Module 6
Electrical Installations and Batteries
Syllabus: Overview of power system from generation to utilization. Single line diagram.
Components of LT Switchgear (Introduction): Switch Fuse Unit (SFU), MCB, ELCB, MCCB,
Types of Wires and Cables, Earthing. Types of Batteries, Important Characteristics for
Batteries.
Overview of power system from generation to utilization
A power system, from generation to utilization, involves the process of producing electricity at
a power plant, transmitting it through high-voltage lines to distribution substations, and finally
delivering it to consumers through lower voltage lines, where the electricity is then used for
various applications like lighting, heating, and powering machinery; essentially, it's a network
that generates, transports, and distributes electrical power to end users.
Key Stages:
• Generation:
• Power Plants: Electricity is produced at power plants using various sources like
coal, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, solar, or wind, where mechanical energy is
converted into electrical energy by a generator.
• Generator Types: Depending on the source, different types of generators are
used, such as steam turbines for fossil fuels, hydro turbines for water power, or
wind turbines for wind energy.
• Transmission:
• Step-up Transformers: The generated electricity is then stepped up to high
voltage using transformers to minimize transmission losses over long distances.
• Transmission Lines: High-voltage power is carried through large, overhead
power lines called transmission lines to reach distribution substations located
near load centers.
• Distribution:
• Substations: At substations, the voltage is stepped down using transformers to
a lower voltage suitable for distribution to homes and businesses.
• Distribution Lines: Power is then carried through smaller power lines to
individual consumers via feeders and transformers.
• Utilization:
• End-User Loads: Once the electricity reaches the consumer, it is used to power
various appliances, devices, and machinery, including lighting, heating, motors,
and electronics.
Important Points:
• Grid System:
The entire network of generation, transmission, and distribution is often referred to as the
"power grid".
• Load Management:
Power companies monitor and manage the demand for electricity to ensure a stable supply.
• Reliability and Stability:
Maintaining a reliable and stable power system is crucial to prevent disruptions and power
outages.
Single Line Diagram of Power System
Definition: Single line diagram is the representation of a power system using the simple symbol
for each component. The single line diagram of a power system is the network which shows
the main connections and arrangement of the system components along with their data (such as
output rating, voltage, resistance and reactance, etc.).
It is not necessary to show all the components of the system on a single line diagram, e.g.,
circuit breaker need not be shown in the load flow study but are the must for a protection study.
In the single line diagram, the system component is usually drawn in the form of their symbols.
Generator and transformer connections, star, delta and neutral earthing are indicated by symbols
drawn by the side of the representation of these elements.
Circuit breakers are represented by rectangular blocks. The figure shown below represents the
single line diagram of a typical block system. It is difficult to draw the line diagram of the few
components. So for simplification, the impedance diagram is used for representing the power
system components.
Single line representation of Power System from generation to utilization
Components of LT Switchgear
The term LT Switchgear includes low voltage Circuit Breakers, Switches, off load electrical
isolators, HRC fuses, Switch Fuse Unit (SFU), Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker, Miniature
Circuit Breakers (MCB) and Molded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCB) etc i.e. all the accessories
required to protect the LV system.
Switchgear: The apparatus used for switching, controlling and protecting the electrical circuits
and equipment is known as switchgear.
The term ‘switchgear’ is a generic term encompassing a wide range of products like circuit
breakers, switches, switch fuse units, off-load isolators, HRC fuses, contactors, earth leakage
circuit breaker, etc.
Classification of Switchgear: Switchgear can be classified on the basis of voltage level into
the following:
1. Low voltage (LV) Switchgear: upto 1KV
2. Medium voltage (MV) Switchgear: 3 KV to 33 KV
3. High voltage (HV) Switchgear: Above 33 KV
The most common use of LV switchgear is in LV distribution board.
FUSE: Fuse is perhaps the simplest and
cheapest device used for interrupting an
electrical circuit under short circuit, or
excessive overload, current magnitudes.
The action of a fuse is based upon the
heating effect of the electric circuit. The
fuse has inverse time-current
characteristics as shown in the next
slide. The part which actually melts and
opens the circuit is known as the fuse
element.
