Different Types of Battery Monitoring System

There is more to battery testing than simply understanding whether a battery is dead or alive. The important piece to understand is the remaining capacity a battery has to hold a charge. A battery monitoring system attempts to retire and replace batteries before they fail, to prevent costly downtime caused by unexpected power loss. In order to do this effectively, a battery monitoring system should measure capacity, the only true indicator of overall battery health. There are several accepted measurement techniques:

Scalar:

The simplest battery monitoring system is the Scalar concept. Scalar monitoring takes a single reading and compares it to a single reference point to generate an estimate of battery capacity. A car battery analyzer is a common example of a testing system which often uses the Scalar system.

Vector:

The vector method is less commonly used due to its added complexity. The vector battery monitoring system applies multiple frequencies and currents to a battery and then measures the response rates in comparison with preset vector points. This provides details of the battery under various stress points. For more complex automotive testing, it is possible for a car battery analyzer to use the Vector system.

Spectro:

The most in-depth battery capacity test can be conducted using a lithium battery tester, or laptop battery analyzer, to scan a battery with a frequency. In doing so, a lithium battery tester is able to capture a somewhat topographical image of the battery.  Capacity and unusable space can be measured. The images captured by a lithium battery tester can then be compared to reference images to generate a detailed estimate of battery capacity remaining. Modern day mobile electronics use lithium ion batteries and a laptop battery analyzer can be used to measure capacity in all of these devices.

There isn’t a single technology that is capable of measuring the capacity of every battery. It is important to understand the type of battery you are working with before being able to properly measure its capacity. A car battery analyzer and a lithium battery analyzer perform very differently and one will not work in place of the other.