1. DOCUMENT SCOPE

1.1 Applicable products

This user manual contains information specific to the BlueNova SBB™ (Single Box Battery) MKII Series. At the time of publication of this manual, the SBB™ MKII Series consisted of only one product, namely SBB™ MKII BN52V-314-16k.

If you are unsure whether the information in this document is applicable to your specific product, please contact BlueNova’s Technical Support department for confirmation before proceeding with carrying out any guidelines and/or instructions contained herein.

1.2 Target audience

This document has been compiled to provide supportive information predominantly to energy industry professionals tasked with installation and/or technical maintenance of SBB™ MKII Single Box Batteries. Such individuals should be:

• adequately trained and experienced in the installation and maintenance of electrical DC systems.
• capable of interpreting electrical circuit diagrams.
• familiar with the composition and basic operating principles of multi-product energy storage systems.
• aware of and compliant to the industry safety standards of the associated country / region.

This document also contains information of a more general nature which might be of use to any one or more individuals involved with the basic day-to-day operation, transportation, storage and/or disposal of SBB™ MKII Single Box Batteries, as well as those needing to act in the interest of occupational health & safety under associated circumstances.

1.3 Symbols

The table below lists the various symbols used throughout this manual alongside the meaning of each:

1.4 Terminology

The table below lists some of the product- and system-specific terms & abbreviations used throughout this manual:

Additionally, the table below lists some of the industry-specific terms & abbreviations used throughout this manual:

2. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Safety introduction

‼️ IMPORTANT: Due to the inherently high risks associated with live electrical systems, the information included in this chapter should be regarded as of critical importance. Failure to adhere to any of the safety requirements included in this chapter may lead to damaged products/components, voiding of associated product warranties (where applicable), damage and/or destruction of assets in proximity to such systems, electrical shock, serious injury and even death.

2.2 General safety requirements

The following non-exhaustive list of safety requirements are applicable to electrical systems in general:

‼️Electrical devices & components (incl. SBB™ MKII batteries) should always be installed, uninstalled, operated and/or serviced by suitably qualified personnel only.

‼️Always wear appropriate PPE and use tools & equipment of the correct type and condition when installing, uninstalling, operating, servicing, transporting and/or otherwise handling electrical equipment.

‼️Electrical connections between any two or more stand-alone electrical components/devices in an electrical system should include some slack. High tension connections between such components/devices may lead to deterioration of connection integrity over time, increase the risk of heat build-up and lead to thermal events.

‼️Do not use water or other electrically conductive fluids to clean electrical device enclosures and/or any other surface(s) in close direct contact with connected components in an electrical system.

‼️Electrically conductive accessories and/or jewellery should be removed before commencing with installation, uninstallation and/or maintenance of electrical systems, components or devices.

⚠️Before connecting any wires, cables or components in any electrical system which includes one or more live energy sources, measure the voltage between the relevant connector(s) and intended connection point(s) first. Do not proceed with any such connections if the measured voltage may damage connecting surfaces.

⚠️Air inlets and/or outlets of electrical device enclosures should remain free from obstruction. Obstructed air inlets/outlets may lead to insufficient heat dissipation and cause additional side effects incl. malfunction, damage and/or failure of such devices, thermal events & additional damage to peripheral assets.

2.3 Battery safety requirements

The following list of safety requirements are applicable specifically to SBB™ MKII Series batteries:

‼️Avoid direct contact with non-isolated conductive surfaces & potentially live connection points (i.e. battery terminals) in an electrical system. Do not install, service or otherwise directly interact with batteries, battery-connected circuitry & components without wearing the required PPE or using the appropriate tools.

‼️Batteries must be isolated (i.e. switched off and disconnected from all peripheral components) before being installed, serviced, repaired, uninstalled or relocated for any purpose at any given time.

‼️Do not short-circuit the positive and negative electrodes of individual battery cells, batteries or multi-battery configurations. Voltage may remain present over any two or more such electrodes even when the associated batteries/cells are disconnected from the associated electrical system and switched off.

‼️All conductive wiring & connection points in battery-integrated systems should be electrically insulated to the fullest extent possible. Do not install batteries in systems where any of the conductive wiring and/or connection points are not sufficiently insulated.

