BATTERY FUSES Battery protection fuses

In the current scenario relating to electricity production, it is becoming increasingly important to have battery systems (storage systems) capable of storing part of the energy produced, in order to make it available when it is most needed. Typical is the case of photovoltaic systems, which produce significant amounts of energy, but only during daylight hours. The possibility of storing part of this energy using special batteries, and then using it in the hours of darkness, makes photovoltaic systems completely autonomous, flexible and economical.

It is obviously essential that these components do not become an additional risk for the safety of the system, and therefore that they are adequately protected against overcurrents, and in particular against short circuits, which could shorten their life and generate even considerable damage inside the system.

For effective protection of batteries and all those equipment that contain them (e.g. UPS), Italweber has specially designed and manufactured a new range of fuses, named and marked with the unequivocal inscription "Battery fuse". This range covers substantially all the needs present in the world market at the moment, and provides the optimal solution to the dilemma of many designers about which type of fuse to use for their protection.

In fact, cylindrical fuses are available with the classic sizes 10.3×38 mm or 14×51 mm with rated currents up to 36A and rated voltage of 550V DC and 800V DC, ideal for the protection of small and medium-sized batteries, including those normally used inside small and medium-sized photovoltaic systems.

For large-scale photovoltaic systems, or in any case for energy storage systems that use numerous batteries connected to each other, three series of NH knife fuses have been created, in standard sizes, with rated currents reaching 630A. The series differ in the value of the operating voltage, equal to 550V DC, 700V DC and 800V DC. In 2019, fuses were also made available, having special dimensions type XL, with a rated current of up to 500A and an operating voltage of 1500V DC.

For all types of fuses, the corresponding fuse bases are of course also available, in single-pole or two-pole versions, of the standard type or disconnectable.

For battery banks with parallel strings, it is good practice to include overcurrent protection for each battery string. This minimizes the potential risk of fire caused by a battery short circuiting and makes it easier to isolate a string for any testing or maintenance tasks (allowing the rest of the system to continue operating).

Advantages of using BATTERY FUSES

– Fuses marked BATTERY FUSES  = No need to search for special fuses (gG, aR, gR ???) that may be suitable for battery protection, with the consequent risk of choosing the wrong product

– Fuses marked with the value of the nominal voltage in direct current (DC)  = Total certainty that the fuse can operate in direct current and no possibility of error if it is necessary to replace it after intervention

– Fuses with optimized tripping curves = Safe and guaranteed protection of the batteries, with very fast tripping times

– Standard size fuses = No need for special fuse holders with non-standard dimensions.