A battery charge monitor is a device that precisely measures and monitors the state of charge (SOC) of rechargeable batteries. State of Charge (SOC) represents is the measure of how much charge is available in the battery. SOC (%) of a battery cell refers to the ratio of the remaining charge of a battery to its rated capacity. If SOC is 50 %, then the battery is in a half-charged state.

Key Benefits of SOC Monitoring:

• Helps to plan an efficient energy supply plan hence avoiding costly downtime
• Helps to avoid deep discharge of the battery thus increasing the life span of the battery
• Reduces maintenance and replacement cost

In current sensing, a low-value sense resistor (usually in mΩ) is connected across the negative pole of the battery and load. The voltage across it is measured and converter into digital form by the A/D (Analog to Digital) converter. The output of the A/D converter is fed to the coulomb counter. This counting information is digitally transmitted to the main battery controller that uses a learning algorithm for delivering accurate estimation of SOC (%) of the battery/pack.

Some battery charge monitors also display the remaining time, power consumption, current, voltage, power consumption, and consumed amp-hours metrics in addition to the battery's charge condition. It is ideal for estimating the capacity (state of charge) and voltage of the battery of the electric vehicles, golf cart, automotive, and marine applications.

Click here to learn more about battery charge monitors featured on everything PE.

Click here to learn more about Battery Management ICs featured on everything PE.