SUMMARY
In this work, a historical data based battery management system (BMS) was successfully developed and implemented using an embedded system for condition monitoring of a battery energy storage system in a smart microgrid. The performance was assessed for 28 days of operating time with a one-minute sampling time. The historical data showed that the maximum temperature increment and the maximum temperature difference between the batteries were 4.5 °C and 2.8 °C. One of the batteries had a high voltage rate of change, i.e. above 3.0 V/min, and its temperature rate of change was very sensitive, even at low voltage rate of changes. This phenomenon tends to indicate problems that may deplete the battery energy storage system’s total capacity. The primary findings of this study are that the voltage and temperature rates of change of individual batteries in real operating conditions can be used to diagnose and foresee imminent failure, and in the event of a failure occurring the root cause of the problem can be found by using the historical data based BMS. To ensure further safety and reliability of acceptable practical operating conditions, rate of change limits are proposed based on battery characteristics for temperatures below 0.5 °C/min and voltages below 3.0 V/min.