Honeywell WT6500 owner manual Battery Selection, AC Load Detail and Selection, Amp-hour Ratings

Introduction 4

The popular golf cart battery is generally a “semi” deep cycle - better than any starting battery, better than most marine, but not as good as a true deep cycle solid lead plate, such the L-16 or industrial type.

Amp-hour Ratings

All deep cycle batteries are rated in amp-hours. An amp-hour (Ah) is a unit of electric charge measurement, calculated by multiplying amps by hours. For example, if you have a device that pulls 20 amps, and you use it for 20 minutes, then the amp-hours used would be 20 (amps) multiplied by .333 (hours), or 6.67 Ah.

The accepted amp-hour rating time period for batteries used in wind electric and backup power systems (and for nearly all deep cycle batteries) is the “20 hour rate.” This means that a battery is discharged down to 10.5 volts over a 20 hour period while the total actual amp-hours it supplies is measured. Sometimes ratings at the 6 hour rate and 100 hour rate are also given for comparison and for different applications. The 6 hour rate is often used for industrial batteries, as that is a typical daily duty cycle. The 100 hour rate is sometimes used for determining battery capacity for long-term backup amp-hour requirements.

Battery Selection

Battery selection is one of the most important steps in the installation process. Not selecting the correct batteries will result in short battery life, constant charge and discharge cycles, and overheating of batteries which could result in serious damage to equipment, battery explosions or fire. The charge controller will prevent over-charging, although this must be set up correctly.

DO NOT use standard automotive (starting) batteries. While automotive batteries may last for thousands of cycles in normal starting use (2-5% discharge), they will generally fail after 30-150 cycles if used in a deep cycle application as with the HONEYWELL™ Wind Turbine, which will discharge batteries down to 50%. Any battery rated in CCA or CA should not be used. Since some marine batteries are rated with CCA, care must be used when selecting a marine battery.

AC Load Detail and Selection

The non-grid-tie option requires the installation of AC sub panel. This means that the user must select certain loads and move them into a separate sub panel. The sub panel will always be provided with AC power from either the grid or the turbine when the batteries are charged. The SmartBox controls a transfer switch internally when the conditions are ready.

A critical decision to be made during installation is selecting which loads to run off of the sub panel. The first step is to measure the current in the sub panel. The second step is to determine which loads should be moved to the sub panel. The calculation is made by determining the appliances to be run off the sub panel, and adding up the listed wattage on each appliance. The total should be less than 1500W. The SMARTBOX™ Controller can handle most home appliances’ starting current. The limitation is 1750W for three minutes and 3000W for two seconds.

General rules to determine what should go on the sub panel:

•In general, avoid appliances in the kitchen and laundry room.

•Putting the furnace or refrigerator on the sub panel is okay, but be sure to total the “on” time wattage required by all appliances

SMARTBOX™ Controller for HONEYWELL™ Wind Turbine WT6500 Owner’s Manual - Rev14