Option 3:
Redundant Vented Lead-Acid Batteries with Most Common Maintenance Schedule Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Battery Monitoring and Abbreviated Maintenance Schedule Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Catalytic Vent Caps and Most Common Maintenance Schedule
$46,339.20
$(23,169.60)
Better than Average
Option 4:
$24,398.11
$(1,228.52)
Better than Average
Option 5:
$22,397.24
$772.36
Average
In this table, we have summarized reliability qualitatively relative to the reliability of the baseline case. Reliability must really be considered in fleet terms; that is, in statistical terms of a number of batteries. For example, if the no maintenance option is chosen for a large number of batteries, the number of unexpected failures can be expected to be much greater than if the most common maintenance option is chosen. From this table, it is clear that the no maintenance option is the cheapest approach to substation batteries, and redundant batteries are the most expensive. The most cost-effective way to significantly improve reliability appears to be the use of monitoring systems, which are only slightly more expensive on a life-cycle basis than the use of a conventional lead-acid battery alone. Also note that the IEEE-recommended maintenance schedule, although significantly more expensive than the most common maintenance, is still cheaper than a redundant battery approach. It is a good way to improve reliability without the purchase of additional capital equipment.
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ALTERNATIVE SUBSTATION BACKUP POWER TECHNOLOGIES
This section examines technologies that might actually replace lead-acid batteries in a substation application. Most such technologies are relatively immature, and are not available for immediate use in substations today. The exceptions to this rule are valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries, which are occasionally used in substations. Because of the embryonic state of these technologies in this application, formulating technical and economic cases for them is problematic. It is difficult to assess the reliability in the field for a product that has been tested mostly in a lab; it is equally difficult to evaluate the economics of a battery in mass production when it is currently only in the prototype phase. The engineering and economic guidance in this chapter are intended to gauge both the current state of a technology and the potential it has in the substation application. Life-cycle cost analyses have been performed with current numbers wherever available, employing reasonable conservatism while remaining fair to the potential of the technology.
The Case for Innovation

Electric energy storage technology has been an area of intense research since electric power was first used, well over a century ago. Since its development in the 1860s, the vented lead-acid battery has been the mainstay for electric energy storage in stationary and transportation applications. Over the years, many energy storage technologies have been proposed to replace this workhorse. While some of these technologies have succeeded in specific applications, others have done little but strengthen the already dominant position of vented lead-acid technology. Lead-acid has retained its place because few competing technologies can match the combination of proven reliable performance and low cost. In the substation battery market, there has been no dearth of proposed alternatives to lead-acid batteries. A combination of factors has made the serious pursuit of these opportunities relatively rare. Substation controls are critical loads, and conservative utilities have demanded that any alternative technology must be proven reliable and well tested. This has led to the familiar chicken-and-egg problem: A reliable track record is difficult to attain without deploying many batteries for years in the field, but wide-scale deployment is impossible without a reliable track record. To make it worse, batteries are rarely used in a substation application, so a single field test proves little about the reliability of a system. Controlled testing can help build experience with a technology, but can be expensive and time-consuming. 4-1
Alternative Substation Backup Power Technologies
Nevertheless, the potential benefits of alternative technologies can give them significant allure. What utility would not like batteries that can be placed in a substation and not require maintenance or even significant attention until it is time to replace them? Although not all the claims made by technology developers may pan out, it is possible that some technologies may still allow significant improvement over the status quo. The road to innovation is not for the faint of heart. Even by purely technical criteria, the prospective innovator is faced with a difficult choice. Economic considerations and potential risks make the path to replacing lead-acid batteries quite rocky. One can pay several times as much for an alternative technology that addresses some, but not all, of the deficiencies of leadacid batteries, with the possibility of unforeseen problems. It is far safer to specify lead-acid batteries, which are cheaper and have the advantage of well-established procedures and decades of experience with design, maintenance, and problem resolution. Clearly, an alternative battery system must enjoy overwhelming technical advantages over lead-acid batteries before it is a viable choice. Innovation impacts all elements of technical design and cost. New solutions will always face some costs that a routine installation would not. The design, installation, and commissioning of a new solution will involve significant nonrecurring engineering work. Maintenance procedures are likely to be quite different, so training will be required for maintenance personnel. The performance and problem issues will have to be monitored for some time after installation. These issues become even more daunting when seen through the prism of a companys organization: the implementation of even a single alternative backup system may require coordination between several groups within an organization. The prospective innovator must also find the right vendors for substation backup power technologies. In the well-established lead-acid battery industry, there are few vendors with a firm commitment to the substation battery market, because substation batteries make a relatively small part of the overall market. This is also likely to be true for established vendors of alternative technologies. One is more likely to get individual attention from a new technology developer, but this comes at the substantial risk of dealing with a sole source. The successful implementation of a new substation backup power technology requires three conditions: 1. An alternative technology with a clear technical and economic advantage over lead-acid batteries. Advantages may include higher reliability, less maintenance, longer life, or easier condition assessment. 2. A utility company that sees the advantages of the alternative technology and is willing to commit the necessary resources toward its initial deployment, operation, and maintenance. 3. A stable vendor with a firm commitment to the substation backup power source market, and with the resources to carry the product from early prototype to commercialization.
4-2
When these conditions are met, there are good reasons to explore alternatives for substation batteries. An alternative technology can simultaneously provide improvement of the substation reliability as well as reduction of the backup power system construction and maintenance costs. These benefits are unlikely to arise from incremental improvements in lead-acid technology.
Lessons Learned from Past Experience

Based on the substation battery survey results36 two technologies besides vented lead-acid batteries already have a small market share in the substation battery market: VRLA batteries at around 14%, and vented nickel-cadmium batteries at around 6%. The technical and market successes and failures of these alternatives to traditional vented lead-acid batteries tell us what will be expected from future technologies. In particular, the following observations can be made. A successful technology will maximize reliability while minimizing maintenance requirements. In an application where reliability is the key criterion for performance, initial costs rarely play into the purchasing decision. Expected maintenance costs are not much considered in the initial decision, but repeated, time-consuming maintenance procedures do have a high nuisance factor, and most users would rather spend their scant resources on other problems. Therefore claims of low maintenance can make new technologies more appealing. The state-of-health of the battery should be measurable without capacity testing. A significant problem with VRLA batteries is that the specific gravity of the electrolyte cannot be easily tested, necessitating the laborious and time-consuming procedure of regular capacity testing. This is particularly frustrating since the life of VRLA systems is very sensitive to the operating environment, and the systems can fail without warning. Ideally, a new technology used in substation backup power systems should be capable of responding to a simple test that will show the present state-of-health of the battery, allowing maintenance personnel to decide on corrective procedures or replacement before an exigency arises. Changes in battery performance as the battery ages should be graceful. Many systems tend to perform well for some time, and then fail suddenly. This is a difficult failure mode to handle, since it is hard to tell whether a battery replacement must be performed immediately or can be deferred to the next maintenance cycle. Other batteries lose capacity gradually, in a wellunderstood fashion. This is highly desirable since a simple calculation can show when a battery should be replaced. Maintenance procedures requiring significant time and effort from personnel are very likely to be ignored. This includes capacity tests, reconditioning procedures, and other timeconsuming maintenance activities. Most users choose not to perform such operations and/or choose not to use technologies that require such operations on a regular basis. Users are unlikely to be satisfied with technology that requires such operations to meet the advertised performance. This is borne out by the EPRI survey of utility users, which found that only 44% of respondents conduct regular capacity tests. It should also be noted that in the same survey, 95% of respondents reported that their flooded lead-acid batteries met or exceeded design life. Therefore,
36
Survey ResultsSubstation Batteries. Technical Progress Report. EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003. 1008975.
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it is reasonable to conclude that at least some of the maintenance procedures were considered to be noncritical based on the long life experienced in most systems. As momentary loads at substations increase, technologies that can support high currents for brief durations will seem more attractive. Substation batteries are sized by two important factors: the duration that the battery must support the load (a watt-hour requirement), and the ability of the battery to support, without dropping below a specified voltage, the maximum current drawn by the equipment. For lead-acid batteries, the latter requirement is often determined at the very beginning of discharge, due to effects such as coup de fouet, rather than at the end of discharge. For this reason, lead-acid batteries are often significantly oversized from a watt-hour perspective, so that they can meet the current requirement during in-rush. There is an opportunity here for other technologies with high power capacity. These technologies can more easily meet high in-rush current requirements, and therefore do not need to be oversized to obtain the power capacity. In particular, vented nickel-cadmium, lithium ion, and hybrids with ultracapacitors have some potential in this area. The ideal backup power technology for a substation application would meet all performance requirements while requiring no maintenance, and would degrade over a period of 30 years in a predictable fashion that would allow determination of the exact state-of-health from a small number of easily measurable quantities. While the development of a technology with all of these characteristics is unlikely, it is possible that some of the technologies under consideration meet some of these requirements, or at least come closer to meeting them than conventional lead-acid batteries. Any assessments in this direction must be backed up with field demonstrations that prove that the technology does, indeed, meet the stated performance.
Candidates for Substation Backup Power Sources

