Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

I. OBJECTIVE, METHOD and STUDY CASE

1.1. Calculation objective
- Determine maximum expected quantities of flammable gas evolution under the most adverse charging conditions for electrical battery systems
- Determine minimum time for gas accumulation to 50% LEL at zero ventilation, in order to ascertain hazardous area requirements
- Determine minimum ventilation requirements to meet IEE requirements for rooms containing batteries and confirm compliance
1.2. Calculation method
Empirical formulae and manufacturer's recommendations
Ventilation calculation as per IEE 1992 Section 14.16
1.3. Study Case
The Batteries will be located on Electrical Equipment Building (EEB)
The EEB is 2 (two) levels building, layout and dimension as follows:
Level
Level 1
Level 1
Level 2
Level 2

Length, L Width, W
(m)
(m)

Room Description
Transformer Room
MV Switchroom
Main Switchroom
Emergency Switchroom

23
23
11.5
6

5.5
4.5
10
10

Height, H
(m)
5
5
5
5

Note:
- EEB level 1 and level 2 share the same HVAC unit area, the total HVAC area ventilation are combined

5.5m

LEVEL 1 - EEB

4.5m

10m

TRANSFORMER ROOM

MV SWITCHROOM

23m

5.5m

EMERGENCY
SWITCHROOM

MAIN SWITCHROOM

6m

10m

EEB
HVAC UNIT

LEVEL 2 -EEB

11.5m
23m

Section-1
page 1 of 2

The UPS Batteries data as follow:

Tag No

Description

C10 Rating C3 Rating

(Ah)
(Ah)

Battery Type
(Vendor
Data)

Battery
Location

Bat-01A

Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank A

275

204

2V275

EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom

Bat-01B

Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank B

275

204

2V275

EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom

Bat-02A

GTG-01 - 120 VDC Battery Bank A

200

148

2V200

EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom

Bat-02B

GTG-02 - 120 VDC Battery Bank B

200

148

2V200

EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom

Bat-02C

GTG-03 - 120 VDC Battery Bank C

200

148

2V200

EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom

Bat-03A

Main UPS (230 VAC) - Battery Bank A

400

297

2V400

EEB Level 2 - Main Switchroom

Bat-03B

Main UPS (230 VAC) - Battery Bank B

400

297

2V400

EEB Level 2 - Main Switchroom

Bat-04A

EDG-01 - 24 VDC Battery Bank

200

148

2V200

EEB Level 2 - Emergency Switchroom

Bat-05A

Nav Aids - Battery Bank

320

269

2V320

EEB Level 2 - Emergency Switchroom

Note:
- Batteries data is based on PowerSafe V (VRLA Batteries) Vendor data on Appendix-2
- C1 and C3 rating is taken from battery data at EOD = 1.8 VDC, 20 0C
- Boost Charge will not be apply to VRLA batteries, to maintain it's lifetime
- Battery Maximum Charging current is limmited up to 0.3 of it's C10 rating in Ampere (note: normal operation is about 0.1 of C10)

- HVAC temperature is maintain and assummed to be 20 0C

Section-1
page 2 of 2

Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

II. CALCULATION BASIS

2.1. Battery Type and Installation
Batteries are of the sealed valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) type. They are to be installed on racks or within individual enclosures and
suitably ventilated to comply with the requirements in the IEE Recommendations for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
on Mobile and Fixed Offshore Installations, 1992 (to be denoted IEE(1992) herein).
2.2. Battery Capacities
Battery capacities for UPS and DC power suply system are based on typical Vendor data in Appendix-2.
The maximum number of cells in series is based on the maximum tolerable output voltage and the recommended floating voltage.