‼️Take care when transporting, unboxing, relocating and/or otherwise moving SBB™ MKII Series batteries. SBB™ MKII Series batteries weigh ±140kg each and may cause serious injuries if not handled correctly.

⚠️Before commencing with the installation of one or more SBB™ MKII Series batteries, each battery should be earthed first. Conversely, when uninstalling SBB™ MKII Series batteries, the earthing connection to each battery should be left intact (connected) until all other connections to each battery have been disconnected.

⚠️(Re)connecting & powering on the various components connected to any electrical system in which one or more SBB™ MKII Series batteries have been (re)installed should be done in strict accordance with the associated procedure(s) included in this document.

⚠️Do not store, install, service or repair batteries in locations where ambient factors such as temperature, humidity, etc. exceed (or will likely exceed in the foreseeable future) the acceptable range associated with each, as specified on the product datasheet.

⚠️Do not connect SBB™ MKII Series batteries to AC power sources directly. Do not connect SBB™ MKII Series batteries to non-compatible DC power sources directly. Do not connect SBB™ MKII batteries in series.

⚠️Do not connect batteries to PV panels or -configurations directly. Always install the appropriate fusing & compatible supplier pre-approved MPPT module(s) between batteries and PV panel configurations.

⚠️SBB™ MKII Series batteries of which any integrated LiFePO4 cell(s) exhibit expansion/bulging should be discontinued from use immediately and repaired/replaced as necessary.

⚠️SBB™ MKII Series batteries stored for extended periods should be recharged at least once every 3 months. In such cases, a calibrated product-compatible inverter/charger should be used to recharge each battery individually to 40–60% SoC in accordance with the relevant procedure(s) contained in this document.

3. PRODUCT OVERVIEW

3.1 Product applications

SBB™ MKII Series batteries can be used to provide backup power, load shifting and peak shaving in residential and small commercial applications. The diagram below illustrates the general operational capability of a typical SBB™ MKII Series battery installation:

3.2 Summary of features

SBB™ MKII Series batteries include the following functions & features:

• High performance BMS: Ensures that the cells in each SBB™ MKII battery are balanced during charge cycles and includes autonomous protective measures against adverse operating conditions.
• Alarms: Triggered upon detection of operating conditions such as over-voltage, under-voltage, over-current, short circuit connections, temperature out-of-range, electronic component failure & battery failure.
• Serial communication: Includes serial communication (RS485 / CAN) integration capability with compatible peripheral devices. Supports uploading of measured health & performance data to select monitoring platforms.
• Parallel configuration: Up to 15 × SBB™ MKII batteries can be interconnected in parallel per system.

3.3 Component layout

The diagram below illustrates the dimensions and external component layout of an SBB™ MKII Series battery:

The 16 x numbered components on the interface panel inthe diagram above are described in the table below:

3.4 Technical specifications

The tables below list the technical specifications of SBB™ MKII Series batteries:

ℹ️While the above specifications are guaranteed to be correct at the time of publication of this user manual, BlueNova products remain subject to continued improvement where possible. Any information associated with such changes therefore remain subject to change and will be published in the relevant datasheet first.

4. PRE-INSTALLATION

4.1 Packing list

The following components are included with each newly ordered SBB™ MKII Series battery shipped:

ℹ️Upon unboxing a newly purchased SBB™ MKII Series battery, verify that each of the above components are included within the battery's packaging as well as undamaged. Should any of the above components not be included in any such shipment, please contact BlueNova Technical Support before proceeding with installation.

4.2 PPE & tools

The various PPE & tools which may be required to successfully install SBB™ MKII Series batteries are listed below:

4.3 Site requirements

The following site requirements must be met before proceeding with the installation of SBB™ MKII Series batteries:

• The allocated site/area/building should be free from flammable and/or explosive materials in proximity.
• The surface on which SBB™ MKII Series batteries are due to be installed must be solid & level.
• SBB™ MKII Series batteries should not be installed near heat sources or in areas exposed to direct sunlight.
• The site/area/building should be protected against water leakage & excess ingress of other foreign materials.
• The appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that the temperature & humidity at the site/area/building remain within acceptable levels in accordance with product datasheet specifications.
• The allocated site/area/building should include sufficient ventilation.
• SBB™ MKII Series batteries should only be installed in locations where they will remain accessible to relevant technical personnel if/when necessary – especially in cases of emergency.
• The allocated site/area/building should include all the required industry-standard safety signage & equipment (fire extinguishers etc.) associated with electrical installations.

