BATTERY SIZING CALCULATION

Melvin Koshy
Indian Space Research Organisation
melvinkoshy@gmail.com

Design SMF battery bank required to supply a system having MD = 160kVA and
pf of 0.8 for 30 minutes
Constant Power Discharge
Discharge rating in Watts per battery

kVA 1000 pf
Efficiency ( ) No. of batteries

CASE -1
Considering 40 no. of batteries
kVA 1000 pf
No. of batteries
160 1000 0.8

3404.25W
0.94 40

Discharge rating per battery

Considering Design Margin 10 % and Ageing Factor 25%

Discharge rating in Watts per block 3404.25 1.1 1.25 4680.85W
Considering End Cell voltage of 1.7V/C, the following table gives Discharge in
W/block.

From the table, for 15min, A412/180A (Sonnenschein make) gives 2976W/block.
Hence our understanding is that we can use two such blocks to achieve the
required backup time.
Check
Specified discharge rating in Watts No. of banks Specified backup time
Required discharge rating in Watts
2976 2 15
=
19.07 min.
4680.85

Backup time achieved

Thus, if we use two banks of A412/180A with 40 batteries each, a backup time
of only 19.07 min. is achieved.
ARRANGEMENT OF BATTERIES IN BATTERY ROOM
1

20

3
4

10

11

Double Row Double Tier

Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
OVERALL TOTAL = 40 batteries

CASE -2
Since, a backup time of only 19.07 min. is achieved in the previous case; weve to
consider more number of cells inorder to get the desired backup time of 30 min.
Considering 80 no. of cells
Discharge rating per battery

kVA 1000 pf
Design Margin Ageing Factor
No. of cells
160 1000 0.8

1.1 1.25 2340.42W

0.94 80

From, the table, for an End Cell voltage of 1.7V/C, the Discharge in W/block for
15min with A412/180A batteries is 2976W/block.
If two such blocks (banks) are employed, the backup time achieved is
Backup time achieved

2976 2 15
38.14 min.
2340.42

Hence two banks of A412/180A with 80 batteries each a backup time of

38.14 min. is achieved. This is acceptable
ARRANGEMENT OF BATTERIES IN BATTERY ROOM
1

20

10

11

BANK - 1
Double Row Double Tier
Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
TOTAL = 40 batteries

10

20

11

BANK - 2
Double Row Double Tier
Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
TOTAL = 40 batteries

OVERALL TOTAL = 80 batteries

 Constant Current Discharge

Discharge rating in Amps per battery

kVA 1000 pf
Min. DC Voltage Efficiency

Consider an End Cell Voltage of 1.7 V/cell, then if 40 nos. of batteries are
considered,
Min. Vdc per cell 1.7 6 10.2 V

A battery comprises 6 cells

Min. Vdc of entire bank 10.2 40 408 V

160 1000 0.8
333.75 A
408 0.94
Considering Design Margin & Ageing Factor
Discharge rating per battery 333.75 1.1 1.25 458.91A
Discharge rating per battery

The following table gives Discharge in A/block for End Cell Voltage of 1.7V/C

From the table, for 15min, A412/180A gives 234A/block. Hence if two such
blocks (banks) are employed, the backup time achieved is
Backup time achieved

Specified discharge rating No. of banks Specified backup time

Required discharge rating
234 2 15

15.3 min.
458.91

Thus, if we use two banks of A412/180A with 40 batteries each, a backup time
of only 15.3 min. is achieved.
ARRANGEMENT OF BATTERIES IN BATTERY ROOM
1

20

3
4

10

11

Double Row Double Tier

Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
OVERALL TOTAL = 40 batteries

CASE -2
Since, a backup time of only 15.3 min. is achieved in the previous case; weve to
consider more number of cells inorder to get the desired backup time of 30 min.
Considering 80 no. of cells with End Cell Voltage of 1.70V/C
Min. Vdc of entire bank 10.2 840 408 V
160 1000 0.8
166.87 A
816 0.94
Considering Design Margin & Ageing Factor
Discharge rating per battery

Discharge rating per battery 166.87 1.1 1.25 229.45 A

From the table, for 15min, A412/180A gives 234A/block. Hence if two such
blocks (banks) are employed, the backup time achieved is
Backup time achieved

234 2 15
30.59 min.
229.45

ARRANGEMENT OF BATTERIES IN BATTERY ROOM

1

20

10

11

BANK - 1
Double Row Double Tier
Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
TOTAL = 40 batteries

10

20

11

BANK - 2
Double Row Double Tier
Tier 1 = 20 batteries
Tier 2 = 20 batteries
TOTAL = 40 batteries

OVERALL TOTAL = 80 batteries

The rack dimension can be determined from the dimensions of the battery. The
dimension chart is given below

RACK DIMENSION

APPENDIX
Battery Configurations
The different configurations for arranging batteries in Battery room are shown
below

Sonnenschein SMF batteries

Dimensions