Time current characteristic of
fuses
Fuses have following advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
1. It is cheapest form of protection available.
2. It needs no maintenance.
3. Its operation is inherently completely automatic unlike a circuit breaker which requires
an elaborate equipment for automatic action.
4. It interrupts enormous short circuit currents without noise, flame, gas or smoke.
Disadvantages:
1. Considerable time is lost in rewiring or replacing a fuse after operation.
2. On heavy short circuits, discrimination between fuses in series cannot be obtained
unless there is considerable differences in the relative sizes of the fuse concerned.
3. The current-time characteristics of a fuse cannot always be correlated with that of the
protected device.
FUSE: Fuse is provided only in phase or live pole, never on neutral pole.
FUSE UNITS: The various types of fuse units, most commonly available are:
1. Round type fuse unit.
2. Kit-kat type fuse unit.
3. Cartridge type fuse unit.
4. HRC (High Rupturing Capacity) fuse units and
5. Semiconductor fuse units.
1. Round type fuse unit: This type of fuse unit consists of a porcelain or bakelite box and two
separated wire terminals for holding the fuse wire between them. This type of fuse is not
common use on account of its following disadvantages:
• One of the terminals remain always energized and, therefore, for replacement of fuse
either the worker will have to touch the live mains or open the main switch.
• Appreciable arching takes place at the instant of blowing off fuse and thus damage the
terminals. After two or three arcing the fuse unit becomes unusable.
Round type fuse
2. Rewirable or Kit-kat Type Fuses: The most commonly used fuse in “house wiring’ and small
current circuits is the semi-enclosed or rewirable fuse (also sometimes known as kitkat type fuse).
It consists of a porcelain base carrying the fixed contacts to which the incoming and outgoing live
or phase wires are connected and a porcelain fuse carrier
holding the fuse element, consisting of one or more strands of
fuse wire, stretched between its terminals.
The fuse wire may be of lead, tinned copper, aluminium or an alloy
of tin-lead. The actual fusing current will be about twice the rated
current.
The specifications for rewirable fuses are covered by IS: 2086-
1963. Standard ratings are 6, 16, 32, 63 and 100A. A fuse wire of
any rating not exceeding the rating of the fuse may be used in it i.e. a 80A fuse wire can be used in a
100A fuse, but not in the 63A fuse.
Disadvantages of Rewirable or Kit-kat Type Fuses:
1. Unreliable operation. Rewirable or Kit-kat Type
2. Lack of discrimination. Fuses
3. Small time lag.
4. Low rupturing capacity.
5. No current limiting feature.
6. Slow speed of operation.
3. Cartridge Type Fuses: This is a totally enclosed type fuse unit. It essentially consists of an
insulating container of bulb or tube shape and sealed at its ends with metallic cap known as
cartridge enclosing the fuse element and filled with powder or granular material known as filler.
There are various types of materials used as filler like sand, calcium carbonate, quartz etc.
This type of fuse is available upto 660V and the current rating upto 800 A.
Cartridge Type Fuses
4. High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) Fuses: With a very heavy generating capacity of the
modern power stations, extremely heavy currents would flow into the fault and fuse clearing
the fault would be required to withstand extremely high stresses in this process. HRC fuses
developed and designed after intensive research for use in medium and high voltage
installations. Their rupturing capacity is as high as 500MVA up to 66 KV and above.
There are basically two types of HRC fuses are used.
1. Cartridge Type HRC Fuse.
2. Tetra Chloride Type HRC Fuse.
HRC Type Fuses
5. Semiconductor Fuses: These are very fast acting fuses for protection of thyristor and other
electronic circuits.
HRC Type Fuses
Switch Fuse Unit (SFU):
Switch fuse is a combined unit and is known as an iron clad switch, being made of iron. It may
be double pole for controlling single phase two-wire circuits or triple pole for controlling three
phase, 3-wire circuits or triple pole with neutral link for controlling 3-phase, 4-wire circuits.
The respective switches are known as double pole iron clad (DPIC), triple pole iron clad (TPIC),
and triple pole with neutral link iron clad (TPNIC) switches.
1. For Two-wire DC Circuits or Single Phase AC Circuits: 240V, 16A, DPIC switch
fuse
2. For Three-Wire DC Circuits: 500V, 32A (63/100/150 or higher amperes), IS
approved TPIC switch fuse.
