A battery management system for stand alone photovoltaic energy systems

This paper outlines the development of a battery management system (BMS) for stand alone photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. The BMS calculates the state of charge (SOC) of a lead acid battery to determine the capacity over time. This enables intelligent control schemes to be implemented. A fully functioning prototype was constructed that involved both hardware and software design. Several tests were performed to evaluate the operation of the BMS. The effect of measurement errors on the SOC calculation were subsequently investigated.