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An alarm system needs to alert the operator to
abnormal battery conditions and to aid him or others in the rapid diagnosis of the causes
of the abnormal condition.
Charles Industries provides a wide range of alarm
components to allow the design of the right system:
Alarm relays are available for AC power failure, low
and high DC voltage, and current failure:
- The AC power failure alarm indicates no AC supply or
a tripped AC circuit breaker.
- The low DC voltage alarm indicates no AC supply
voltage, input AC breaker has tripped, or the charger has failed.
- A high DC voltage alarm indicates battery or load
problems.
Low voltage alarms, set to alarm below the charger
output voltage but above the open circuit voltage of the battery, duplicate the operation
of current failure alarms. Since current failure alarms are subject to falsing due
to the low current drain of fully charged batteries, low voltage alarms are preferred.
An operator needs an operator-friendly system.
Traditionally, green means AC is ON and the system is OK. Yellow means the
system is being equalized. Red means the system battery voltage is incorrect and
needs immediate attention.
If there is no operator in the area, there may be no
need for lights on the charger, but there is a need to communicate the alarm
conditions. If the monitoring location is near, a single summary alarm contact may
be all that is necessary. If the monitoring location is distant or difficult to
reach, it is desirable to communicate all of the necessary alarms so that the monitoring
site can completely diagnose the problem before dispatching service people. The trip
may not be necessary.
Alarm relays require precision adjustments to tailor
the alarm system to the battery and the environment.
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