1. For Three-Phase Balanced Load Circuits: 415V, 32A (63/100/150 or higher
amperes), IS
approved TPIC switch fuse.
Double pole iron clad switch Triple pole iron clad switch
Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB):
A device which provides definite protection to the wiring installations and sophisticated
equipment against over-currents and short-circuit faults. Thermal operation (overload
protection) is achieved with a bimetallic strip, which deflects when heated by any over-currents
flowing through it. In doing so, releases the latch mechanism and causes the contacts to open.
Inverse-time current characteristics result. i.e. greater the overload or excessive current, shorter
the time required to operate the MCB. On occurrence of short circuit, the rising current
energizes the solenoid, operating the plunger to strike the trip lever causing immediate release
of the latch mechanism. Rapidity of the magnetic solenoid operation causes instantaneous
opening of contacts.
MCBs are available with different current ratings of 0.5, 1.2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.5, 10, 16, 20, 25,
32, 35, 40, 63, 100, 125, 160 A and voltage rating of 240/415 V AC and up to 220 V DC.
Operating time is very short (less than 5 ms).
They are suitable for the protection of important and sophisticated equipment, such as air
conditioners, refrigerators, computers etc.
Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB):
It is a device that provides protection against earth leakage. These are of two types.
• Current operated earth leakage circuit breaker:
• Voltage operated earth leakage circuit breaker.
1. Current operated earth leakage circuit breaker: It is used when the product of the
operating current in amperes and the earth-loop impedance in ohms does not exceed 40. Such
circuit breakers is used where consumer’s earthing terminal is connected to a suitable earth
electrode. A current-operated earth leakage circuit breaker is applied to a 3-phase, 3-wire
circuit.
In normal condition when there is no earth leakage, the algebraic sum of the currents in the
three coils of the current transformers is zero, and no current flows through the trip coil. In case
of any earth leakage, the currents are unbalanced and the trip coil is energized and thus the
circuit breaker is tripped.
2. Voltage operated earth leakage circuit breaker: It is suitable for use when the earth–loop
impedance exceeds the values applicable to fuses or excess-current circuit breaker or to current
operated earth leakage circuit breaker. When the voltage between the earth continuity conductor
(ECC) and earth electrode rises to sufficient value, the trip coil will carry the required current
to trip the circuit breaker. With such a circuit breaker the earthing lead between the trip coil and
the earth electrode must be insulated; in addition, the earth electrode must be placed outside the
resistance area of any other parallel earths which may exist.
In both the above types of ELCB the tripping operation may be tested by means of a finger
operated test button which passes a predetermined current from the line wire through a high
resistance to trip the coil and thus to earth. This test operation should be performed regularly.
Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB)
Molded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB) :
It is a type of electrical protection device that can be used for a wide range of voltages, and
frequencies of both 50 Hz and 60 Hz, the main distinctions between molded case and miniature
circuit breaker are that MCCB can have current rating up to 2500 amperes, and its trip setting
are normally adjustable. MCCBs are much larger than MCBs. An MCCB has three main
functions:
o Protection against overload.
o Protection against electrical faults.
• Switching a circuit ON and OFF. This is a less common function of circuit
breakers, but they can be used for that purpose if there is not an adequate manual
switch.
The wide range of current ratings available from molded-case circuit breakers allows them to
be used in a wide variety of applications. MCCBs are available with current ratings that range
from low values such as 15 amperes, to industrial ratings such as 2500 amperes. This allows
them to be used in both low power and high-power applications.
Operating Mechanism: At its core, the protection mechanism employed by MCCBs is based
on the same physical principles used by all types of thermal-magnetic circuit breakers. Overload
protection is accomplished by means of a thermal mechanism. MCCBs have a bimetallic
contact what expands and contracts in response to changes in temperature. Under normal
operating conditions, the contact allows electric current through the MCCB. However, as soon
as the current exceeds the adjusted trip value, the contact will start to heat and expand until the
circuit is interrupted.
