What is Cell Balancing?

Cell balancing is done to increase the battery’s performance, security, and dependability while also extending its lifespan. Let us dive deeper to understand the concepts of cell balancing that are widely used in EVs.

Below are the following topics we are going to discuss:

• What do you understand from Cell Balancing?
• Need for Cell Balancing
• How Cell Balancing Works?
• Types of Cell Balancing
• Applications of Cell Balancing

What do you understand from Cell Balancing?

Cell balancing is an essential procedure that guarantees the best performance and security of rechargeable battery packs. A battery pack is often made up of several individual cells, and over time, these cells may discharge or charge at varying rates due to numerous factors such as variations in internal resistance, temperature, or manufacturing variability.

As a result, certain cells can experience overcharging while others might experience undercharging, which can result in decreased battery capacity, power output, and longevity.

Battery management systems (BMS), which are used in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage systems, and other applications that rely on rechargeable batteries, are fundamentally dependent on cell balance. The performance, safety, and lifetime of the battery are maximized by a well-designed BMS, which makes sure that each cell in the battery pack is at an ideal SOC level.

Become an EV expert with Hands-on Training!

Electric Vehicle Training Program

Explore Program

Need for Cell Balancing

Cell balancing is a crucial step in ensuring the best performance and durability of battery packs. Over time, batteries can become imbalanced, with some cells holding more charge than others, resulting in a reduction in capacity and a reduction in the total battery life.

A battery can suffer irreparable harm and lose performance if it is overcharged or over-discharged. By ensuring that each cell in the battery pack is charged and discharged to the same amount, cell balancing helps in the prevention of these problems.

In addition to improving performance and ensuring the safety of the battery pack, this increases battery life. In every application that demands great performance and dependability from battery packs, cell balancing is therefore a crucial step.

How Cell Balancing Works?

For battery packs to operate at their best and last as long as possible, cell balancing is a crucial operation. Cell balancing helps in transferring the charge across the cells in a battery pack such that they are all at the same level of charge.

Cell balancing may be done in a variety of ways, including passive, active, and hybrid balance. The simplest way of balancing is passive, which includes adding a resistor to the circuit to drain the overcharged cell’s extra charge.

Contrarily, active balancing employs a circuit to transfer energy from the overcharged cell to the undercharged cell. To obtain the best performance, hybrid balancing blends passive and active balancing techniques.

Types of Cell Balancing

Let us now see the three types of cell balancing that are commonly used in electric vehicles:

Passive Balancing:

Cells that have achieved their maximum charge level can still be balanced passively by discharging extra charge using resistors. It is an easy process that doesn’t call for any extra electronics. However, it is not particularly effective because heat is wasted as a type of energy.

Active Balancing:

To monitor and regulate the charge of each cell in the battery pack, additional circuitry is used in this technique. Through the use of a balancing circuit, extra charge is transferred from cells with higher charge levels to cells with lower charge levels. Although it costs more and has more complicated circuitry, this technique is more effective.

Hybrid Balancing

To strike a balance between cost, efficiency, and performance, this strategy combines passive and active balancing techniques. During the initial stage of balancing, resistors are employed to release extra charge. The active balancing circuitry then takes over to produce a more exact balance

Master Electric Vehicle design and become an expert!

Below are our Electric Vehicle programs:

Electric Vehicle Course

6 Months View Program

Executive Post Graduate Certificate Program in Electric Vehicle Design

11 Months View Program

Here's what learners are saying regarding our programs:

V K Chinnannavar

Sr. Automotive Developer

Completing Intellipaat’s electric vehicle training taught by industry experts significantly boosted my EV knowledge. Thanks to the course quality, I received a good hike in my salary.

S R Mahabaleshwarkar

GM(EV Development)

I joined Intellipaat's EV Course to have a strong foundation in EV. The insightful live classes and high-quality materials greatly impacted my career, resulting in a salary increase.

Searching for the right course? View All Related Programs

Applications of Cell Balancing

Here are some of the most common applications of cell balancing that are commonly used in real life:

• Electric Vehicles (EVs): Cell balancing is crucial to ensure that the battery pack offers the best performance and provides a long-range for EVs since battery packs power their motors.
• Portable Electronics: Mobile gadgets, like tablets, laptops, and smartphones, depend heavily on cell balancing. These gadgets are powered by battery packs, and cell balancing aids in making sure that the battery pack outputs electricity in a steady and dependable manner.
• Renewable Energy Sources: Solar panels and wind turbines are examples of renewable energy sources that store energy in battery packs. To ensure that the battery pack performs at its best and lasts the longest, cell balancing is crucial.
• Medical Equipment: Battery packs are the source of power for a variety of medical devices, including defibrillators, heart monitors, and infusion pumps. Cell balancing makes sure that the battery pack delivers a steady stream of power.
  
  
  

Conclusion

We hope this article helps you gain knowledge of cell balancing in electric vehicle batteries. If you are looking to learn more about electric batteries and other components of electric vehicles, then you can join electric vehicle courses from top faculty & industry experts.