DC Power System

DC power system training

The purpose of this presentation is
to give an introduction to DC
power systems and DC power
fundamentals.

DC power system

Scope of training
Why do we user DC power?
DC system Water analogy
Definition of electrical terms
Electrical basic equations

DC power system
Elements and fundamental operation
Battery management

DC power system

Why DC Power?
Provide a reliable power supply for telecom industry.

Telecom equipment must operate when AC supply is

absent.
DC energy can be stored on batteries and used when
AC power is absent.

A DC power system is 100% uninterruptible.

The DC power supply is a filter for noise (EMC, surge
etc) that is present on the mains supply.

DC power system

Water analogy
A dam in a river is a god representation of a battery.
The pressure across the dam represents the voltage on
the battery.
A pump that pumps water into the dam is a god
representation of a rectifier that pumps current into a
battery.

The water represents the current in an electrical

circuit.
The pipe that the water flows through is a good
representation of resistance.

DC power system

Water = Current
PUMP =
RECTIFIER

Pipe = Resistance

DAM =
BATTERY

DC power system

Definition of electrical terms

Current:

A flow of electrical charge caused by an

potential difference. Current is measured in
Amps (A).

Voltage:

The differences in potential between two points

that causes electrical charge to flow. Voltage is
measured in Volts (V)

Resistance: The opposition to the flow of current.

Resistance is measured in ohms ()
Power:

The time rate at which energy is transmitted to

the time rate of doing work. Power is
measured in Watts (W)

DC power system

Energy:

The ability to do work. Energy is measured

in joules (J)

Efficiency:

The ratio of the output power to the input

power. Usually measured in percentage (%)

Power
Factor:

The derivation between the AC current and

the AC voltage. Power factor is a number
between 0 and 1. The power factor or any
equipment should be close to 1.

DC power system

Electrical basic equations

Ohms law:
Voltage = Current x Resistance
Power calculation:
Power = Voltage x Current
Energy calculation:
Energy = Power x time

DC power system

Power system building blocks

UPS
AC/DC
BATTERY
DC/AC

AC INPUT
PROTECTION

POWER
DISTRIBUTION

AC
LOAD

INVERTER
DC/AC

Control
Module

AC switch
board

TELECOM
EQUIPMENT
RECTIFIER
#1
RECTIFIER
#2

G
SURGE
PROTECTION
DIESEL
GENERATOR

LVBD

RECTIFIER
#n
BATTERIES
REDUNDANT
RECTIFIER
SYSTEM
AC/DC

BATTERY
DISTRIBUTION

DC power system

The elements in a Power system

AC Switch
board:

The AC input to the power system is taken

from the switch board

Diesel
generator:

The diesel generator is a small power plant

that generate AC current. The generator is
used as a standby power, that will be
connected when mains fail. The generator
can be connected manually or automatically.

AC input
protection:

Circuit breakers for protection of individual

rectifiers.

Surge
protection:

Protection against surge and voltage spikes

on the AC supply.

DC power system

DC rectifier
system:

The rectifier system converts the current

from AC to DC. The system consist of
rectifiers and a control and monitoring unit

Rectifiers:

The rectifiers converts AC to DC.

DC
AC
Control and
monitoring
unit:

The control unit monitors all the essential

parameters in the system (voltage, current
and alarms). Parameters can also be
changed from the unit.

Power
distribution

Fuses of circuit breakers for distribution of

DC power to the telecom equipment.

DC power system

Batteries

The batteries stores the energy for use when

the AC mains fail

LVBD

Low voltage battery disconnect (LVBD) is

used for disconnecting the batteries before
they are damaged due to deep discharge.

Battery
Fuses for protection of individual battery
distribution: banks against short circuit.
UPS

Converts power from AC to DC and back to

AC again. The UPS usually have a small
battery bank on the DC side

Inverter

Converts from DC to AC. Used for AC load

that require long battery backup.

System operation

Current flow in a system Normal

operation
MAINS INPUT OK
LOAD SUPPLIED BY THE RECTIFIER SYSTEM
BATTERIES ON FLOAT CHARGE.

AC

TELECOM
EQUIPMENT

RECTIFIER
SYSTEM

INPUT

BATTERY
BANK

System operation

Current flow in a system Mains fail

MAINS INPUT FAILED (ABSENT)
LOAD SUPPLIED BY THE BATTERIES
BATTERIES ARE DISCHARGING

AC

TELECOM
EQUIPMENT

RECTIFIER
SYSTEM

INPUT

BATTERY
BANK

System operation

Current flow in a system Mains restored

MAINS INPUT OK
LOAD SUPPLIED BY THE RECTIFIER SYSTEM
BATTERIES ARE RECHARGING

AC

TELECOM
EQUIPMENT

RECTIFIER
SYSTEM

INPUT

BATTERY
BANK

System operation

Voltage sequence:
U

Mains failure

54.5

43.2

Mains
resume
Disconnect
Voltage
Float
charge

Battery
discharge

Battery
recharge

- - - w/current
limitation

Constant power

Constant output power

Modern telecom equipment behaves as a
constant power load

A constant power rectifier system will regulate

the voltage current ratio to give constant
power output.
Constant power rectifiers will a increased
recharge capacity for the batteries (15- 20%).

Constant power

Load Voltage (V)

Constant output power rectifier and constant

current rectifier.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Standard
Constant power

50

100

Load current (%)

150

Battery management

Battery management definitions

Float
voltage:

The recommended charge voltage to be

applied to a battery under normal conditions

Battery
string

A group of battery cells linked in series to

produce the operating voltage.

Capacity

Is the electrical energy stored in the battery

and is measured in ampere hours (Ah)

C10

The nominal capacity referred to a 10 hours

discharge rate

Battery management

Equalising
batteries:

A high voltage is applied to the batteries in

order to equalise the cell voltage on a string
of batteries

Boost voltage Is a voltage higher then the float voltage for

fast charging or equalising of batteries
Temperature A technique that change the battery voltage
compensation as a function of battery temperature. This
technique will increase the lifetime of the
batteries and the rate of change is usually
specified by the battery manufacturer

Battery management

Battery management - why

Ensure long lifetime of batteries. This

is done by correct float voltage,
temperature compensated charging and
temperature controlled environment.

Prevent batteries form being

damaged due to deep discharge. Low
voltage battery disconnect is used to
prevent deep discharge & damage to the
load equipment

Battery management

Open Circuit Voltage in relation to state of

charge of the cell.

Open Circuit Voltage (per cell)l

VDC

2.15
2.10
2.05

2.00
1.95
1.90
0

25

50 State of charge (%) 75

100

Battery management

Float Voltage versus temperature

VDC
2.38
2.36

Volt per cell

2.34
2.32
2.30
2.28
2.26

2.24
2.22
-10

10

Temp (C) 20

30

40

Battery management

VDC

Battery capacity versus temperature

110

Available capacity (%)

105
100
95
90
85
80

75
70
5

10

15

Temp (C) 20

25

30