Keeping the above technical and economic considerations in mind, we now turn to an examination of several candidate technologies that have potential as alternatives to vented leadacid batteries in substation backup power systems. As mentioned before, a significant number of sites use valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries or vented nickel-cadmium batteries. Other battery technologies under consideration include nickel-metal hydride, lithium ion, and lithium metal polymer. Non-battery energy sources, such as ultracapacitors, flywheels, and fuel cells, also show some potential in this area. In many of these cases, the characteristics of the system preclude practical solutions for one technology alone, but might be viable in a hybrid system. For example, fuel cells do not typically have the instantaneous response time or the in-rush current capabilities required for substation backup power, while ultracapacitors cannot support the long discharge times required in the application. A hybrid system using these technologies together, however, may be able to meet the requirements of the system. Hybrid systems may make sense even for lead-acid batteries. A substation battery is typically sized according to a power profile, to ensure that it can support the current required by all loads that are likely to occur at the same time, even if those loads do not last for a very long time. This 4-4
often means that the battery is significantly oversized from a capacity standpoint. An ultracapacitor, on the other hand, can more easily support high currents for a short period of time. For this reason, it is possible to build a battery-ultracapacitor hybrid significantly smaller than a lead-acid battery sized for the same loads. Table 4-1 describes several technologies that have been considered for substation backup power applications, along with some of their advantages and disadvantages. Table 4-2 describes hybrid technologies that can potentially be used in substation backup power technologies. Not all of these technologies have been tested in this application. Indeed, for many of these technologies, there are no products that could be easily adapted to this use. In such cases, the general capabilities of the technology are considered in the context of a long float voltage application.
Table 4-1 Comparison of Battery Technologies for Substation Backup Power Systems Advantages (In a Substation Application)
Mature and well-known Low initial cost Long life Low maintenance Low initial cost Mature and well-known Long life Relatively tolerant to temperature extremes High energy density
Technology
Vented leadacid (default)
Disadvantages (In a Substation Application)

