Quick Guide to Using the Venus GX and
Battery Monitor BMV-702
Quick Guide to Using the Venus GX and Battery Monitor BMV-702 V001
12-07-2018
•
DC Power: this shows the power usage of the system (the power draw from the batteries). In
the image above the system is using 41 W to power the connected devices. A negative number
shows that the system is being charged from an external power source.
•
PV Charger: this shows the power generated by the solar array (the power input to the
batteries). In the image above the system is generating 325 W of power.
•
The Battery Icon: this shows the status of the batteries:
•
The top number shows the battery state-of-charge. In the image above the batteries
are at 92% charge.
•
The second number shows difference between the power input and power output of
the batteries. In the image above there is a net input of 284 W to the batteries (325 W
from the solar array minus 41 W power usage from connected devices = 284 W).
•
The third number shows the
voltage of the system.
The displayed value is whichever
is highest of the battery voltage or solar array voltage. To determine the exact battery
voltage the solar array must be shut for 2 minutes (or isolated from sources of light)
and the external charger disconnected. In the image above the system voltage is
51.4 V.
•
The fourth number shows the incoming current to the batteries
from the solar array
or external charger.
In the image above the incoming current to the batteries is 5.5 A.
•
The SICS does not use alternating current as part of its power system; AC Loads and AC Input
icons of the display are not relevant.
To determine the power level of the SICS batteries, it is recommended to consider the battery voltage
as the primary factor to monitor (rather than the percentage state-of-charge). The BMV-702 Battery
Monitor and SICS Battery Protect are configured to monitor battery voltages and perform key actions
at predetermined battery voltages.
The Battery Protect will disconnect the load from the batteries (and shut down the system) when it
detects a system voltage lower than 40.0 V for a period of 90 seconds to prevent battery damage from
complete discharge. It is recommended to plan for external charging when the battery voltage drops
to 44.0 V and poor solar conditions are expected (see
Training Manual 040-0000-AAA-MAN-000-SU6-
00001-00 Section G2
for details on charging the batteries). The system will automatically switch on
again when the system voltage rises to 46 V.