2.3. Minimum Ventilation Requirements

The following equation derived from clause 14.16(1) of IEE (1192) is used to calculate the minimum ventilation requirements
Minimum Ventilation,
Where, n
I

Qs =

11 n I
1000

is the number of cells in series per battery system

is the battery charging current (A)

The total ventilation requirement for a room containing more than one charger and battery system is determined by summation of
the individual ventilation requirements of all battery systems in the room.
The ventilation of the switchroom is based on the fresh air make-up of the total area serviced by the HVAC system as contaminated
air is being recirculated with fresh air throughout the whole area, not just the switchroom.
2.4. Hydrogen Gas Accumulation
The H2 gas accumulation calculation determines the amount of time required for the batteries to produce enough H 2 to reach 50% of
the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rate.
The result is determined from typical H 2 gas evolution manufacturer data for VRLA type batteries and typical C3 Ah value from manufacturer data
The calculation includes the summated hydrogen evolution from all batteries within each room

Section-2
Page 1 of 1

Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

III. Calculations
The following example calculations show how the minimum ventilation requirements and hydrogen gas evolution value in
the calculation sheets are derived.
The battery capacity requirement is based on study case in section 1.3
3.1. Electrical Equipment Building Ventilation Requirements
The Electrical Equipment Building contains five battery systems, 2 units 110 VDC Supply Battery System for Switchgear (Bat-01A
and Bat-01B), 3 units 120 VDC GTG Back-up LO Pump Battery System (Bat-02A, Bat-02B and Bat-02C), 2 units 230 VAC Main UPS
Battery System (Bat-03A and Bat-03B), 24 VDC Battery System for Diesel Generator and Nav Aids (Bat-04A and Bat-05A)
The ventilation requirements of the electrical equipment building are determined by summation of the ventilation requirements of
the individual battery systems
3.1.1.

Example Calculation

- Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank Ventilation Requirement (Tag No. Bat-03A)
Assuming a float DC voltage (between the rectifier and inverter of the UPS) of
Vndc
=
VDC
242
And a nominal float voltage
Vf
=

2.28

VDC / cell

The maximum number of cells in series required per battery is

nmax
= Vndc / Vf
=
cells per battery
107
From preliminary Vendor data on section 1.3, UPS batteries require a C 10 Ah capacity of
C10

400

Ah

It is assumed the maximum charging current is limited to 0.3 of C 10 battery capacity in Ampere.
(assumption is to demonstrate high charging current, in normal condition VRLA batteries will not be boost charge to maintain it's lifetime,
and normally will use 0.1 of C10 which will take 10hours to reach 80% recharge. See battery catalogue in appendix-2)
Taking the value of C10 as per vendor data in section 1.3, the maximum UPS batteries charge current is then
Imax

0.3

400

120 A

The minimum ventilation requirements for the main UPS-A battery, given the maximum charge current and the
maximum number of cells is

QUPS =

3.1.2.

11 n max Imax
1000

3
141.24 m /hr

Calculations Table Summary for Battery Bank Ventilation Requirement

Assumming:
Vf
=

2.28

VDC / cell

Imax

0.3

x C10 battery capacity in Ampere

Vndc =

Tag No

assumed as listed in table bellow

Description

C10 Rating
(Ah)

Vndc
(V DC)

nmax
(cells/batt)

Imax
(A)

Q
3
(m /hr)

Bat-01A

Switchgear Supply - 110V DC Battery Bank A

275

121.5

54

82.5

49.01

Bat-01B

Switchgear Supply - 110V DC Battery Bank B

275

121.5

54

82.5

49.01

Bat-02A

GTG-01 - 120V DC Battery Bank A

200

130

58

60

38.28

Bat-02B

GTG-02 - 120V DC Battery Bank B

200

130

58

60

38.28

Bat-02C

GTG-03 - 120V DC Battery Bank C

200

130

58

60

38.28

Bat-03A

Main UPS (230V AC) - Battery Bank A

400

242

107

120

141.24

Bat-03B

Main UPS (230V AC) - Battery Bank B

400

242

107

120

141.24

Bat-04A

EDG-01 - 24V DC Battery Bank

200

26.4

12

60

7.92

Bat-05A

Nav Aids - Battery Bank

320

26.4

12

96

12.67

Total

515.93

Section-3
Page 1 of 3

3.1.3.