The thermal protection against overload is designed with a time delay to allow short duration
overcurrent, which is a normal part of operation for many devices. However any over current
conditions, that lasts more than what is normally expected represent an overload, and the
MCCB is tripped to protect the equipment and personnel. On the other hand, fault protection is
accomplished with electromagnetic induction, and the response is instant. Fault currents should
be interrupted immediately, no matter if their duration is short or long. Whenever a fault occurs,
the extremely high current induces a magnetic field in a solenoid coil located inside the breaker-
this magnetic induction trips a contact and current is interrupted. As a complement to the
magnetic protection mechanism, MCCBs have internal arc dissipation measures to facilitate
interruption.
Molded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB)
Introduction: Electrical wires and cables
When it comes to electrical systems, electrical wires and cables are the unsung heroes, silently
carrying the lifeblood of power and data throughout our modern world. These intricate conduits
are more than just a tangled mess of copper and insulation; they are a critical component of our
daily lives, connecting our homes, offices, and industries to the electricity that powers our
devices. In this in-depth exploration, we will delve into the fascinating world of electrical wires
and cables, uncovering the various types, their unique characteristics, and their crucial roles in
our electrified existence.
Understanding the Basics
Before we dive into the diverse universe of electrical wires and cables, let’s establish a
foundational understanding. These essential components serve two primary functions:
conducting electrical current and transmitting data or signals. To fulfill these functions
effectively, various types of wires and cables have been developed, each tailored to specific
applications.
Conductors vs. Insulators
The concepts of conductors and insulators are fundamental and serve as the building blocks for
understanding the behaviour of electrical current. These two categories of materials play
distinct roles in the world of electricity, and their properties are crucial for designing safe and
efficient electrical systems.
Conductors:
Conductors are materials that readily allow the flow of electrical current through them. They
possess certain characteristics that make them ideal for conducting electricity. Here are some
key attributes of conductors:
• High Electrical Conductivity: Conductors have a high degree of electrical
conductivity, which means they have a large number of free electrons that can move
easily in response to an applied voltage. This free movement of electrons facilitates the
flow of electrical current.
• Low Electrical Resistance: Conductors exhibit low electrical resistance, which is the
opposition to the flow of electrons. Low resistance ensures that minimal energy is lost
as heat when current passes through a conductor.
• Metals as Common Examples: Metals, such as copper (Cu) and aluminum (Al), are
the most common conductors due to their excellent electrical conductivity. Silver is the
best conductor among naturally occurring materials but is less practical due to its cost.
• Widely Used in Wiring: Conductors like copper wires are extensively used in electrical
wiring for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. They efficiently transmit
electrical power from one point to another.
Insulators:
Insulators, on the other hand, are materials that impede or resist the flow of electrical current.
They possess properties that make it challenging for electrons to move freely within them. Here
are the key characteristics of insulators:
• Low Electrical Conductivity: Insulators have very low electrical conductivity,
meaning they have very few free electrons available for conducting electricity.
Electrons in insulators are tightly bound to their atoms and do not move easily.
• High Electrical Resistance: Insulators exhibit high electrical resistance, making it
difficult for electric current to pass through them. This high resistance results in minimal
electrical flow.
• Dielectric Materials: Many insulators are also referred to as dielectric materials
because they are used to insulate and separate conductive elements, such as in
capacitors. The high resistance of insulators prevents the flow of direct current (DC)
and limits the flow of alternating current (AC).
• Common Examples: Common insulating materials include rubber, plastic, glass,
ceramic, and wood. These materials are used to coat or encapsulate conductors in
electrical systems, preventing unintended contact with live electrical components.
There are mainly 6 types of wires
• vulcanised indian rubber wire (V.I.R)
• tough rubber sheathed wire (T.R.S)
• poly vinyl chloride wire (P.V.C.)
• Lead alloy sheathed wire
• weather proof wires
• flexible wire
Vulcanised Indian Rubber wire (V.I.R)
• A VIR wire mainly consists of a tinned conductor having rubber coating.
• Tinning of conductor prevents the sticking of rubber to the conductor.
• Thickness of rubber mainly depends on the operating voltage to which wire is
designed.
• A cotton bradding is done over the rubber insulations to protect the conductor
against the moisture.
• Finally the wire is finished with wax for cleanliness.
• Nowadays these wires are not used since a better quality wires are available at a
cheaper rate.