5. INSTALLATION

5.1 Installation - Single battery

The diagram and corresponding instructions below describe the procedure for installing a single SBB™ MKII battery:

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Ensure that the battery-integrated breaker switches (and the inverter/charger to connect to) are switched off.
2. Connect the battery’s enclosure to an electrical earthing point.
3. Set the switches on the DIP switch array to [ ON | OFF | OFF | OFF ] (see section 5.3 for more information).
4. Connect the battery’s negative terminal to the appropriate negative terminal of the system’s inverter/charger.
5. Connect the battery’s positive terminal to the appropriate positive terminal of the system’s inverter/charger.
6. Connect the battery’s second RJ45 “Inverter port” to the appropriate serial communication port of the system’s inverter/charger. See section 5.4 for more information on RJ45 connector pinout configuration.
7. Switch the inverter/charger on (not illustrated in the diagram above).
8. Switch battery-integrated breakers on.
9. Switch the battery on by pressing the indicated button.

5.2 Installation - Parallel batteries

The diagram and corresponding instructions below describe the procedure for installing SBB™ MKII batteries in parallel.
ℹ️Note: A maximum of 15 × SBB™ MKII Series batteries can be installed in parallel per system:

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Ensure that each battery’s integrated breaker switches (and the inverter/charger to connect to) are switched off.
2. Connect each battery’s enclosure to an electrical earthing point.
3. Set the switches of the DIP switch array on each battery according to the instructions included in section 5.3 of this user manual.
4. Connect the negative terminal of each battery to a common negative DC bus bar. Each cable used for this purpose should be of the same length, diameter, conductive material and quality.
5. Connect the positive terminal of each battery to a common positive DC bus bar. Each cable used for this purpose should be of the same length, diameter, conductive material and quality.
6. Connect the second RJ45 “Parallel port” of battery 1 (master) to the first RJ45 “Parallel port” of battery 2 with an appropriate RJ45 cable. See section 5.4 for more information on RJ45 pinout configuration.
7. Connect the second RJ45 “Parallel port” of battery 2 to the first RJ45 “Parallel port” of battery 3 with an appropriate RJ45 cable. Continue this process until the serial communication of all batteries included in the parallel configuration are interconnected. See section 5.4 for more information on RJ45 pinout configuration.
8. Connect the negative DC bus bar to the appropriate negative terminal on the system’s inverter/charger.
9. Connect the positive DC bus bar to the appropriate positive terminal on the system’s inverter/charger.
10. Connect the master battery’s second RJ45 “Inverter port” to the appropriate serial communication port of the system’s inverter/charger. See section 5.4 for more information on RJ45 pinout configuration.
11. Switch each battery’s integrated breakers on.
12. Switch the system’s inverter/charger on (not illustrated in the diagram above).
13. Switch the first (master) battery on by pressing the indicated button. The rest of the interconnected batteries in the configuration should then switch on automatically.

⚠️Parallel battery configurations should always be connected to the associated system’s inverter / charger from end-to-end, i.e. from the positive terminal of the first battery (or closest point thereto on a common positive DC bus bar) and the negative terminal of the last battery (or closest point thereto on a common negative DC bus bar) of the entire parallel configuration, or vice versa.