Coup de fouet Relatively intolerant of temperature extremes Coup de fouet Intolerant of temperature extremes Short life Low cell voltage Float effect makes capacity testing difficult Untested in this application Low cell voltage Intolerant of temperature extremes Float effect makes capacity testing difficult Relatively unknown and untested Mechanical parts require maintenance May require occasional stripping cycles Relatively unknown and untested Mechanical parts require maintenance Relatively unknown and untested Voltage drop at start of discharge Limited shelf and cycle life Relatively unknown and untested High initial cost (at present) Requires balancing and charge control electronics Relatively unknown and untested High initial cost (at present) Requires balancing and charge control electronics
Major Manufacturers
Enersys GNB (Exide) C&D Technologies Hawker Energy (Enersys) GNB (Exide) Saft Alcad Johnson Controls (formerly Varta) Electro Energy ZBB Energy Halcyon Energy VRB Power Systems Metallic Power Valence Johnson Controls (formerly Varta) Saft Avestor
Valve-regulated lead-acid
Vented nickelcadmium Stand-Alone Technologies
Nickel-metal hydride
Zinc-bromine batteries Vanadium redox batteries Regenerative zinc-air
High energy density Flat voltage profile High energy density Flat voltage profile High energy density
Lithium ion batteries
High energy density Long life High energy density Tolerant to temperature extremes
Lithium metal polymer batteries
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Alternative Substation Backup Power Technologies Table 4-2 Comparison of Other Technologies for Substation Backup Power Systems Technology
Stand-Alone Technologies Ultracapacitors
Advantages
High current density High current density Long life Long-duration discharge (As long as fuel is available) Mature technology Indefinite run time Indefinite run time
Disadvantages
Relatively unknown and untested High initial cost (at present) Low energy density, probably not viable alone Relatively unknown and untested High initial cost (at present) Low energy density, probably not viable alone Relatively unknown and untested High initial cost (at present) Slow response time, probably not viable alone Additional maintenance and fueling required Ultracapacitors are relatively untested Additional maintenance and fueling required Flywheels are relatively untested Additional maintenance and fueling required Fuel cells are relatively untested Additional fueling required Fuel cells and ultracapacitors are relatively untested Additional fueling required Fuel cells and flywheels are relatively untested Additional fueling required Ultracapacitors are relatively untested High cost of ultracapacitors
Major Manufacturers
Maxwell NESS Capacitor ESMA Active Power Beacon Power ReliOn (Formerly Avista Labs) Plug Power -
Flywheels
Fuel Cells Diesel/NG genset with vented lead-acid batteries Diesel/NG genset with ultracapacitors
Hybrid Technologies
Diesel/NG genset with flywheel Fuel cell with vented lead-acid batteries Fuel cell with ultracapacitors
Indefinite run time Indefinite run time Indefinite run time
Fuel cell with flywheel Vented lead-acid battery with ultracapacitors
Indefinite run time Battery can be sized for Ah instead of voltage level
We will now describe these alternative energy storage technologies, including hybrids, for substation backup power applications. The emphasis is on consideration and characterization of performance attributes that are most relevant to the unique requirements of the substation backup power application, and the economic case for the technology in this application. Other advantages likely to be promoted by manufacturers are also identified, even if they are not important in substation backup applications.37
37
In addition to the technology descriptions furnished in the following pages, the reader is referred to another EPRI product, the EPRI-DOE Handbook of Energy Storage for Transmission and Distribution Applications (EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2003, 1001834) for supplementary information about these technologies.
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VRLA Batteries Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries are similar to conventional vented lead-acid batteries in a number of ways. They share the same basic chemistry as vented lead-acid batteries, having lead negative electrodes with lead-oxide positive electrodes in an aqueous sulfuric acid electrolyte. VRLA batteries differ from vented lead-acid batteries in the management of electrolyte. Vented batteries are manufactured with an excess of liquid electrolyte, leading to the common description as flooded. During operation, water must be added periodically to replace loss due to electrolysis. VRLA batteries, on the other hand, are designed to minimize water loss from electrolysis. They are manufactured with just enough electrolyte to fill the void volume of the electrodes and separator; this is known as a starved electrolyte design. The electrolyte is immobilized in a porous separator or in a gel matrix, and each cell is built with a one-way pressure valve to control the movement of gas into and out of the cell. This construction also means that water cannot be added to the cell. The design of VRLA batteries allows the suppression of electrolysis through what is called the oxygen cycle. During overcharge in both vented lead-acid and VRLA batteries, oxygen gas is produced at the positive electrode. In vented lead-acid batteries, the oxygen leaves the cell through the gas vent. In VRLA batteries, however, the battery is partly sealed so that oxygen remains within the cell at a slightly elevated pressure. The oxygen diffuses to the negative electrode and reacts with hydrogen ions there to produce water. This reduces the polarization on the negative electrode, so that hydrogen gas is not produced as it is in vented lead-acid batteries. The proper operation of VRLA batteries requires relatively tight controls on operational parameters such as float charge voltage and temperature. If the batteries deviate from these parameters, the performance and life of VRLA batteries can be seriously compromised. VRLA batteries have substantial representation in utility substations. 14.1% of batteries reported in the utility survey were VRLA batteries, mostly manufactured by Enersys, C&D Technologies, and East Penn Manufacturing. VRLA batteries have acquired a bad name in the substation battery market due to poor performance when they were first introduced. According to manufacturers early claims, VRLA batteries could meet the same 20+ year life as conventional vented lead-acid batteries while requiring no maintenance. Many batteries failed after only five years, however, and some after only two to three years. The experience left a bitter taste in the mouths of many utilities, which have since largely switched back to vented lead-acid batteries. A recent study from Sandia National Laboratories38 examined early failures of VRLA cells, and has concluded that VRLA technology does not have any fundamental flaws, and that the technology can perform well in many applications. Indeed, a significant number of the early
38
M.F. DeAnda, J. Miller, P. Moseley, and P. Butler. Reliability of Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2004. SAND2004-0914.
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VRLA cells did not fail early at all. The most common causes of early failures have been determined; where they were related to design or production, they have largely been corrected. Nonetheless, it is generally agreed that expecting a 20-year life for a VRLA system is probably aggressive. Why can VRLA batteries not last as long as their vented counterparts? Although the reasons are complex, the short explanation is that VRLA batteries have significantly different degradation and failure modes than vented lead-acid batteries. The early projections for life in VRLA batteries assumed positive plate corrosion to be the principal degradation mechanism. The projections were often confirmed by accelerated life testing, which did not catch other failure mechanisms that occur during long periods of float charge. But VRLA batteries have several characteristics that cause them to behave quite differently from vented lead-acid batteries:
Sensitive charging requirements: VRLA cells must be float charged in a narrow voltage range. At too low a voltage, the cell is undercharged and undergoes sulfation; too high, and the negative electrode polarizes, forming hydrogen and drying the cell out. Manufacturing variation: The sensitive charging requirements for VRLA cells can be accounted for easily with individual cells, but are much harder to account for when cells are linked in series to form a battery. All battery cells are slightly different due to manufacturing variance. Even small differences in capacity and internal resistance between individual cells in a string can lead to differences in voltage among them. This can result in some cells being overcharged while others are undercharged. Sensitivity to temperature variances: To make matters still more complex, the float charge voltage range for VRLA cells is dependent on temperature. This means that any float charge controller must adjust the voltage to compensate for the temperature. Furthermore, the battery installation must be designed so that all the cells are at the same temperature, since a temperature gradient across the battery would create voltage differences between cells. Design variation: It is evident that VRLA cells from different manufacturers have very different life times. Negative self-discharge: According to some investigators, chemical self-discharge contributed to shorter life by causing the state-of-charge of the negative plate to gradually decrease. In addition, chemical self-discharge slowly denudes the cell of water.
Improvements in VRLA technology, as well as a greater understanding of the requirements of VRLA installations, have contributed to significantly extending the life of these batteries. Many VRLA batteries are built with recombination catalysts to reduce the effects of chemical selfdischarge. New installations are placed in air conditioned enclosures to minimize the effect of temperature and temperature gradients, and special float chargers are used to maintain the charge reliably. Finally, many installations are now equipped with monitoring systems that can detect problems at an early stage, allowing for corrective action before the problems lead to failures. Nonetheless, the value of VRLA batteries over vented lead-acid batteries is not clear. VRLA batteries in an uncontrolled environment can be expected to last only about five years, and the probability of premature failure is fairly large. The additional expense of air conditioning, monitoring, and other special methods of improving life and reliability can equal or outweigh the 4-8
cost of maintenance for traditional batteries. VRLA batteries may be a viable option where substation space is limited, in areas of extreme climate where a climate-controlled enclosure is necessary for other equipment in the substation building, or in remote locations where performing regular maintenance would be difficult. VRLA batteries are generally cheaper than their flooded equivalents, but are somewhat more expensive on a life-cycle basis. This is because they must be replaced every five years or so, particularly in an uncontrolled substation environment. The required maintenance is reduced to visual inspection, voltage measurement, and capacity testing. The results of a life-cycle cost analysis for the VRLA battery is shown in Table 4-3.
Table 4-3 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for a Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Battery in Substation Battery Application
Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) Battery
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs New Battery Cost Installation Cost Old Battery Disposal (less scrap value) End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $6,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes $5500 for battery, $500 for rack 20 Man-hours
$6,000.00 $1,000.00 $ -
Replacement required once every 5 years Scrap value is equal to disposal cost
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $30,470.81
The life-cycle cost of the VRLA battery is somewhat greater than the cost of the equivalent flooded battery, despite the reduction in maintenance costs. Taken with the poor reliability record of VRLA batteries in this application, these results suggest that VRLA batteries are not the best alternative for flooded lead-acid batteries in this application. Vented Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Outside of lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries are the type of stationary battery most familiar to the utility user. Nickel-cadmium batteries are used in a number of applications in the utility industry, including recloser controller batteries and portable equipment. They also have a number of fans among substation design engineers, although some have been disappointed with their past performance. According to the 2003 survey of utility users, 6.7% of reported substations used vented nickel-cadmium batteries.39
39
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The construction of vented nickel-cadmium batteries is similar to that of vented lead-acid batteries. Each cell is constructed of several electrode pairs, each of which consists of a nickel oxyhydroxide positive electrode and a cadmium hydroxide negative electrode kept apart by a thin separator. Most nickel-cadmium batteries used in substations are based on pocket plate technology. The electrode pairs are connected in parallel and immersed in an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide, which acts as the electrolyte. Vented nickel-cadmium batteries have several selling points over lead-acid batteries. Nickelcadmium batteries are less affected by temperature than lead-acid batteries, both at high and low temperatures. They are able to sustain high-current discharges at very low temperatures, where lead-acid batteries become sluggish. Nickel-cadmium also has better life characteristics than lead-acid batteries at high temperatures. A lead-acid batterys life can be expected to halve for every 10C above room temperature at which it operates. A nickel-cadmium batterys life, on the other hand, drops by only one-fifth for every 10C above room temperature. This can be a significant advantage in high-temperature climates if air conditioning is not installed. Note that these temperature advantages should not be construed to mean that nickel-cadmium batteries are not affected by temperature extremes; they are merely less affected than equivalent lead-acid batteries. Many users have placed nickel-cadmium batteries in extreme environments without protection, expecting no degradation at all, and have been disappointed with the results. Nickel-cadmium batteries have greater energy and power density than lead-acid batteries, and do not exhibit coup de fouet. This means that a nickel-cadmium battery in a substation battery application will both be physically smaller and have a smaller ampere-hour rating than an equivalent lead-acid battery. These advantages make up, in part, for the higher cost of nickelcadmium batteries. Figure 4-1 shows a large nickel-cadmium substation battery.
Figure 4-1 Large Nickel-Cadmium Substation Battery
