What is battery balancing?

Battery balancing is the process of equalizing the charge among individual cells within a battery or between batteries in a group to maintain consistent voltage levels and state of charge (SOC). This ensures that no cell is overcharged or undercharged, helping to prevent performance issues, capacity loss, and a shortened battery lifespan.

Why should you use a battery balancing system (BMS)?

Balancing batteries might seem like an extra chore, but it's vital for maintaining the health, safety, and performance of your power systems. By using a BMS, following manual balancing steps when needed, and maintaining good charging habits, you can dramatically extend the life of your batteries.

What is balancing a lead-acid battery?

We call this the balancing state, and it occurs during what would normally be the absorption (Constant Voltage) stage of lead-acid battery charging. Passive balancing is generally a slower process than active balancing and may take longer to achieve completely balanced cells.

Do ESS batteries need balancing?

With residential ESS systems (especially with Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries), it's often unnecessary to have active balancing; passive balancing is most often used. Passive balancing, or top balancing, essentially uses the principle of discharging the cells through a bypass route as each cell reaches a defined top voltage.