Tough Rubber Sheathed wire (T.R.S)
• This type of wire is a modification of V.I.R. wire. It consists of the ordinary rubber
coated conductors with an additional sheath of tough rubber.
• This layer provides better protection against moisture and wear and tear. Also it
provides an extra insulation.
• These wires are generally available in single conductor, two conductors or three
conductors.
Poly Vinyl Chloride wire (P.V.C.)
• This is the most commonly used wire for wiring purpose.
• Conductor is insulated by poly vinyl chloride (insulating material).
• P.V.S. has following properties:
• 1. Moisture proof.
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• But it softens at high temperatures therefore not suitable for connection to heating
appliances.
Lead alloy sheathed wire
• The ordinary wires can be used only at dry places but for damp places these wires are
covered with continuous lead sheaths.
• The layer of lead covering is very thin like 0.12 cm thick.
• These wires provides little mechanical protections to the wires.
Weather proof wires
• These types of wires are used outdoor i.e. providing a service connection from overhead
line to building etc.
• In this type of wire the conductor is not tinned and the conductor is covered with three
braids of fibrous yarn and saturated with water proof compound.
Flexible wire
• These wires consists of number of strands instead of a single conductor. (Strand is a
very thin conductor).
• The conductor is insulated with P.V.C. material.
• These wires are very useful for household portable appliances where flexibility of wire
is more important.
• Typical specifications
• 55/.01mm (55 strands of 0.1mm diameter), maximum current 6A, used for household
purposes.
Introduction to cables
A power cable is an assembly of two or more electrical conductors, usually held together
with an overall sheath. The assembly is used for transmission of electrical power. Power
cables may be installed as permanent wiring within buildings, buried in the ground, run
overhead, or exposed. Flexible power cables are used for portable devices, mobile tools and
machinery.
General construction
• Conductor or Core.
• Insulation.
• Metallic Sheath.
• Bedding.
• Armouring.
• Serving.
Types of cables
The types of cables basically decided based on the voltage level
for which it is manufactured
and material used for the insulation such as paper, cotton,
rubber etc. the classification of cables according to the voltage
levels is,
Low Tension Cables (L.T. Cables).
Medium and High tension Cables (H.T. Cables).
Belted Cables
• These cables are used for the voltage level up to 11 kV. The construction of belted cable
is shown in fig.
• The cores are not in circular shape.
• The cores are insulated from each other by use of impregnated paper.
• The gaps are filled with fibrous material like jute.
• The belt is covered with lead sheath.
Screened type cables
These cables are used for the voltage levels of 22 kV. The two types of screened cables are:
H-Type cables and S.L. type cables.
H type cables
• Designed by M. Hochstetler and hence named H-type cable.
• No paper belt in this type of able.
• Each conductor is insulated with a paper, covered with a metallic screen.
S. L. Cables
S.L. leads for Separate Lead Screened Cables. Each lead is insulated with an impregnated paper
than covered by separate sheath lead.
Super tension (S.T.) Cables
• The S.T. cables are intended for 132 kV to 25 kV voltage levels.
• In such cables, the following methods are specially used to eliminate the possibility
of void formation:
• Instead of solid type insulation, low viscosity oils under pressure is used for
impregnation.
• Using inert gas at high pressure in b/w the lead sheath & dielectric.
Oil filled cables
• In case of oil filled cables, the channels or ducts are provided within or adjacent to
the cores, through which oil under pressure is circulated.
• It consists of concentric standard conductor but built around a hallow cylindrical
steel spiral core, which acts as a channel for oil.
Electrical Earthing
Have you ever experienced a mild shock when you touch certain appliances while in operating
condition? Sometimes these shocks can be dangerous and can lead to major hazards. To avoid
mis happenings, it is always advisable to have a proper earthing done to the building. This
process of sharing the charges with the earth is called earthing. Earthing is a simple way for the
leakage of current and hence protects the devices from electrical damage. Grounding is also a
safety process that protects the entire power system from malfunctioning and is mainly used to
balance the load when the electric system overloads.
Earthing is defined as “the process in which the instantaneous discharge of the electrical
energy takes place by transferring charges directly to the earth through low resistance
wire.”