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Nickel-cadmium batteries have a cell voltage of about 1.4 V during float operation, as compared to 2.1 V/cell for lead-acid batteries. This means that a nickel-cadmium battery uses about 50% more cells than an equivalent lead-acid battery. For a 125-Vdc system, the number of cells is usually between 92 and 100 cells, as compared to 60 cells in a lead-acid battery in a 125-V system. The larger number of cells means that maintenance often takes longer for a nickelcadmium battery. Nickel-cadmium batteries also require somewhat different maintenance procedures than lead-acid batteries, so additional training is generally required for maintenance personnel. Given the higher cost of materials and the requirement for more cells, vented nickel-cadmium batteries cost 2 to 3 times more per ampere-hour than vented lead-acid batteries. However, because nickel-cadmium batteries do not have to be as large as their lead-acid equivalents, the cost for a substation battery application is typically only about 25% more than that of a vented lead-acid equivalent. The maintenance cost, however, can be greater, since there are more cells to be taken care of. Nickel-cadmium batteries also suffer from what is known as the float effect.40 The float effect is a reversible depression in voltage that occurs when a nickel-cadmium battery stays on float charge for very long periods of time. It is caused by a gradual change within the crystal structure of the electrodes, but is easily eliminated by a complete discharge and recharge of the battery. The float effect should not affect the operation of the battery in a substation application, but it can sometimes confuse efforts in capacity testing, since the capacity may go up and down at different times depending on whether the battery was discharged recently. Finally, some users have reported premature failure in nickel-cadmium batteries. In one instance, a large number of nickel-cadmium substation batteries were tested for capacity and were found to have degraded significantly despite having been installed only a few years before. An investigation by the manufacturer found that the lot of batteries in question was constructed with underformed electrodes. Though the manufacturer claimed to have solved this problem, the utility customer chose to go elsewhere for replacement batteries, replacing the system with conventional vented lead-acid batteries. Despite these problems, many utility users, particularly in extreme climates, swear by nickelcadmium substation batteries in place of vented lead-acid. While the temperature advantages of nickel-cadmium may sometimes be exaggerated, nickel-cadmium batteries are probably better suited for extreme environments than lead-acid batteries. It is a rare case that the longer life of the nickel-cadmium battery alone offsets its higher cost in these environments, but the reliability advantage may make a difference.41 The two principal manufacturers of stationary nickel-cadmium batteries are Alcad and Saft. Saft has been most successful in promoting nickel-cadmium batteries in substation applications. It has marketed its product very heavily on the basis of superior performance in high-temperature
This effect is often confused with the more-well-known memory effect, which is actually very rarely found in practice, and virtually never in the substation application. 41 J. A. McDowall, Substation Battery Options: Present and Future, in IEEE Power Engineering Review, November 2000.
40
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climates. Saft has also been intimately involved in the development of separate battery sizing protocols for lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries. The nickel-cadmium protocol allows a substation design engineer to ignore the one-minute rating for momentary loads when using nickel-cadmium batteries, taking advantage of the fact that nickel-cadmium batteries are not limited by coup de fouet. This allows the substation load requirement to be met by a battery with a smaller ampere-hour rating. Let us now look at a life-cycle cost analysis of the nickel-cadmium batteries, using the standard profile discussed in the previous chapter. As mentioned earlier, the 85-Ah battery is somewhat smaller than the equivalent lead-acid battery, but costs about 30% more than the baseline leadacid battery and is somewhat more expensive to install. The disposal costs are also greater because of the cadmium in the cells. Maintenance intervals are about as common as those for lead-acid batteries, but operations take longer because of the larger number of cells. The results of the calculation are given in Table 4-4.
Table 4-4 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Nickel-Cadmium Battery in Substation Battery Application
Vented Nickel-Cadmium Battery
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $9,500.00 $2,000.00 Notes $9000 for battery, $500 for rack 40 Man-hours
$1,000.00 $2,000.00 $40,613.00
As can be seen, the nickel-cadmium option is somewhat more expensive than the lead-acid equivalent. A large part of this additional cost comes in the form of maintenance. Overall the vented nickel-cadmium battery is a good candidate for substation applications where space is limited and where temperature varies outside the acceptable performance range for lead-acid batteries. Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are similar to nickel-cadmium batteries in many ways. They use a nickel oxyhydroxide electrode and have a float voltage of about 1.4 V. The negative electrode of a NiMH battery, however, is hydrogen, which is stored in a special metal alloy hydride. The use of hydrogen means that NiMH batteries must be sealed.
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The main advantages of NiMH batteries over lead-acid and nickel-cadmium products are superior cycle life and greater energy density. These advantages come at a significant cost premium over competing products, but have already led to small NiMH batteries being widely accepted in premium portable electronics products such as cellular phones, camcorders, and laptop computers. However, these advantages have not been proven for float applications such as the substation backup system. NiMH batteries also have advantages in applications requiring larger batteries. For instance, large NiMH batteries have been developed for the electric vehicle market, where optimal size and weight are crucial and high cycle life is highly desirable. In stationary markets, where the benefits from higher energy density are not as great, the better cycle life still makes NiMH attractive in cycling applications. In float applications such as substation backup power, however, these advantages bring little benefit and are unlikely to outweigh the significantly higher cost. There are several manufacturers of NiMH batteries that are examining the stationary market. Cobasys (formerly Texaco Ovonics) is an important developer of NiMH products for a variety of applications. The company is a joint venture between Chevron Texaco and Energy Conversion Devices of Troy, Michigan, the original developer of the NiMH technology. Cobasys technology was developed during extensive work on NiMH batteries for electric vehicle applications. The technology is now being applied in other applications, including UPS and switchgear batteries. Cobasys has released a product called the NiGuard, a modular NiMH battery system that can be mounted in standard 19-inch (48-cm) or 23-inch (58-cm) racks (see Figure 4-2). In addition to batteries, the system incorporates a charge control system that limits the charge delivered by an external charger to ensure proper charging of the NiGuard batteries. The NiGuard is built into 24- and 48-Vdc boxes; a 125-Vdc model can be built with the use of appropriate number of boxes in series. Cobasys has shown significant interest in the switchgear battery application, commissioning an accelerated life test on a NiGuard unit from laboratories at Southern California Edison in 2003 and 2004. The testing was performed at elevated temperature with loads simulating switchgear operations, to fully simulate the conditions expected in a substation control house. The testing showed that a NiGuard system could be expected to meet or exceed its life expectancy of 1012 years in a switchgear application.42
42
Conversation with Al Harville of Cobasys, August 11, 2005.
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Figure 4-2 Cobasys NiGuard Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery (Courtesy Cobasys)
Johnson Controls, a large manufacturer involved in the battery industry, also has a line of large NiMH batteries that are targeted toward hybrid electric vehicles but that may have applications in stationary applications, including substation battery power. Finally, ElectroEnergy, a NiMH battery manufacturer based in Danbury, Connecticut, has developed a bipolar NiMH battery technology for various applications, including military applications. In theory, bipolar batteries are capable of higher currents than regular cells and can be designed to easily achieve high voltages. ElectroEnergy is currently investigating the use of its technology in load-leveling applications. A life-cycle cost analysis for a NiMH battery shows several attractive features. In this analysis, an 85-Ah Cobasys NiGuard product is sized for the profile described in the Section 3. The battery requires little maintenancea filter must be changed every year, and the cooling fan is recommended for replacement every 4 years. The batteries have a life expectancy of 12 years in this application, and thus require replacement once during the 20-year life, leaving some residual value at the end of the period. The results for the life-cycle cost analysis are shown in Table 4-5.
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Alternative Substation Backup Power Technologies Table 4-5 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery (Cobasys NiGuard) in Substation Battery Application
Cobasys NiGuard Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery (Estimated Costs)
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Fan Replacement New Battery Installation of New Battery End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $15,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes Three $5,000 boxes 20 Man-hours
$300.00 $15,000.00 $1,000.00
Occurs every 4 years Occurs every 12 years Occurs every 12 years
$5,601.41 $1,000.00 $30,827.14
The life-cycle cost is somewhat higher than for a lead-acid battery, because of the shorter life and the relatively high cost of boxes at present. In this case, however, the analysis methodology may be conservative. Testing has shown that the NiGuard battery life will probably exceed 12 years, and may be as long as 19 years. Furthermore, the price of the boxes can be expected to fall significantly. This is especially true because nickel-metal hydride is one of the few technologies that are expected to be manufactured in scale in the coming years, because of the growing popularity of hybrid-electric vehicles (which largely use nickel-metal hydride batteries). In short, NiMH technology has many attractive qualities and is worth watching in the coming years. Zinc-Bromine Batteries Rechargeable zinc battery technology has long been considered attractive for energy storage systems because of its high energy density and the relatively low cost of zinc. Rechargeable zinc battery products have had limited success because of fundamental weaknesses of the technology, such as dendritic growth of the zinc electrode. Zinc-bromine flow battery technology addresses the recharging problems of zinc through the use of a flowing electrolyte, producing a relatively high-energy-density rechargeable product for a relatively low cost. In flow battery technology, there are two electrolytes, one each for the positive and negative electrodes, which are stored in separate reservoirs (see Figure 4-3). During operation, these electrolytes are pumped through cells, in which charge and discharge reactions take place. One or both active materials are in solution in the electrolyte at all times. In the case of zinc bromine, the zinc is solid when charged but dissolved when discharged, while the bromine is always dissolved in the aqueous electrolyte.
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Figure 4-3 Block Diagram of a Zinc-Bromine Flow Battery (Courtesy ZBB Energy Corporation)
Zinc-bromine batteries have traditionally been investigated for use in applications that call for high-capacity batteries, such as load shifting and long-term backup power. Several products have been developed for this application, including peak shaving products designed to operate at distribution substations, for the purpose of deferring upgrade of equipment at the substation. Zinc-bromine technology has not seriously been considered for use in substation backup power units until relatively recently. The best-known company developing zinc-bromine products is ZBB Energy Corporation, based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. ZBBs principal product is a 250-kW, 500-kWh zinc-bromine battery developed for load-shifting applications. While this product is somewhat oversized for substation applications, there has also been development work on a 25-kW, 50-kWh product that may be more appropriate for substations. It is also possible that a larger product could be installed at a substation for multiple usesfor example, a dual-use battery that performs both substation backup duty and peak shaving for transmission deferral. Premium Power Corporation, a relatively young company based in North Andover, Massachusetts, is targeting a product directly for the standby battery market. The company was incorporated in 2002, but purchased technology and intellectual property from Powercell, a nowdefunct company that developed zinc-bromine technology in the 1990s. Premium Power has developed two commercial products. The Zinc-Flow 45 (see Figure 4-4) is a 30-kW, 45-kWh modular system that delivers power at 24 Vdc, 448 Vdc, or 125 Vdc, and is being sold for communications and substation applications. The Zinc-Flow 45 is designed to deliver 5 kW for up to 9 hours, and has a design life of 30 years. The battery also contains an on-board computer with monitoring functions, allowing the battery to be remotely monitored. According to the company, several utilities are interested in trying the system in a substation application, though none had yet been installed as of July 2005.
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Figure 4-4 Zinc-Flow 45 Zinc-Bromine Battery (Courtesy Premium Power Corporation)
Premium Powers other product, the PowerBlock 150, is a larger unit designed for energy management. Sized to deliver 150 kWh at powers up to 100 kW, the PowerBlock 150 is intended for use in large parallel systems in UPS applications and other utility applications such as renewable energy support. Performing a life-cycle cost estimate on a product that has not been fully tested is a questionable enterprise. Nonetheless, we examine such an estimate here as an exploration of the potential that this technology has for future use in this application. Here, we examine the use of a Zinc-Flow 45 product in the evaluation substation described in Section 3. Based on information from the vendor, the Zinc-Flow 45 costs about $15,000 and has an installation and startup cost of about $3,000. The battery has a design life of 30 years; we use 25 years here for conservatism. Annual maintenance consists of checking the pH of the electrolyte and adding electrolyte as needed; a pump replacement is also required every 4 years or so. Table 4-6 summarizes the life-cycle cost analysis on the basis of this information.
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Alternative Substation Backup Power Technologies Table 4-6 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Zinc-Bromine Battery (Premium Power Zinc-Flow 45) in a Substation Battery Application
Life-Cycle Cost Calculation Premium Power Corporation Zinc-Flow 45
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Pump Replacement End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $14,995.00 $3,000.00 Notes Estimate (present list price) $2000 for initial startup, plus 20 hours installation
$300.00
Replacement required once every 4 years
$3,503.63 $2,000.00 $23,325.69
Assumed to have 25 years life
As can be seen, the life-cycle cost for a Zinc-Flow 45 is comparable to that of a lead-acid battery in this application. The Zinc-Flow 45 is relatively new and untested, however, and real cost numbers are quite uncertain. The zinc-bromine products offered today are relatively immature, and must be tested thoroughly before they are used in a substation application. Nevertheless, zinc-bromine technology does have some promise as an alternative to lead-acid substation batteries in the long term. Vanadium Redox Batteries Vanadium redox flow batteries store energy in two electrolytes that are pumped from separate storage tanks across proton exchange membranes in the cell stacks, producing a dc current. The battery acquired its name from the fact that both electrolytes contain vanadium, one of the few elements that have a number of stable valence states. This property makes it possible to use vanadium as both a positive and a negative electrode in the same battery. The reaction is reversible, so that the battery can be charged and discharged repeatedly with high efficiency.43 Vanadium redox batteries have traditionally been suggested in relatively large applications, but one company, VRB Power Systems of Vancouver, British Columbia, is proposing a smaller vanadium redox system suitable for substation applications. The 5-kW VRB-ESS is a small flow battery designed to provide long life and maintenance-free operation in a standby power application. It is designed to deliver up 5 kW of continuous power for 4 hours, but can provide current to smaller loads for a longer period of time. It also has the capability to provide larger currents for short periods of time. Most versions are designed to operate at 48 Vdc for a telecommunications application, but 125-Vdc systems for substation applications are also being
More information about the vanadium redox technology can be found in VRB Energy Storage for Voltage Stabilization (EPRI, Palo Alto, CA: 2005, 1008434).
43
