User Manual

13V New Generation

Product Range

1. DOCUMENT SCOPE
   

Congratulations on purchasing a high quality BlueNova® product.

This document covers structural information, assembly & installation instructions, troubleshooting, safety & maintenance instructions, storage guidelines as well as emergency / first aid procedures specific to the BlueNova® 13V New Generation (NG) product range.

If you are unsure whether this document is applicable to your battery, or if you have any questions or comments, kindly contact BlueNova® Technical Support:

 Office: +27 21 205 2000        E-mail: support@bluenova.co.za   

Please do not discard this document as it contains valuable information that might have to be referenced at a later stage.

2. STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW
   

The BlueNova® 52V NG range consists of single- and multi-enclosure batteries. The number of enclosures per battery as well as the weight & dimensions of each enclosure is listed below:

Note: The length in each case above is the length of the enclosure only & excludes the length of components fitted onto the side panel (`4k) or top (2k), such as the terminal connection points, fuse enclosure etc.

3. INSTALLATION
   

1. VOLTAGE-BASED INSTALLATION
   

If the battery is not connected to hardware that is serial communication compatible, the following values highlighted in blue must be set on the inverter/charger:

IMPORTANT: Inverter/charger voltage calibration

Some inverters/chargers have been known to return inaccurate results when measuring voltage.

In such cases, the inverter/charger should be calibrated as follows:

Compare the voltage values displayed by the inverter/charger with that of a calibrated voltmeter.

If the actual voltage differs by more than 100mV from that measured by the inverter/charger, apply this difference to the highlighted values above (i.e. if actual voltage = 14V while inverter voltage = 14.5V,

the voltage difference = 0.5V should be subtracted from each of the set values above).

Note: Some inverters/chargers have pre-programmed lead-acid related algorithms & functionalities such as auto-desulfation and equalisation. These functionalities should be disabled, where possible.

2. SERIAL COMMUNICATION
   

BlueNova® 13V NG batteries include serial communication functionality via CAN protocol. Serial-connecting a 13V NG battery to a compatible inverter, charger or other third-party hardware device normally negates the necessity of manual voltage-based installation procedures, as described in the section above. 

The installation procedure for serial integration varies and is determined by the serial-compatible peripheral hardware that is being integrated with.

3. PARALLEL CONNECTION
   

BlueNova batteries with 123Smart firmware version 5.4 & higher as well as BMMC firmware version 2.5 & higher include MultiCap™ technology. Batteries with MultiCap™ can be connected in parallel to each other to increase overall capacity, regardless of the age difference and/or rated capacity difference between any two of the batteries in the parallel configuration ONLY IF ALL of the requirements below are met:

1. The nominal voltage of all parallel-connected batteries is the same (i.e. 52V), and
   
2. The installed capacity @C10 of the largest battery in the parallel configuration is no larger than 4 x the installed capacity @C10 of the smallest battery in the same configuration, and
   
3. The correct firmware versions are installed on all batteries in the configuration & updated accordingly, and
   
4. Each battery is operating within its warranty period.
   

Check the currently configured parallel settings of any 52V NG battery by scrolling with CTRL button to page 6:

The procedure below describes how to correctly configure BlueNova batteries for parallel operation:

1. Switch off all batteries.
   

2. Interconnect (daisy-chain) all batteries with standard RJ45 network cables from any one of the two available RJ45 ports on each battery.
   

3. For each battery, keep the CTRL button depressed while switching the battery on at the power button. This will initialise parallel configuration.
   

1. Press the CTRL button to set the total number of batteries in the parallel configuration on each battery. Note: The displayed value will increment with each press of the CTRL button up to a maximum value of 10, and then return to 1.
   

2. Press & hold the CTRL button for about 3 seconds to save this number on each battery.
   

4. Once the last battery has been programmed as described above, the contactor for each battery should close after about 30 seconds or less.
   

4. MONITORING
   

1. On-Board Monitoring 
   

Immediately after switching the battery on, the following splash screens will be displayed:

After the above splash screens have been displayed for a few seconds each, the display will settle on page 1 below. Press the CTRL button to scroll to the next page in sequence:

Individual cell voltages can be viewed by accessing the cell voltage submenu from page 3:

Press the CTRL button again to jump back to page 3.1 above. Press & hold the CTRL button for 2 seconds to exit submenu & return to one of the main pages.

