Supercapacitor based cost effective hybrid energy storage system with reduction in battery size for diesel generator cold cranking

Abstract

The supercapacitor characteristic of high-power delivery coupled with very fast charge/discharge cycles find its use in hybrid energy storage systems. In this paper, the supercapacitor bank is integrated with small capacity lead-acid battery for the development of cost-effective hybrid energy storage system to crank vintage model of diesel-generator. The developed system uses microcontroller-based controls with active voltage balancing circuit with reliable cranking, enhanced battery life and reduced failures at low temperatures are the advantages of the developed system. The developed system resulted in battery size reduction by almost 80%, and thus, reduction in its replacement cost, besides devising a general formula for the sizing of supercapacitor bank for different diesel generators is an innovative outcome of the research study. The multiple cold cranking in a single charge of supercapacitor bank is another novelty, with the charging of supercapacitor bank from the available automobile battery is the added feature in the developed hybrid energy storage system. The developed system paves the ways for the reduced maintenance.