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developed. The company is working with at least two utilities in field-testing the product at actual substations. Let us consider the cost of the 5-kW VRB-ESS from a life-cycle standpoint. The product is wellsized for the evaluation duty cycle described above; a substation unit is expected to cost around $17,000. Life test data are limited, but the design life of the product is believed to exceed 10 years. If substantial degradation is measured after 10 years, a stack replacement is required. Other maintenance requirements are minimal: a motor replacement is required every 5 years. (Eventually, even this maintenance requirement may be reduced through the use of dc brushless motors.) An on-board state-of-health monitor allows remote assessment of the battery. As with other flow batteries, the state-of-charge of the battery can be determined from electrolyte measurements, and all cells use the same electrolyte; capacity tests are therefore unnecessary. The results of a life-cycle analysis are shown in Table 4-7.
Table 4-7 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vanadium Redox Battery (VRB Power Systems 5-kW VRB ESS) in a Substation Battery Application
Life-Cycle Cost Calculation VRB Power Systems 5-kW VRB ESS
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Motor Replacement Stack Replacement End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $17,000.00 $1,000.00 Notes Company estimate 4 man-hours plus 16 man-hours training
$1,000.00 $9,600.00
Once in 5 years Once in 10 years
$1,000.00 $2,000.00 $30,298.08
The VRB ESS compares fairly well with lead-acid batteries, because of its minimal maintenance requirements. If the initial price were lower and a life of twenty years could be shown, the technology would probably be cheaper than lead-acid batteries on a life-cycle basis. The VRB battery has some potential in this application in the future. Regenerative Zinc-Air Batteries Zinc-air batteries are a high-energy-density technology commonly used as a nonrechargeable battery in applications where a small amount of power is required for a long period of time, such as hearing aids. Zinc, an electrochemical reagent with high specific energy in battery applications, is paired with oxygen from the air to produce an electrochemical cell. The use of atmospheric oxygen as an electrode material allows a much smaller, lighter battery. The drawback is that the power density of zinc-air batteries is relatively low. 4-19
In recent years, rechargeable zinc-air systems have been proposed for larger-scale high-energydensity applications. With slight modifications, rechargeable zinc-air also has considerable potential in stationary applications. Many proposals for stationary applications use a slurry-like active material that is pumped past a current collecting electrode, similar in principal to a flow battery. A product based on this principal was being developed by Metallic Power, a company based in Carlsbad, California. Unfortunately, Metallic Power went out of business in 2004, leaving the zinc-air field empty of serious contenders. The main disadvantages of the zinc-air system in a substation application are relatively poor power capability and its lack of maturity. Zinc-air rechargeable systems have been proposed numerous times but have made little progress toward commercialization. Because of the lack of appropriate products and lack of technical progress, the zinc-air battery cannot be considered a serious candidate for utility substation applications at present. Lithium Ion Batteries Lithium ion batteries are familiar to many users because of their wide use in high-end portable electronic products such as cell phones and laptop computers. The dominant market position of this battery chemistry in these applications is surprising for a technology barely twenty years old, especially for one bearing the baggage associated with lithium materials. The acceptance of lithium ion in consumer goods is due entirely to the fact that its high energy density allows the storage of a significant amount of energy in a very compact package. Lithium batteries have always been an attractive goal for battery developers. Lithium has an extremely high standard potential and is one of the lightest elements known, and has a very low weight per electrochemical equivalent. These properties mean that, in theory, lithium can be used to produce batteries of very high energy and power density. Historically, however, lithium batteries have been quite difficult to develop. The greatest obstacle has been safety. Lithium is highly reactive, and reacts particularly violently with water. This means that rechargeable lithium batteries can not use aqueous electrolytes, and should be sealed to the environment to prevent water from entering the cell. Lithium ion batteries address the safety issue by using a lithium intercalation compound rather than metallic lithium for the negative electrode. This improves the safety considerably, provided the cell is operated within a certain voltage range. Advancements in electronics technology have allowed charge control circuitry to be added to the battery itself, to help ensure that every cell does, indeed, operate within the specified range. While these characteristics mean that lithium ion cells are safer than conventional lithium batteries, they are still unsafe when exposed to fire and abuse. It is possible that lithium ion would never have become widely accepted had it not been for the urgent need for a high-voltage, high-energy-density power source for portable electronics.
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The advantages of the lithium ion technology go beyond its high cell voltage and high specific energy and energy density. Lithium ion batteries operate in a broad range of temperatures, from very cold to very hot. They charge rapidly, and exhibit good performance at high discharge currents. They show much better cycle life than most other technologies, and with a very low self-discharge rate, they do not require float charging. Perhaps most important from a substation battery perspective, lithium ion batteries are relatively low maintenance, requiring no electrolyte addition, and are very easy to monitor for health and state-of-charge. The electronics required for charging and maintaining the batteries also serve as monitors for battery status. Lithium ion batteries are extremely sensitive to overcharge, and generally do not draw much float charge current. The standby losses comprise the small float current and the power used by the charging electronics. Lithium ion cells themselves have a linear discharge voltage curve, so that remaining capacity can be easily gauged from the voltage. The linear discharge curve does have a disadvantage, however, in that the voltage drops significantly over the discharge time of the battery. For most lithium ion batteries, the end-of-discharge voltage is 75% of the beginning voltagemeaning that a battery that starts at 125 Vdc would end discharge at 94 Vdc. Any substation backup power system design using this technology must examine the lowest voltage that can be tolerated by equipment on the substation. The cost of lithium ion is another potential pitfall in a substation application. While the raw materials for lithium ion cells are not very expensive, the cost of manufacturing is fairly high. This makes lithium ion one of the more expensive rechargeable technologies in the present day. Lithium ion cells can cost 5 to 10 times as much as lead-acid cells on a watt-hour basis. Vendors are working hard to bring that cost down, however, and many are projecting costs closer to 2 to 4 times as much as lead-acid cells, or even matching the cost of lead-acid batteries. While there are a number of vendors of lithium ion technology, two companies have shown a significant commitment to stationary applications. One is Saft Batteries, which has developed large lithium ion cells for a number of applications. Safts stationary product is the VL series of high-energy lithium ion batteries. The VL module is composed of six lithium ion cells in one of two configurations: 6 cells in series to produce 24 Vdc, or 3 cells in series in 2 parallel strings to produce 12 Vdc. The other lithium ion company that is producing stationary products is Valence Technologies, based in Austin, Texas. Valence has a somewhat different version of lithium ion technology using phosphate-based electrodes, which it brands with the name Saphion. According to Valence, its battery technology is safer than conventional lithium-ion technologies and is more appropriate for use in stationary applications. Valences product, the K Charge Power System, is designed for 48-Vdc telecommunications applications, but can be modified for substation applications. Valence lithium ion batteries were tested by American Electric Power (AEP), in cooperation with Sandia National Laboratories and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), for substation applications in 2004 and 2005. Although AEP continues to believe that lithium ion technology 4-21
has significant potential for substation applications in the future, the company has chosen to remain with lead-acid batteries for the time being.44 A life-cycle cost analysis can be performed for a lithium ion substation battery. According to several industry sources, the target cost for lithium ion batteries in quantity is between $0.40 and $1.00 per watt-hourbetween 2 and 6 times the cost of lead-acid batteries.45,46,47,48 In other words, a 150-Ah, 125-V lithium ion battery would cost somewhere around $18,000 in quantity (assuming that targets are met). The superior current capability of the lithium ion cell allows the use of a smaller battery for the same duty cycle. A 50-Ah battery would be sufficient for our evaluation duty cycle. In quantity, such a battery would cost around $7,500. Maintenance operations are expected to be much less expensive than those for lead-acid batteries, in part because of the built-in monitoring system. A monthly inspection, in addition to regular voltage monitoring, is thought to be sufficient. The battery is thought to last at least 10 years, although it may last longer.49 The life-cycle cost is summarized in Table 4-8.
Table 4-8 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Lithium Ion Battery in Substation Battery Application
Lithium Ion Battery
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs New Battery New Battery Installation Old Battery Disposal End-of-Life Value Residual Value at End-of-Life Disposal Costs Life-Cycle Cost in Constant 2005 Dollars Cost $7,500.00 $1,000.00 Notes Approximated based on industry estimates 20 Man-hours
$7,500.00 $1,000.00 $1,000.00
Replacement after 10 years
$ $1,000.00 $20,877.93
Note that at this cost, the lithium ion battery is slightly cheaper on a life-cycle basis than the lead-acid baseline. This low cost has not yet been actualized, however, and lithium ion cannot be considered a viable replacement for lead-acid batteries until the technology is realized and tested and these projected costs actually met. Lithium ion continues to be an intriguing technology, however, and one to watch in the future, particularly as the price comes down as a result of innovations in the automobile industry.
44 45
Conversation with Ali Nourai of AEP, August 11, 2005. Conversation with Thomas Dougherty of Johnson Controls, August 28, 2003. 46 Conversation with Kurt Kelty of Panasonic, February 3, 2005. 47 Conversation with Pankaj Dinghra of EnerDel, February 23, 2005. 48 Conversation with John Nguyen of Valence Technologies, May 4, 2005. 49 Ibid.
4-22
Lithium Metal Polymer Lithium metal polymer batteries are a unique technology developed by Avestor, a company based in Boucherville, Quebec. Avestors batteries differ from lithium ion batteries in that the negative electrode is pure lithium metal rather than an intercalation compound. The positive electrode is an intercalation compound, and the electrolyte is a solid polymer. While the technology was originally developed for electric vehicles, it has found its first application in the stationary market as backup batteries for telecommunications applications. Lithium metal polymer batteries have several characteristics that make them attractive for substation applications. They have about twice the energy density (Wh/L) and four to five times the specific energy (Wh/kg) of lead-acid batteries. They operate at the relatively high temperature of 40C, meaning that they are quite survivable in higher-temperature environments. They have relatively low self-discharge currents and good service life. There are a few weaknesses to the lithium metal polymer technology, which Avestor has attempted to address in its product design. The batteries do not operate well at low temperatures, so heaters are incorporated into the product design to maintain an elevated temperature. Careful electronic monitoring of battery parameters must be used to prevent overcharging and undercharging; this is accomplished by an on-board control system. Avestors current product, the SE 48S63, is designed for telecommunications applications. It is rated for 48 Vdc, with a rated capacity of 63 Ah and a maximum continuous discharge current of 18 A. The battery is ideal for backup power applications requiring a relatively small current for long durations, but may have difficulty with short bursts of power such as those required for switchgear operation. SE 48S63 batteries cannot be stacked in series to achieve higher voltages; a higher voltage product would be required for systems with a 125-V bus. The company also believes that products capable of high-current bursts are possible. At present, the company has chosen to concentrate on the telecommunications market, although future involvement in the substation battery area may be possible. Ultracapacitors Ultracapacitors, also known as supercapacitors, electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC), and electrochemical capacitors, are high-power devices that operate on the basis of the electric double-layer principle. When a charge is applied to a chemically inert but electrically conductive solid electrode immersed in a liquid electrolyte, oppositely charged ions from the electrolyte approach and cling to the electrode surface, forming a layer of charged ions. The two layers of charge, one in the electrode and the other in the electrolyte, form what is called the electric double-layer. The double-layer can be considered a capacitor, since there is no transfer of charge across the interface between electrode and electrolyte.
4-23
The capacitance of a capacitor is proportional to the area of the charged surfaces, and inversely proportional to the distance between them:
A d
Eq. 4-1
The distance between the layers in an electric double-layer is very small, and is typically measured in angstroms (1 angstrom = 10-10 meters). In addition, materials with very high surface areas, such as activated carbon, can be used as electrodes; these materials often have hundreds of square meters of surface area per gram of material. The net effect is a capacitor of very high capacitance, on the order of hundreds or thousands of farads. At a glance, ultracapacitors resemble batteries, but there are some significant differences. Like batteries, ultracapacitor cells operate at relatively low voltages, typically between 1.0 and 3.0 volts. For this reason, ultracapacitors must be stacked in series to achieve usable voltages. This often involves some sort of leveling circuitry to ensure that individual capacitors are not overcharged or underchargeda potentially dangerous situation. Unlike most batteries, however, ultracapacitors have the linear discharge voltage curve characteristic of capacitors. The energy stored in an ultracapacitor is proportional to the voltage squared:
E = 1 CV 2 2
Eq. 4-2
The sloping voltage curve means that the end voltage for an ultracapacitor is substantially lower than the beginning voltage. If the ultracapacitor is directly connected to a dc bus, only part of the energy in the ultracapacitor can be used, since the ending voltage must be greater than the lowvoltage cutoff for the equipment on the bus. In these cases, the energy available is calculated using a different equation: E = 1 C (Vi V f ) 2
2 2
Eq. 4-3
For a 125-V nominal system, with a high voltage of 135 V and a low-voltage cutoff of 90 V, the energy available between the high and low voltage is only about 55% of the total energy in the capacitor. In contrast, a much larger proportion of the energy in a battery is available for use by the substation, because the voltage is relatively flat across the discharge. Alternatively, a dc-dc converter may be used between the ultracapacitor and the dc bus. This case would allow a larger fraction of the energy to be used, although the dc-dc bus would still not allow the use of all the energy storage in the ultracapacitor. Ultracapacitors typically have much higher power densities (in W/kg or W/L) than batteries, but lower energy density. This means that ultracapacitors are useful for applications in which a large amount of power is needed for short periods of time, on the order of a few seconds. They are not useful where the power is required for extended periods of time. 4-24