5.3 DIP switch array

The DIP switch array included on the interface of each SBB™ MKII Series battery is labelled with the text “Encoder” and includes 4 × DIP switches. The switch array is used to define the number of batteries connected to a specific system as well as the specific address of each individual battery included in parallel battery configurations (where applicable):

The DIP switch array configuration for both single and parallel-connected battery configurations are detailed in the table below:

5.4 Serial communication

The 2 × RJ45 ports labelled “Parallel port” on each battery’s interface panel are used to interconnect the CAN serial communication of batteries included in a parallel battery configuration. The pin configuration is detailed below:

The 2 × RJ45 ports labelled “Inverter port” on each battery’s interface panel are used to connect the CAN / RS485 serial communication of batteries to a serial-compatible inverter. The pin configuration is detailed below:

ℹ️Apart from connecting SBB™ MKII Series batteries with correctly configured RJ45 communication cables to serial communication-compatible inverters, additional configuration is required via the integrated touch-screen display of any such batteries to establish communication. See section 6.2 for more information.

5.5 Voltage-based setup

For the purposes of installing SBB™ MKII Series batteries with voltage-compatible inverters that do not include serial communication, the following parameters must be set:

ℹ️Apart from physically connecting SBB™ MKII Series batteries with the correctly configured RJ45 communication cables to serial communication-compatible inverters, additional configuration is required via the integrated touch-screen display of such batteries to successfully establish serial communication. See section 6.2 for more information.

6. OPERATION

6.1 Indicators

The SOC LED array of each SBB™ MKII battery operates with the RUN & Alarm LED and integrated buzzer to indicate battery state-of-charge as follows:

ℹ️The icons in the above and below tables should be interpreted as follows:

The LEDs, integrated buzzer and on-board display of SBB™ MKII batteries indicate specific warnings and/or fault conditions as described in the table below:

6.2 Touch-screen display

The diagram below illustrates the image that should be displayed on the integrated touch-screen display of an SBB™ MKII Series battery upon switching the battery on:

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explained in the table below:

ℹ️The integrated touch-screen display of SBB™ MKII Series batteries will automatically switch off when idle for more than 60 seconds. To switch the display on again in such cases, simply touch / tap the display.

Tap on the Next page arrow (numbered 3 in the previous diagram) to navigate to the next page below. This page mainly provides a more detailed overview of the various factors that influence the performance of the battery:

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explained in the table below:

⚠️Performance issues may arise in cases where the cell voltage difference between any 2 × cells in any single SBB™ MKII battery exceeds 10mV. In such instances the issue may be resolved via standard balance charge procedures. Should the issue persist, please contact BlueNova Technical Support for further assistance.

Tap on the Next page arrow (numbered 3 in the previous diagram) to navigate to the next page below. This page provides specific information on the various alarm & warning conditions that can be reported by SBBT™️ MKII batteries:

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explained in the table below:

Note: Green🟢bullets on the above page indicate normal status, while red🔴bullets indicate warnings & alarms. The text abbreviations for each condition on the above page are explained below:

Tap on the Next page arrow (numbered 3 in the previous diagram) to navigate to the next page below. This page specifies the existing serial communication protocol for which the battery has been configured (if any) and provides access to (re)configuring such protocols for successful integration with serial-compatible inverters:

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explained in the table below:

ℹ️At the time of publication of this manual, SBB™ MKII Series batteries have been serial communication-compatible with specific 48V inverters manufactured by the following companies:

Tap on the Setting button (numbered 7 in the previous diagram) to navigate to the subpage below. This subpage specifies the inverter-specific serial communication protocol with which the battery has been configured (if any):

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explained in the table below:

Tap on the Inverter type button (numbered 3 in the previous diagram) to navigate to the subpage illustrated on the next page of this manual. This page lists all the inverter-specific serial communication protocols with which an SBB™ MKII Series battery may be configured:

The numbered elements & sections in the diagram above are explaied in the table below:

6.3 Remote monitoring

SBB™ MKII Series batteries can be remotely monitored via the IOE Green Energy mobile application. This application also allows SBB™ MKII Series batteries to be connected to an on-site Wi-Fi hotspot within range to enable remote monitoring from any internet-connected smart device. To download the application, scan the applicable QR code below:

7. EMERGENCY & FIRST AID

The table below lists some emergency conditions which may be encountered in the proximity of SBB™ MKII Series batteries, and the corresponding procedure(s) to follow in each case.
⚠️Some of the procedures listed below require specific PPE. Do not proceed with any such procedure without wearing the correct associated PPE required in each case.