Low resistance earthing wire is chosen to provide the least resistance path for leakage of fault
current. Let us know more about earthing and its types in this article.
How is Earthing Done?
To ensure safety, earthing can be done by connecting the electrical appliance to earthing
systems or electrodes placed near the soil or below the ground level.
The electrode or earthing mat equipped with a flat iron riser is installed under the ground level.
It helps to connect all the non-current-carrying metallic parts of the equipment.
This picture below shows the earthing system incorporated into an electrical system.
When the overload current is passed through the equipment or when the fault occurs in the
system due to the current, the fault current from the equipment flows through the earthing
system. The earth mat conductors aid in raising the voltage value equal to the resistance of the
earth mat multiplied by a ground fault and helps guard the equipment against overload current
or fault current.
In homes, there shall be three types of wires, live, neutral, and earth. Live and neutral carry
electric current from the power station and the earth is connected to the buried metal plate.
Electric appliances like refrigerators, iron boxes, and TV are connected to the earth wire while
operating. Hence, these devices are protected from the surge or faulty electrical supply. Local
earthing is done near the electrical metre of the house.
Types of Earthing
There are three types of earthing, they are:
• Pipe earthing
• Plate earthing
• Strip earthing
Pipe earthing is the best and most efficient way of earthing and is also easily affordable. Pipe
earthing uses 38mm diametre and 2 metres length pipe vertically embedded in the ground to
work as earth electrodes.
In plate earthing, an earthing plate made of copper or G.I. is buried into the ground at a depth
more than 3 metres from the ground level. This earthing plate is embedded in an alternative
layer of coke and salts.
Strip earthing is used in transmission processes. Strip electrodes of cross section not less than
25mm X 1.6mm of copper or 25 mm X 4mm of G.I. or steel are buried in horizontal trenches
of a minimum depth of 0.5m.
Advantages of Earthing
1. Earthing is the safe and the best method of offering safety. We know that the earth’s
potential is zero and is treated as Neutral. Since low equipment is connected to earth
using low resistance wire, balancing is achieved.
2. Metal can be used in electrical installations without looking for its conductivity, proper
earthing ensures that metal does not transfer current.
3. A sudden surge in voltage or overload does not harm the device and person if proper
earthing measures are done.
4. It prevents the risk of fire hazards that could otherwise be caused by the current leakage.
Types of Batteries and characteristics
Batteries nowadays are one of the most important components of electronic appliances and are
used in almost every portable electronic device. From Drones to phones, and tablets to
automobile EVs, one common electronic component you find is the battery.
The current battery market reached around USD 113.4 billion. This market keeps increasing
with the development of EVs and the expansion of portable electronics and wearable electronic
devices.
Different Types of Batteries
From a range of devices like Phones to EVS to drones to automobiles, the battery and type also
differ and are based on use cases. So let’s understand the depth of these battery types.
The first main classification of battery is on two types i.e. primary batteries and secondary
batteries.
Primary Battery
Primary batteries are non-rechargeable disposable batteries. Once fully drained, primary cells
can’t be recharged and you can say it’s a single-cycle battery. They consist of the chemical
inside it that gets consumed with time and use and once it’s fully drained, you need to dispose
of it.
Types of Primary Battery
Alkaline Batteries:
This type of battery drives the energy by a reaction of zinc
metal and manganese oxide and we named it an alkaline
battery because instead of using an acidic electrolyte, we
use an alkaline electrolyte like potassium hydroxide
(KOH).
Advantages:
1. More life
2. Shelf life is more
3. Small in size
4. Highly efficient
5. Low internal resistance so that discharge state in idle state is less
6. Leakage is low
Aluminum-Air Batteries:
This is the highest energy density battery and produces energy from the reaction of oxygen with
aluminum. Once the aluminum is consumed and all aluminum gets reacted with air oxygen, we
can’t use this battery further and we need to dispose of it after a single use.
Dry Cells:
This is another type of primary battery and most of us use it in our toys and TV remote control
but these batteries are now getting replaced by alkaline batteries because of their high lifetime
and energy density over the dry cells.
The dry cell is named after its electrolyte type as we use the dry electrolyte in it instead of
liquid or wet electrolyte.