Ultracapacitors also have much better cycle lives than batteries. Ultracapacitors are commonly specified with hundreds of thousands of cycles. But during float operation, such as that seen in a substation, their service lives are roughly equal (and perhaps slightly inferior) to those of batteries. For these reasons, ultracapacitors are probably not appropriate for substations when used alone. They can be used, however, to augment other energy storage technologies, particularly technologies that provide long operating duration but have trouble with the peak power requirements arising from switchgear operation. Ultracapacitors are a relatively immature technology, with products available only for about the last 30 years, and large-scale products suitable for utility-scale energy storage available only for the last 10 years or so. The available products are commonly divided characterized by electrolyte type (organic or aqueous) and electrode configuration (symmetric and asymmetric). Perhaps the best-known manufacturer of ultracapacitors is Maxwell Technologies, based in San Diego, California. Maxwell produces ultracapacitor products using activated carbon electrodes in an organic electrolyte, and has designed systems for power quality applications as well as transportation and portable electronics applications (see Figure 4-5).
Figure 4-5 Maxwell Ultracapacitor Module
Another ultracapacitor company that manufactures for the power industry is JSC ESMA, based in Moscow, Russia. ESMA produces what is called an asymmetric ultracapacitoran ultracapacitor in which one electrode is a carbon electric double-layer electrode, and the other is a battery electrode (see Figure 4-6). This arrangement offers several advantages, including higher theoretical energy density and greater tolerance to overcharging and undercharging. 4-25
Figure 4-6 ESMA Ultracapacitor Module
Both ESMA and Maxwell sell multicell modules with integrated leveling systems for use in power quality and other utility applications. These modules are much more convenient than individual cells when it comes to developing a complete system. More recently, other ultracapacitor vendors, including EPCOS, NESS, and Power Systems Corporation, have become involved in developing large-scale ultracapacitor modules. Ultracapacitors are an interesting prospect for hybrid substations because of the high burst of power available in all types. Also, potential for higher energy densities make them worth watching. However, lack of energy capacity and high cost make them impractical as a standalone technology in a substation application for the foreseeable future. Flywheels Flywheels are mechanical energy storage devices that store energy in the angular momentum of a rotating mass. In principle, flywheels have several advantages over lead-acid batteries, including longer cycle life, fewer maintenance requirements, high cycling efficiency, short recharge time, and independence of power and energy ratings. Many of these favorable characteristics are not directly relevant to a substation application, however. The reduced cost of maintenance is most useful here, and even this number can vary widely with the product and how it is installed. For this reason, few investigators have examined flywheels in a substation backup power application. Nonetheless, it is useful to look at this technology, particularly at one product that has some potential here. The spinning mass in a flywheel system is referred to as the rotor. When power is applied toward spinning the rotor, the work done is stored as kinetic energy: E = 1 I 2 2
Eq. 4-4
4-26
In Equation 4-4, E is the kinetic energy, I is the moment of inertia (with units of mass-distance2), and is the rotational velocity (with units of radians/time). The moment of inertia is a function of the mass and geometry of the spinning object. For a solid disc rotating about its axis, the moment of inertia can be defined by: I = 1 Mr 2 2
Eq. 4-5
where M is the mass of the wheel and r is the radius. The energy can therefore be described by:
E = 1 Mr 2 2 1 Mv 2 4 4
where r is approximate to v, the speed of the wheel at the rim.
Eq. 4-6
There are two basic approaches to flywheel design. In one, a relatively heavy rotor is spun at relatively slow speeds. Most commonly, these low-speed flywheels use steel rotors spinning at between 2000 and 10,000 rpm. These flywheels cannot be spun faster as they are limited by the mechanical strength of the steel. In the other design approach, a lighter, stronger rotor is spun at much higher speeds. Since the energy stored is directly proportional to the mass, but proportional to the square of the velocity, these high-speed flywheels tend to have much higher energy densities than low-speed flywheels. Some unconventional engineering solutions are required to make high-rate flywheels practical: high-strength, low-mass material; low-friction bearings; vacuum enclosures that minimize air resistance; and complex power electronics to condition input and output power. These exotic requirements make the price of high-speed flywheels somewhat higher than the price of lowspeed products. In contrast to the ratings for most other forms of energy storage, the energy and power ratings for a flywheel system are independent. The energy rating depends on the size and mass of the flywheel and its rotation rate; the power rating depends on the size of the power electronics package on the output. This means that flywheel products can be further divided into two types by application: flywheel systems optimized for high power output, and those optimized for energy density. Commercially available flywheels optimized for power output typically provide between 50 and 250 kW dc for between 10 and 60 seconds. These flywheels are usually used in uninterruptible power supply systems for critical equipment in industry, where most interruptions are relatively short. They are often coupled with longer-duration backup power sources such as diesel generators. High-power flywheels are generally not appropriate for substation backup applications. Flywheels optimized for energy density are more appropriate in substation battery designs. These flywheels provide between 1 and 10 kW for several hours. The best-known product in this range is the Smart Energy 6-kWh flywheel produced by Beacon Power of Wilmington, Massachusetts (see Figure 4-7). Originally designed for the telecommunications market, this product is rated to provide 2 kW dc for up to 3 hours at a factory-set voltage of 36 Vdc, 48 Vdc, or 96 Vdc. 4-27
Figure 4-7 Beacon Power High-Energy Flywheel (Courtesy Beacon Power)
Of the existing flywheel products on the market, the Smart Energy product comes closest to fulfilling the requirements for a substation backup power source. This product may be able to meet the requirements of some smaller substations, although it may have trouble delivering the current during peak discharges. These problems can be addressed by using multiple flywheels, but the system must be vastly oversized to meet the requirement. Such a path would result in prohibitively high costs. The principal advantage of a flywheel product in a substation application would be reduced maintenance. While flywheels require some maintenanceusually replacement of the bearings on a 2- to 3-year intervalit is significantly less than that required by lead-acid batteries. Flywheels do not appear to be a very compelling technology in a substation application. Flywheels shine where their advantagesparticularly their excellent cycle lifeoffset their lack of modularity and relative initial expense. The substation battery application is not a strong fit for the technology. The problem of matching the power and energy requirements of a typical substation load with available sizes of flywheels is significant. Also, the cost and reliability of high-energy, long-duration flywheels is not well proven, while the high cycle life advantage of flywheels is lost in the substation float application. Fuel Cells Fuel cell technology is at once very old and very new. The first fuel cells were developed in the 1830s, but the technology was not practical until the 1950s, and then only in special applications such as power for manned spacecraft. Fuel cell products have been investigated for a number of other applications, including stationary power and transportation. While a number of demonstration projects have been successfully developed, widespread application has been elusive, largely because of the high cost and relatively short life of fuel cell components.
4-28
An enormous amount of research has been applied to fuel cells in the last 10 years, with the result that fuel cells are now approaching commercial viability. Fuel cells will probably never fully replace existing methods of power generation and storage, but they are likely to have niche applications in a number of places in the market. Fuel cells are electrochemical systems like batteries, with one important difference. The reacting materials in a battery are present in limited quantity. These reactants are gradually depleted during discharge, and the battery eventually stops providing power and must be recharged. In contrast, fuel cells are continually supplied with the reacting materials, and in principle can provide power indefinitely. There are several types of fuel cells, including phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, among others. Most fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen as the electrochemical reactants. Many fuel cell products incorporate a reformer, which generates hydrogen from more conventional fuels such as natural gas. There are a few fuel cells that operate directly on other fuels, such as methanol. Phosphoric acid fuel cells are probably the farthest toward commercialization, with products available for several years from United Technologies. These products are relatively large, providing power in the 200-kW range, and operate at the relatively high temperature of 150C to 200C. As such, they are best operated as commercial backup power units where combined heat and power is valuable. PEM fuel cells are more appropriate for a substation backup power application. These products acquire their name from the thin polymeric membrane used as the electrolyte in the system. PEM fuel cells operate roughly at room temperature, and can be started and stopped relatively quickly. They operate only on pure hydrogen, but many products incorporate a reformer. The advantage for fuel cells in a substation application is that they can provide backup power indefinitely, as long as fuel is provided to them. The hydrogen fuel can be stored in pressurized tanks on the substation site, and additional backup time can be easily acquired by adding more hydrogen tanks, or by replacing tanks as they are depleted. Alternatively, hydrogen can be generated from a more readily available fuel such as natural gas, which can be fed to a reformer in a continuous stream. In principle, fuel cell products have very long service lives. They have few moving parts and relatively simple construction. The performance of fuel cells declines gradually over their operating lives, as the materials in the electrodes and electrolyte degrade. The degradation is proportional to the hours of operation. In substation battery applications, where a fuel cell would be off for the majority of the time, it might be expected to last longer. Until more data are available, a five-year life is probably not an unreasonable estimate of service life. Fuel cells do not provide power immediately on turning on, and so require some type of bridging power to power the loads while the fuel cell is starting up. In addition, fuel cells are generally slow at following changes in load, since the fuel flow rate must change to account for the change in the rate of use of reactants. Similarly, fuel cells often have trouble servicing momentary peak 4-29
loads such as switching operations. For all these reasons, most fuel cell systems incorporate some form of energy storage for bridging power. This energy storage is usually a lead-acid battery, although ultracapacitors have also been investigated. Several PEM fuel cell manufacturers have expressed interest in the substation market. ReliOn (formerly Avista Labs) of Spokane, Washington, produces a fuel cell system called the Independence 1000 for a variety of stationary backup applications in telecommunications and utility markets (see Figure 4-8). The Independence 1000 is a PEM fuel cell that operates on industrial-grade hydrogen. It delivers up to 1 kW at 48 Vdc for as long as hydrogen is supplied to the system. Hydrogen is stored in high-pressure steel bottles; a 66-inch (168-cm) bottle contains about 261 cubic feet (7 cubic meters) of hydrogen and will allow the fuel cell to operate for about 8 hours. The Independence 1000 is typically sold with an enclosure that contains both the fuel cell and up to 6 hydrogen bottles. The fuel cell also incorporates a small battery to cover loads while the fuel cell starts up, and to cover brief loads exceeding the rating of the fuel cell.
Figure 4-8 ReliOn Independence 1000 (Courtesy ReliOn)
Plug Power, a developer of fuel cells based in Latham, New York, has also recently released a product appropriate for substation backup power. The GenCore is a fuel cell that operates on hydrogen, delivering up to 5 kW at 46 to 56 Vdc. As with the ReliOn system, the first focus of the technology is the telecommunications backup power market. PEM fuel cells appear to be a compelling technology for substation applications, but it is unlikely that they would work without some assistance from an energy storage technology capable of supporting momentary loads. For this reason, PEM fuel cell installations can be better thought of in terms of combination of technologies or hybrid systems. Substantial cost reductions and reliability improvements will be required before fuel cells can be seriously considered for substation applications.
4-30
Hybrid Alternatives While some of the alternatives to substation batteries described so far appear to be compelling by themselves, others seem to be missing critical capabilities that are necessary in this application. This does not mean, however, that these technologies do not have a place as an alternative; in many cases, a combination of these technologies is more compelling than any single alternative. Hybrid is a term used to describe products that incorporate more than one technology in an attempt to produce a system that can meet all the requirements of the application. For example, if a fuel cell is used in tandem with an ultracapacitor, the fuel cell can supply the low average power required over the 8-hour duty cycle, while the ultracapacitor can provide the occasional large currents required for switching operations. A hybrid approach can also be used to augment technologies to improve performance or cost. For example, a conventional lead-acid battery system can be replaced with a much smaller leadacid battery if an ultracapacitor is installed in parallel to cover the peak power requirements. While many hybrid systems are possible, relatively few are truly compelling in this application. The following sections describe some of the systems that seem to have potential in a substation backup power application. Internal Combustion Engine Generators with Energy Storage Internal combustion engine generators, combined with short-duration energy storage, are presently used as backup power in a few substation installations. These engines are generally operated on either propane or diesel, and produce ac power, which is then run through a rectifier for dc loads. Generators have the advantage of allowing continuous operation of the substation, as long as fuel is available. This can allow operation for several hours longer than batteries alone. In addition, the backup generator can supply ac loads without the use of an inverter. These advantages come with a number of drawbacks. The fuel must be stored on-site, and can require significant space, especially in the case of propane tanks. The fuel storage must be properly equipped for safety and handling, and fuel must be inspected on a regular basis and replaced in the event of contamination. Considerable maintenance is required for the internal combustion engine itself, and reliability for these machines is not very high. Because the generator is not continuously running, a small battery is required to power the load until the generator switches on, to provide cranking current to start the generator, and to provide power during peak loads such as circuit switching. The battery must be large enough to service the peak power loads of the substation and the cranking current for the generator, all while powering substation loads. This battery must be a stationary battery designed for float service. Conventional cranking batteries, which are not designed for continuous float operation and will quickly degrade under such conditions, are not appropriate in this application.