Total Electrical Equipment Building Ventilation Requirements

The total Electrical Equipment Building ventilation requirements ( Q T-EEB ) are,

Q T-EEB

= Q01A + Q01B + Q02A + Q02B + Q02C + Q03A + Q03B + Q04A + Q04B

515.93

3
m /hr

The design Elect. Equip. Building service area ventilation rate (refer to HVAC calculation in Appendix-1) is
Q A = Q R-LEV1 + Q R-LEV2 =

1823.4

m3/hr

Therefore the design ventilation rate of the room is

3.53

The ratio of Minimum Ventilation / Room Ventilation is

3.2.

times the required minimum ventilation rate due to the batteries system

28.29%

Electrical Equipment Building Hydrogen Gas Accumulation

The Electrical Equipment Building is sub-divided into 2 levels, 4 section rooms, which is Transformer Room and MV Switchroom
on Level-1, and Main Switchroom and Emergency Switchroom on Level-2.
The hydrogen gas contributions of each batteries system are calculated individually and then summed based on it's location
to determine the total gas accumulation for each room.
3.2.1 MV Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-1
MV Switchroom contains five batteries system; 2 units of 110VDC supply system battery banks for switchgear supply (Bat-01A,
and Bat-01B) and 3 units of GTG DC Back UP Lube Oil (Bat-02A, Bat-02B and Bat-02C).
- Example Calculation - 110 VDC Battery Bank A (Bat-01A)
From typical manufacturer's data in appendix-2, the rate of hydrogen gas emission (of VRLA batteries during float charge of 2.28V) is
ml per cell per C3 Ah per month
G
=
(based on vendor data in Appendix-2)
3.7
The maximum number of cells in series required per battery is
nmax
54
=
cells per battery (from section 3.1.2)
The battery C3 Ah capacity for the 110VDC Supply system from typical manufacturer data in section 1.3 is
C3

204

Ah

The H2 gas evolution of the 110 VDC Supply system batteries is then
G01A = G x nmax x C3

=
=

40759

ml per month

3
0.00136 m /day

(assumed 1 month = 30 days)

- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - MV Switchroom (EEB Level-1)
Assumming:
G
=
nmax =
Tag No

3.7

ml per cell per C3 Ah per month

as calculated in section 3.1.2

C3 Rating
nmax
(cells/batt)
(Ah)

Description

G
3
(m /day)

Bat-01A

Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank A

204

54

0.00136

Bat-01B

Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank B

204

54

0.00136

Bat-02A

GTG-01 - 120 VDC Battery Bank A

148

58

0.00106

Bat-02B

GTG-02 - 120 VDC Battery Bank B

148

58

0.00106

Bat-02C

GTG-03 - 120 VDC Battery Bank C

148

58

0.00106

Total

0.0059

The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are,

GTot-MVSR =

0.0059

Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as,

m3/day
VR-MVSW =

518

Assumming a lower explosive limit factor, ke (percentage by volume), the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit is

T 0.5 LEL = k e

VR
50

G tot 100

days

Section-3
Page 2 of 3

with ke =

4%

then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for MV Switchrom is

T 0.5 LEL = k e

MV Switchroom

VR
50

G tot 100

1756

days or

4.81 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)

3.2.2 Main Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-2

Main Switchroom contains two batteries system; 2 units of 230 VAC Main UPS (Tag.No. Bat-03A and Bat-03B)
Repeating the procedure in section 3.2.1
- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - Main Switchroom (EEB Level-2)
Assumming:
G
=

3.7

nmax =

ml per cell per C3 Ah per month

as calculated in section 3.1.2

Tag No

G
(m3/day)

nmax
C3 Rating
(Ah)
(cells/batt)

Description

Bat-03A

Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank A

297

107

Bat-03B

Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank B

297

107

0.00392

Total

0.00784

The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are,

0.00784 m /day

GTot-MainSR =

VR-MainSW =

Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as,

with ke =

0.00392

575

m3

4%

then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for Main Switchrom is

T 0.5 LEL = k e

Main Switchroom

VR
50

=
G tot 100

1467

days or

4.02 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)

3.2.3 Emergency Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-2

Emergency Switchroom contains two batteries system; 1 unit of DEG Battery Systems (Tag.No. Bat-04A) and
1 unit of Nav Aids Battery System (Tag. No. Bat-05A)
Repeating the procedure in section 3.2.1
- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - Emergency Switchroom (EEB Level-2)
Assumming:
G
=

3.7

nmax =

ml per cell per C3 Ah per month

as calculated in section 3.1.2

Tag No

C3 Rating
nmax
(Ah)
(cells/batt)

Description

G
3
(m /day)

Bat-04A

EDG-01 - 24 VDC Battery Bank

148

12

Bat-05A

Nav Aids - Battery Bank

269

12

0.0004

Total

0.00062

The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are,

3
0.00062 m /day

GTot-MainSR =

Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as,

with ke =

0.00022

VR-MainSW =

300

4%

then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for Emergency Switchrom is
Emerg. Switchroom

T 0.5 LEL = k e

VR
50

=
G tot 100

9677

days or

26.5 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)

Note:
The H2 gas accumulation calculation results in section 3.2 are the amount of time required for the batteries to produce
enough H2 to reach 50% of the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rate
of 0.3 times C10 battery capacity in Ampere.

