powering remote devices that are not attached to the grid. Battery powered for up to 40 years in the field

1. Powering
devices
in remote
locations
Sol Jacobs
sjacobs@tadiranbat.com

2. Power usage sets the power supply
• Consumer level devices, with moderate temperatures and short lives use
consumer grade batteries.
• Remote devices with very low power usage use industrial grade primary,
non-rechargeable lithium batteries.
• Remote devices with moderate power usage need industrial grade
rechargeable batteries with energy harvesting to charge them.
• Remote systems with very high outputs and usage need large battery banks
and solar panels (not in the scope of these discussions).

3. Energy harvesting techniques
• Photovoltaic systems - solar
• Thermoelectric devices - heat
• Piezoelectric – kinetic
• RF - electromagnetic waves

4. Longer life consumer grade devices
• Battery easily accessible and replaceable
• Relatively inexpensive device
• Operating temperature: 10 to 40c
• Battery operating life: 1 to 5 years
• Batteries of choice: alkaline and consumer grade lithium cells
• Devices such as thermostats, wireless light switches, home security
systems, electronic locks, etc.

5. Industrial, low usage remote devices
• Average current use in microamps
• Pulses up to amps a number of times a day, resting most of the time.
• Primary, non-rechargeable batteries, not easy or impossible to replace
• Highly reliable, expensive device.
• Operating temperature: -55 to 85c (can go to -80c and 125c)
• Battery operating life: up to 40 years
• Hermetic mechanical seal
• Batteries of choice: low self discharge industrial grade lithium cells
• Devices such as automated utility meters, Electronic Toll Collection
tags, tracking devices, industrial IOT, wireless sensors, etc.

7. The effect of self discharge
The self discharge rate of the battery could be more that the average
usage rate of the device.
How long could the battery operate while using 70% of its initial
capacity - for device usage?
• With an annual self discharge rate of 4% (alkaline and consumer
lithium) – 7 years
• With an annual self discharge rate of 2.5% (average industrial lithium)
– 12 years
• With an annual self discharge rate of 0.7% (extra low self discharge
lithium) - 40 years.

8. Battery sealing. Hermetic or crimped?

9. Proving that batteries can last 40 years
Actual results in the field:
- A utility changed out 10s of thousands of its gas meters after 28 years of operation. The batteries were still
operating and a test in our labs on cells sent from the field showed they could have operated for over 30
years. This was an older technology of ours.
Continuous long term testing:
- Tadiran continues to test samples from every production lot we ever produced (over 40 years)
Long term testing at 72c: Arrhenius test
- At 72c you use the battery up at a rate 32 times higher than at 22c. We have a test still running after 90
months at 72c – the equivalent of centuries at 22c.
Testing results confirmed by use of a calorimeter, the most accurate testing device for batteries

10. Moderate usage remote devices
• Average current use in milliamps
• Pulses up to amps many times a day, resting most of the time.
• Primary battery can not last the needed operating life. Battery not easily
accessible, needs energy harvesting to recharge.
• Highly reliable, expensive device.
• Operating temperature: -40 to 85c
• Battery operating life: up to 20 years
• Batteries of choice: low self discharge industrial grade rechargeable cells with
high cycle life and ability to charge and discharge at all operating temperatures
• Devices such as monitoring devices, tracking, oceanographic, infrastructure
sensors, etc.

11. Energy harvesting techniques
• Photovoltaic systems - solar
• Thermoelectric devices - heat
• Piezoelectric – kinetic
• RF - electromagnetic waves

13. Supercaps vs batteries
Supercapacitor EDLC HLC (with battery)
TLI Industrial
Lithium ion
AA
Consumer Li-Ion
18650
Internal Resistance Low Low Low Low
Operating Temperature (°C) -40 to +70 -40 to +85 -40 to +85 -20 to +60
Maximum Rated Voltage (V) 2.3 to 2.7 3.6 / 3.9 4.1V 4.1 to 4.3
Minimum Operating
0 2.5 2.5 2.5
Voltage (V)
Capacitance/Energy vs.
Lowest 150 x EDLC 1000 x EDLC 6000 x EDLC
Device Volume
Charge / Discharge
100k 100k 5000 - 10000 500 - 1000
Cycles
Self Discharge High Very Low Very Low fair
Voltage balancing circuit required not required not required not required
Voltage Monitoring
No No Yes Yes
Required
Supercapacitor EDLC HLC (with battery) TLI Industrial Lithium ion AA Consumer Li-Ion 18650
Operating Temperature (°C) -40 to +70 -40 to +85 -40 to +85 -20 to +60
Maximum Rated Voltage (V) 2.3 to 2.7 3.6 / 3.9 4.1V 4.1 to 4.3
Minimum Operating
0 2.5 2.5 2.5
Voltage (V)
Capacitance/Energy vs.
Lowest 150 x EDLC 1000 x EDLC 6000 x EDLC
Device Volume
Charge / Discharge
100k 100k 5000 - 10000 500 - 1000
Cycles
Self Discharge High Very Low Very Low fair
Voltage balancing circuit required not required not required not required
Voltage Monitoring
No No Yes Yes
Required

14. Thank you
www.tadiranbat.com