By: Hank Lan / Technical Service Center

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MEAN WELL intelligent charger NPB series allows 2 ways of charging control– Automatic charging with pre-programmed charging profile or real time control via CANBus interface.

Charging is a process of providing a controlled current within a controlled voltage range from charging devices to batteries. According to battery cells’ configuration the charging current and voltage can be different. Further, depends on the chemical-electrical characteristics, the charging setting can be 2-stage or 3-stage. A 2-stage charging starts with a constant current charging phase followed by a constant voltage phase. A 3-stage charging profile extends the constant voltage charging phase by having a float charging voltage in order to fully charge batteries typically Lead Acid types. Table 1 and Figure 1 shows these commonly used charging control methods.  
 

Table 1. Typical Charging Stages
 

Figure 1. Charging Curves of 2 and 3 Stages

To perform the charging processes as above, control logic has to be implemented either inside the charger or in an external battery management system (BMS). This can be done by pre-installing the selected charging profile in an intelligent charger like NPB, so that when the charger detects a battery, it will start the charging process automatically according to the charging profile pre-programmed. Another way is to run the control logic by an external BMS with the help of digital control interface. Detailed setting procedure is explained in the linked article. (Setting NPB Intelligent Chargers to Automatic Charging Mode or PSU Mode)

MEAN WELL NPB series ranging from 450W to 1700W, provides a convenient user programmable interface as well as CANBus communication protocol for advanced control by external BMS. With the flexible setting possibilities, it can meet various application requirements. For more charging requirements and solutions, please contact our authorized distributors (Link) and local representatives to get MEAN WELL professional support.

MEAN WELL EXPO:  https://expo.meanwell.com/