Section-3
Page 3 of 3

Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

IV. CALCULATION SUMMARY

Minimum Ventilation /
ROOM NAME

Time to reach 50% LEL

Room Ventilation
(%)

( years )

MV Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-1

(note 1)

28.29%

4.81

(note 2, 3)

Main Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-2

(note 1)

28.29%

4.02

(note 2, 3)

Emergency Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-2

(note 1)

28.29%

26.51

(note 2, 3)

Notes:
1.

Electrical Equipment Building Level-1 and Level-2 share the same HVAC service area, hence the minimum ventilation
calculations are combined

2.

The H2 gas accumulation calculation results are the amount of time required for the batteries to produce enough H 2
to reach 50% of the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rates of
0.3 times C10 battery capacity in Ampere.

3.

50% LEL is calculated by assumming a lower explosive limit of ke percentage by volume is 4%

Conclusions:
1.

The VRLA Batteries does not require a separate battery room since the hydrogen accummulation will take long time
to reach 50% LEL even in the absence of ventilation system, i.e. hydrogen accummulation can be negligible

2.

The ventilation requirements for rooms containing batteries confirm compliance to meet IEE requirements

Section-4
Page 1 of 1

APPENDIX - 1
HVAC Calculations
1. HVAC Service Volumes and Room Volumes
Table-1 HVAC Service Volumes Calculations
Room Description

(refer to section 1.3 for EEB layout)

Length, L Width, W Height, H

(m)
(m)
(m)

Volume (VT)
3
L x W x H (m )

EEB Level-1 (Transformer Room)

23
5.5
5
EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom)
23
4.5
5
EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom)
11.5
10
5
EEB-Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom)
6
10
5
Total HVAC Service Volume Area for Elect. Equip. Building

633
518
575
300
2026

Table-2 Electrical Room Volumes Calculation (for room containing batteries only)
Room Description
EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom)
EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom)
EEB Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom)

Length, L Width, W Height, H

(m)
(m)
(m)
23
11.5
6

4.5
10
10

Volume (VR)
3

L x W x H (m )

5
5
5

518
575
300

2. Room Ventilation
Assuming:
- The minimum of air changes per hour of electrical rooms:
Na
=
6 air changes/hour

(data can get from HVAC philosophy)

- A minimum fresh air rate per air change of:

Kf
=
15 % fresh air rate per air change
The fresh air ventilation rate of each room and HVAC service area is given by
QR = VR x Na x Kf / 100
(Room Ventilation rate)
and QA = VT x Na x Kf / 100
(Total HVAC Ventilation rate)
HVAC Notes: (refer to HVAC design philosophy)
- All enclosed areas of the platform shall be adequately ventilated by the HVAC systems.
- The HVAC systems shall be sized to suit the required number of air changes per hour as per standard
- The minimum requirement for fresh air/make up air quantities introduced into HVAC systems
shall be determined in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 62, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

Table 3. Room Ventilation Calculation

Room Description
EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom)
EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom)
EEB Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom)

Room Ventilation,
QR (m3/hr)
466.20
517.50
270.00

Total HVAC Area

3
Ventilation QA (m /hr)
1823.4
1823.4
1823.4

(note 1)
(note 1)
(note 1)

Note:
1.
EEB Level-1 and EEB Level-2 share the same HVAC Electrical Equipment Building area,
the total HVAC area ventilation are combined

Appendix-1
Page 1 of 1

APPENDIX - 2
1. Enersys PowerSafe V - Battery Data

2. Enersys PowerSafe V - Charging Current Note

4. Enersys PowerSafe V - LEL factor ke

3. Enersys PowerSafe V - Hydrogen Emissions