Fast Charging of industrial batteries is poised to become a main stream charging technology due to the operational savings and the increased productivity and safety that this technology offers. These products will help you meet and exceed your “Green Project” expectations by reducing your companies Carbon Footprint while increasing your battery utilization and consuming less energy.

Presently there are three charging regimens that can be employed to charge a battery, namely conventional, opportunity and fast charging.

Conventional Charging:
With conventional charging, a battery is charged at a rate of 16-18A/100Ahrs and it takes an average of 8-10 to fully charge a battery. Resting or “cooling” the battery for an additional 8 hours then it is used over a shift. This practice typically occurs once a day. Conventional charging is ideal for single shift operations.

Opportunity Charging:
Opportunity charging involves charging a battery at 25A/100Ahrs charge rates at every opportunity possible (e.g. lunch breaks and in between shift breaks). Opportunity charging offers a good choice for extended shift operations where battery changing can be eliminated. In addition, opportunity charging extends the run time of aging batteries and recoups the lost capacity that comes with age.

Fast Charging:
Fast charging involves charging the battery at rates of 40-60A/100Ahrs (3-4 times conventional charge rates) at every possible opportunity. This includes breaks within and in-between shifts as well as lunch breaks.

With fast charging, the batteries are only charged to 80%-85% state of charge on a daily basis thus eliminating unnecessary gassing. Batteries are required to be finish charged and equalized at least once a week.

Battery data tracking is required for fast charge applications, the tracker communicates with the charger feeding battery temperature and state of charge allowing for optimum charging.

Benefits of Fast Charging:
• Operator productivity greatly improves due to time savings from not changing batteries out.
• Fast charging eliminates the need for a battery room, changing equipment and attendants which can be utilized for other facility needs.
• It’s safer and a cost savings! If no battery changing is required the potential for accidents or spills is eliminated.
• The ROI for fast charging in two and three shift operations well exceeds the return requirements of the most aggressive finance managers.

Are you a fast charge candidate?
If you operate or plan to operate battery powered trucks at least 1.5+ shifts per day and do (or anticipate) at least one battery change out, you may be a candidate. The next step is to have us perform a power study and complete an operational profile. We can then determine if you have adequate opportunities for fast charging through the shift or day. Call us to get a survey started.