2. Local monitoring
   

The latest range of BlueNova batteries include a Wifi module that broadcasts a locally-accessible Wifi hotspot with SSID “bluenova-xxxx” (where xxxx is a consistently-unique number for that unit, e.g. bluenova-1234). Connect to your battery’s local hotspot to configure monitoring and/or manage firmware updates, as follows:

1. Connect to your battery’s Wifi hotspot with SSID “bluenova-xxxx” from your smartphone or laptop.
   

2. Navigate to the link http://bluenova-xxxx.local/ in your web browser (ote the addition of “.local”).
   

This page should display a list of nearby Wifi access points. Select the appropriate access point.

3. Fill in your Wifi SSID password & submit the form to attempt connection to the Wifi access point.
   

The battery will turn off its hotspot and attempt to connect to the selected on-site access point. Should the connection be successful, your battery will be accessible on your local Wifi network. Should the connection fail, the battery will revert to broadcasting its own hotspot again.

In order to view real-time battery health & performance data from your smartphone or other compatible device within range, follow the procedure below:

3. Remote monitoring
   

To enable remote monitoring functionality, connect your battery to an Internet-enabled Wifi access point (as described in 1. Hotspot & Access Point Configuration above).

Once configured, you should be able to remotely monitor your battery via the BlueNova Remote Monitor service by navigating to http://brm.bluenova.co.za from remote internet-connected locations.

5. UPDATING FIRMWARE
   

You can update your battery’s firmware locally (from a USB-connected laptop) or remotely (from a compatible internet-connected third-party device, such as a desktop PC, laptop or smartphone).

For firmware update procedures, kindly contact BlueNova Technical Support.

4. MAINTENANCE
   

1. General Guidelines
   

1. Do not short circuit the battery terminals.
   
2. Do not use the battery without a BlueNova® approved integrated BMS solution.
   
3. Do not disassemble, pierce, cut or in any way physically alter any part of the battery.
   
4. Do not burn, incinerate or otherwise subject the battery to extreme heat.
   

2. Storage Instructions
   

1. Ensure that the battery is switched off when stored.
   
2. Disconnect the communication cable.
   
3. Always store batteries in a cool and well-ventilated area – ideally 25°C ± 3°C.
   
4. Store away from moisture and heat.
   
5. Do not store batteries upside down for overly long periods.
   
6. Check the open circuit voltage of stored batteries at least once per month. Recharge batteries sufficiently and frequently enough to prevent the open circuit voltage falling below 40V.
   
7. Ensure that the stored battery’s state of charge is always above 50%. 100% SOC is optimal.
   

5. TROUBLESHOOTING
   

All BlueNova® products contain integrated circuitry as a safety measure against possible damage from electrical malfunction. Under such conditions, one of the following errors will be displayed on the integrated OLED display. Please follow the procedure described in each case:

1. List of error messages
   

2. Recovery from over-discharge
   

BlueNova® batteries will automatically disconnect from the inverter/charger if the battery is over-discharged to the point that the cell voltage over any single cell reaches 2.85V. For BlueNova’s 52V NG range, the integrated electronics that drive the OLED display will remain operational while the total battery voltage remains above 40V (2.5V x 16 cells).

If an over-discharged battery’s total voltage falls below 40V, the battery will automatically enter DDL (Deep Discharge Lockout) mode. Recovery from DDL mode might still be possible, depending on how long the battery has remained in this state. Please contact BlueNova Technical Support in such cases.

If an over-discharged battery’s display is still operational, the battery can be recovered from this state by following the procedure below:

6. EMERGENCY & FIRST AID
   

1. In case of fire
   

1. Evacuate danger zone. Open ventilation in the room if possible.
   
2. Extinguish fire with a CO2 fire extinguisher.
   
3. After the fire has been extinguished, immerse any remaining smoking cells completely in water.
   

Wear protective gear during this procedure.

2. Skin contact
   

1. Wash the affected area immediately with soap and water.
   
2. If irritation persists, seek medical attention.
   

3. Eye contact
   

1. Rinse eyes immediately with clean water continuously for at least 15 minutes.
   
2. Seek medical attention immediately afterwards.
   

4. Ingestion
   

1. Refrain from taking any emetic or vomit-inducing medicine.
   
2. Seek medical attention immediately.