4-31
Alternatively, other energy storage devices, such as ultracapacitors, could be used in place of batteries. Ultracapacitors can easily provide cranking power for the generator and peak power while the generator is on. They can even provide power for other substation loads for a brief period of time while the generator is starting. Ultracapacitors will be able to do this for only a few seconds, however, unlike batteries, which could probably service the load for several minutes. This means that an ultracapacitor hybrid would allow only one or two tries for starting the diesel generator, a narrow margin for error. Generator-battery hybrids may be appropriate solutions in remote locations, and in highly critical substations with many ac loads where the generators ac capability becomes more important. Fuel Cells with Power Assist Fuel cell systems, as described above, can deliver dc power for long periods of time. In principle, they are more appropriate than internal combustion engine generators for this application, since they provide dc power directly and are intrinsically more reliable and maintenance free. They are also cleaner, quieter, and more fuel efficient than engine generators. While fuel cells do not require cranking current like generators do, they do require some energy storage for proper operation. Like engines, fuel cells take a little while to start upusually from 30 to 60 seconds for a fuel cell powered directly from hydrogen. Gas-powered fuel cells using a reformer may take a few hours to power up fully. Fuel cells also have trouble servicing current peaks such as those associated with switchgear. For these reasons, energy storage is usually incorporated with fuel cell systems. Most presentday systems use small VRLA batteries to provide power during peaks and during startup. Many fuel cell vendors are looking forward to replacing these batteries with ultracapacitors, largely because of ultracapacitors superior cycle life and greater tolerance to temperature extremes. In a substation application, a fuel cell would need to be matched with a battery capable of delivering switching power as well as power during startup. Since this battery would effectively be the same size as a conventional substation battery, the fuel cell would effectively act as a discharge extender, allowing the substation battery to provide power for a longer time. A lifecycle cost estimate for such a system is shown in Table 4-9. As can be seen, the fuel cell seems like a rather expensive means of buying additional discharge time.
4-32
Alternative Substation Backup Power Technologies Table 4-9 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Fuel Cell in a Substation Battery Application
Hybrid Vented Lead-Acid and Fuel Cell System
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Fuel Costs Hydrogen Replacement Costs Cost $14,500.00 $2,000.00 Notes $7500 for fuel cell, $6500 for battery, $500 for rack 40 Man-hours
$400/year $ -
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $46,547.07
Fuel cell/ultracapacitor hybrids are more interesting, because each technology has the potential to be both more reliable and cheaper from a life-cycle standpoint than lead-acid batteries. At present, however, both technologies are early-stage, and each is more expensive and less reliable than batteries. The results of a life-cycle cost analysis are given in Table 4-10.
Table 4-10 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Ultracapacitor with Fuel Cell in a Substation Battery Application
Life-Cycle Cost Calculation Ultracapacitor and Fuel Cell System
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Fuel Costs Hydrogen Replacement Costs Cost $18,000.00 $2,000.00 Notes $7500 for fuel cell, $10,500 for three 42-V ultracapacitor modules 40 Man-hours
$400/year $ -
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $30,414.23
As expected, the combination is quite expensive, although the savings in maintenance costs make it cheaper than a fuel cell/lead-acid battery hybrid. Nevertheless, this cost estimate ignores the lack of experience with these technologies, and initial systems should be well tested before 4-33
deployment. Rapid progress is being made by each of these technologies, and it remains to be seen whether they meet their potential to be backup systems of the future. Vented Lead-Acid Batteries and Ultracapacitors Perhaps the most intriguing hybrid combination is conventional vented lead-acid batteries with ultracapacitors. As mentioned above, vented lead-acid batteries must be vastly oversized from a capacity standpoint to properly service momentary loads on the dc bus. As an alternative, a more reasonably sized battery can be placed in parallel with an ultracapacitor. The battery would service the long-term dc loads, while the ultracapacitor would cover the momentary loads. The ultracapacitor must be sized to meet the real requirements of the momentary load without falling below the battery voltage; this means that at least 10 to 13 seconds of capacity above the minimum voltage is required. Let us consider a hybrid system with a vented lead-acid battery assisted by an ultracapacitor in our evaluation substation system. The inclusion of the ultracapacitor allows the use of a significantly smaller battery; a 65-Ah battery is sufficient for this system. At the same time, the 125-Vdc ultracapacitor component is relatively expensive. This hybrid system also offers little in the way of relief for maintenance or installation. The life-cycle cost analysis is shown in Table 4-11.
Table 4-11 Life-Cycle Cost Calculation for Lead-Acid Battery with Ultracapacitor in a Substation Battery Application
Life-Cycle Cost Calculation Hybrid Vented Lead-Acid Battery and Ultracapacitor System
All Values in Constant 2005 Dollars Initial Capital Investment Installation Costs Operations and Maintenance Costs Description Maintenance Interval Average Annual Cost Replacement Costs Cost $14,000.00 $2,000.00 Notes $3000 for battery, $500 for rack, $10,500 for three 42-V ultracapacitor modules 40 Man-hours
$1,000.00 $1,000.00 $35,632.84
Any cost advantage conferred by the smaller lead-acid battery is easily exceeded by the expense of the ultracapacitors. In other words, it is cheaper to oversize the lead-acid batteries than to add an ultracapacitor to the system. The ultracapacitor probably does not improve the reliability of the system, either. The ultracapacitor technology will have to mature significantly and become much cheaper before it is compelling as a hybrid technology with lead-acid batteries.
4-34
Conclusions
The life-cycle cost analysis figures for the various options considered here are summarized in Table 4-12, along with the net present values in comparison to a baseline vented lead-acid battery.
Table 4-12 Net Present Value Analysis Summary for Alternatives to Lead-Acid Substation Batteries
Net Present Value Analysis Summary for Alternatives to Lead-Acid Substation Batteries Description Baseline: Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Most Common Maintenance Schedule Cost Net Present Value Reliability Maintenance
$23,169.60
$ -
Average
Average
Option 1:
Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) Battery
$30,470.81
$(7,301.22)
Poorer than average
Less than Average
Option 2:
Nickel-Cadmium Battery
$40,613.00
$(17,443.40)
Slightly better than average
More than Average
Option 3:
NiMH Battery (Cobasys NiGuard)
$30,827.14
$(7,657.54)
Unknown
Much less than Average
Option 4:
Zinc-Bromine Flow Battery (Premium Power Zinc-Flow 45)
$23,325.69
$(156.09)
Unknown
Option 5:
Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRB Power Systems 5-kW VRB-ESS)
$30,298.08
$(7,128.48)
Unknown
Option 6:
Lithium Ion Battery (Valence K-Charge)
$20,877.93
$2,291.66
Unknown
Option 7:
Hybrid: Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Fuel Cell
$46,547.07
$(23,377.47)
Unknown
More than Average
Option 8:
Hybrid: Ultracapacitor with Fuel Cell
$30,414.23
$(7,244.63)
Unknown
Less than Average
Option 9:
Hybrid: Vented Lead-Acid Battery with Ultracapacitor
$35,632.84
$(12,463.24)
Unknown
More than Average
Almost all of the options here have much better maintenance figures than vented lead-acid batteries, but only onethe Valence lithium ion batteryactually has a positive net present value. There are two principal reasons that most technologies do not quite reach the cost point of leadacid batteries. The first is that initial capital costs are still somewhat higher for these batteries than for lead-acid batteries. The exception is the lithium ion battery, for which the projected cost is much lower than the others, and indeed close to the cost for an equivalent lead-acid battery. If prices fall for the other technologies, their life-cycle costs will decrease significantly. The other reason that costs of alternatives do not match those of lead-acid batteries is because of replacement costs for hardware with shorter than 20 years of life. These products are relatively new, and few manufacturers are willing to guarantee 20 years of life without some experience in 4-35
the field. The long life quoted by Premium Power is the main reason that its zinc-bromine flow battery comes close to matching the life-cycle cost for vented lead-acid. It is possible that more field experience will give other manufacturers the confidence to make such guarantees, in which case life-cycle costs will improve significantly. In addition to these issues, there are, of course, the basic assumptions used as the bases of these assessments. If the labor rate is greater than $50/hour, or if the substation is somewhat bigger or smaller, the results may be somewhat different, but the general relation in prices will be about the same. Despite these issues, the costs for alternatives come tantalizingly close to those of the existing system. In fact, many of these alternatives are cheaper than a lead-acid battery as it should be operatedthat is, with the full course of IEEE-recommended testing and maintenance. This suggests that some experience with these batteries in the real world may allow the development of shortcuts and cost savings that will bring their costs down further. It should be noted that the life-cycle analysis methodology does not distinguish between the difference between costs in maintenance and costs in capital. Many utilities find that they are much more willing to spend money on capital than on maintenance. In this case, the alternatives may be attractive regardless of the initial costs. From a reliability standpoint, almost all new technologies have unknown reliability in this application, although some projections can be made based on failure modes, and some manufacturers have even proposed accelerated tests to measure life, degradation, and failure modes, as well as field tests to find problems related to the substation environment. Reliability concerns can be somewhat mitigated through these measures, but the real test will come only with wide-scale deployment of a technology.
4-36
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The case for alternative technologies to lead-acid substation batteries is a difficult one to make at present. To make the case, a technology must succeed in one of the four criteria set forward so far: improved reliability, longer life, improved performance (in some qualitative way), or equivalent performance with reduced life-cycle cost. While lead-acid batteries were not originally chosen for excelling at these criteria, the overall cost and performance of flooded leadacid have proved to be difficult to beat. Vented lead-acid batteries can be very effective and reliable in a substation battery when sized properly and maintained appropriately. They bring the additional advantage of having an enormous library of problem identification and resolution, unmatched in other technologies. Replacing the technology with something new and untested would not make sense given the status of presently available alternatives. Even as mature a technology as nickel-cadmium has run into problems because of the lack of experience with it in the substation application. All things considered, the best investment at this point in time is to improve the reliability of existing lead-acid batteries, perhaps through the use of monitoring systems or augmentation technology. In the meantime, however, research and validation of new technologies may ultimately reduce the risk of switching to something better. Technologies available today come tantalizingly close to matching lead-acid batteries on life-cycle costs. There is also a surprising amount of interest in the switchgear battery market, despite the realization that utilities want a well-tested, highly reliable system. Future developments should particularly be seen in light of developments in energy storage in other market sectors. The growth of lithium ion in portable electronics has continued unabated, and the volume of production has meant that the cost of that technology has fallen significantly. This cost improvement may also lead to cheaper lithium ion batteries in the utility market. Even more exciting is the deployment of large numbers of relatively large batteries in hybrid electric vehicle applications. At present, most of these batteries are nickel-metal hydride; in the future, most automotive manufacturers are expected to go to lithium ion. Either or both of these technologies will benefit if hybrid electric vehicles acquire significant market share. In addition to reducing the cost for batteries on the basis of volume purchase of materials and labor, largescale manufacture will lead to a learning curve for the technology issues related to the use of these batteries in the real world. As a result, these types of batteries are likely to get both cheaper and more reliable in the coming years.
5-1
Conclusions and Recommendations
It is important to recognize the key factors that must be considered before predicting when these batteries will begin to appear in the substation battery application:
The initial cost of alternatives must probably fall before they make sense in a substation application. Lead-acid substation batteries are extremely inexpensive, and matching them on costeven on life-cycle costis a difficult task, especially when some utilities are satisfied to not perform any maintenance on them at all. That said, if a utility recognizes the value of reliability and is willing to pay for capital but not for maintenance, it is possible that some of these alternatives could make sense in the very near term. This is particularly true of nickel-metal hydride and flow battery solutions. Almost every energy storage technology has some performance advantage over lead-acid batteries. But many of these advantageshigher energy density, higher power density, longer cycle life, and so onare not very valuable in the substation application. This turns these weaknesses of lead-acid batteries into a strengthwhen you buy lead-acid, you are not paying for what you do not need. The life specification for stationary vented lead-acid batteries is difficult to match. Many batteries have demonstrated superiority to lead-acid batteries in terms of cycle life, but service life is a rather different animal. Most technologies have not been tested in standby operation for the periods of time required to truly show success in this area. Most life projections are based on analysis of degradation modes, and the failures related to VRLA batteries show that these are hardly definitive. Even technologies that have some evidence of improved service life rarely demonstrate life so much greater that it is worthwhile to replace vented lead-acid batteries.
The case for alternative substation batteries is also dependent on operational conditions. For instance, it is more fruitful to consider alternatives for batteries in remote areas, where proper maintenance is difficult or costly. Also, places with extreme climates may find that other batteries work better than lead-acid. It is important to understand that the goal of improving substation battery technology is to improve the reliability of the system, not just of the battery. This involves the appropriate use of all the technologies at our disposal, including technologies that can be used to enhance the performance of existing lead-acid batteries. Technologies such as advanced testing techniques, and monitoring as well as simple maintenance, can do as much as a new technology to improve overall system reliability.
5-2
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Effective December 6, 2006, this report has been made publicly available in accordance with Section 734.