Dry Cell Battery
There are many other kinds of primary batteries as well but we mostly use mentioned above
batteries.
There are the following other kinds of primary batteries or you can say disposable single-cycle
batteries.
• Lemon/potato battery
• Lithium battery
• Lithium-air battery
• Magnesium battery
• Mercury battery
• Molten salt battery
• Nickel oxyhydroxide battery
• Oxyride battery
• Organic radical battery
• Paper battery
• Pulvermacher’s chain
• Silver-oxide battery
• Solid-state battery
• Sugar battery
• Voltaic pile
• Penny battery
• Trough battery
• Water-activated battery
• Weston cell
• Zinc–air battery
• Zinc–carbon battery
• Zinc–chloride battery
• Zamboni pile
Battery Power Density Comparison Table
Energy Density
Battery Type Life Cycle Toxicity
(Wh/kg)
Li-Ion 126-190 500-1,000 Low
Ni-Cd 45-80 1000 High
Ni-MH 100 300-500 Low
Li-ion polymer 185 300 – 500 Low
Lead Acid 30-50 200-300 High
Lithium–Sulfur 55 50-100 Non- Toxic
Secondary Battery
These kinds of batteries are multicycle batteries. We can recharge these batteries and use this
kind of battery in many cycles of recharge. We mostly use these kinds of batteries in EVs,
Phones, Automobiles, Portable gadgets, and in many different areas.
Based on environmental conditions and kind of need and use we further have different types of
secondary batteries; some of the most popular secondary batteries that we use in most places
are the Li-Ion battery, Li-Polymer Battery, and Lead Acid battery.
Types of Secondary Batteries
Li-Ion Batteries
This kind of battery uses Lithium metal so named Li-Ion battery. These batteries are composed
of cells and lithium ions from the negative electrode move to the positive electrode and when
we charge, the ions move back to their place; this cycle occurs in each charging and discharging
process.
Li-Ion Batteries
The power density of Li-ion batteries is 126 Wh/Kg.
Li-Po Batteries
The Li-Po battery a.k.a. lithium polymer battery, we named polymer battery because it uses
polymer electrolyte instead of liquid electrolyte. The high conductivity gel polymer form of
electrolyte is used. These batteries carry high energy density compared to their weight.
Li-Po batteries
These are mostly used in drones due to their lightweight and high density of energy. It has a
Power density of 185 Wh/Kg.
Ni-MH Batteries
Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) battery uses nickel oxide hydroxide and they are quite similar to
Nickel cadmium NiCd batteries but here they use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy instead of
cadmium and have a lower impact on the environment compared to others.
Ni-MH Batteries
The power density of these batteries is 100 Wh/Kg.
Lead-acid Batteries
The lead acid battery has electrodes submerged in sulfuric acid electrolytes. These batteries are
quite bulky and are mostly used in automobiles, UPS, Grid power stations, etc.
Lead-acid Batteries
There are the following other kinds of secondary batteries-
• Aluminum-ion battery
• Calcium battery
• Flow battery
• Vanadium redox battery
• Zinc–bromine battery
• Zinc–cerium battery
• Lithium-ion lithium cobalt oxide battery (ICR)
• Lithium–silicon battery
• Lithium-ion manganese-oxide battery (LMO)
• Lithium-ion polymer battery (LiPo)
• Lithium–iron–phosphate battery (LFP)
• Lithium–nickel–manganese–cobalt oxides (NMC)
• Lithium–nickel–cobalt–aluminium oxides (NCA)
• Lithium-sulfur battery
• Lithium–titanate battery (LTO)
• Thin-film lithium-ion battery
• Lithium–ceramic battery
• Rechargeable lithium–metal battery
• Magnesium-ion battery
• Metal–air electrochemical cells
• Lithium-air battery
• Aluminium–air battery
• Germanium–air battery
• Beryllium–air battery
• Molten-salt battery
• Microbial fuel cell
• Nickel-cadmium battery
• Nickel-cadmium battery vented cell type
• Nickel–hydrogen battery
• Nickel–iron battery
• Sand battery
• Silver–zinc battery
• Silver–calcium battery
• Silver–cadmium battery
• Sodium-ion battery
• Zinc-ion battery