A battery management system is an important part of an electric vehicle (EV). EVs, of course, are powered by an electric motor. Some of them use an asynchronous electric motor, whereas others use a synchronous electric motor. Regardless, all EVs have an electric motor that’s driven by electricity supplied by a battery. To manage the functions of their respective battery, EVs are equipped with a battery management system.
The Basics of a Battery Management System
A battery management system is a computer system that monitors and manages the performance of an EV’s battery. It ensures that the battery is charged and discharged safely and efficiently while also protecting the battery from damage, such as overcharging.
There are different types of battery management systems. Most of them, however, contain several common hardware and software components that work together to perform its functions.
Common Features of a Battery Management System
Most battery management systems feature monitoring sensors. The monitoring sensors work automatically to monitor parameters of the EV’s battery. Among other things, they monitor the voltage, current, state of charge and temperature of the battery.
Another common feature of a battery management system is a battery balancing circuit. Consisting of a circuit, it’s designed to equalize the charge of each cell in the EV’s battery so that they all have the same or similar state of charge.
Battery management systems feature a control unit. The control unit is a computer chip. It receives data from the monitoring sensors. Using this data, the control unit will calculate the appropriate charging and discharging rates for the EV’s battery.
There’s also the communication interface. It allows the battery management system to communicate with other parts and systems of the EV. The battery management system must communicate with the control unit, for example. The communication interface allows for these communications to take place.
Why EVs Have a Battery Management System
EVs have a battery management system to optimize their performance and safety. As previously mentioned, it will monitor various parameters of the EV’s battery. Using this data, the control unit will calculate charging and discharging rates.
Battery management systems protect EV batteries from damage. Overcharging, for instance, can damage or destroy an EV’s battery. Fortunately, the battery management system will prevent this from happening. If the voltage of an EV’s battery exceeds a safe level, the battery management system will terminate the connection to protect the battery from overcharging.