Handbook of Alternative Technologies for Substation Emergency Power

Handbook of Alternative Technologies for Substation Emergency Power

Final Report, August 2005

EPRI Project Manager S. Eckroad

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITIES

SUBSTATION BACKUP POWER APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND CURRENT PRACTICES

General Requirements for Substation Backup Power

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Characterization of Substation Loads

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

See section on coup de fouet in the next chapter.

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Breakers Operating on Compressed Air and Hydraulics

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-8 Closing Current for the Motor-Operated 161-kV Disconnect

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-11 Power-Line-Carrier Communication and SCADA Equipment in Control House

Current Draw (A) 0.1 2 12 9 4 10 20 7 50 15 3.5 5 25 1 1 3.2

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-12 Sample Duty Cycle Diagram

Design and Construction of Substation Battery Systems

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Survey of Existing Substation Battery Systems

Figure 2-13 Distribution of Substations by Voltage Class

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-14 Substation Emergency Power DC Voltage

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-15 Substation Emergency Power Duration

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-16 Types of Backup Power Systems in Use

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Figure 2-17 Frequency of Battery Maintenance

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

< 3 Years: 10.3%

3 - 6 Years: 30.8% > 6 Years: 2.6%

Figure 2-18 Frequency of Capacity Testing on Batteries

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Substation Backup Power Application Requirements and Current Practices

Vented Lead-Acid Substation Batteries

Figure 3-1 Substation Battery Installation

A cross-section of a typical lead-acid cell is shown in Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2 Cross-Section of a Flooded Lead-Acid Battery17

Voltage During Discharge

2.0 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5

Discharge Time (Minutes)

Figure 3-3 Discharge Curve for a Lead-Acid Battery19

Voltage During Discharge

1.7 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Discharge Time (Seconds)