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BMS design: centralized architecture vs modular architecture

A project log for Universal Battery Module

The goal is to create a bulletproof 18650 based battery solution applicable to a wide variety of tasks; solar, utility vehicles, EVs, boats.

michel-kuenemannMichel Kuenemann 03/19/2016 at 16:350 Comments

Centralized solution

Modular solution

Advantages and drawbacks of each solution

SolutionProsCons
Centralized
  1. Less expensive than the modular solution
  1. The temperature of 8 cell groups cannot be acquired.
  2. Lots of wires.
  3. 3 different boards to design.
  4. The consumption of the acquistion/balancing board is not easy to predict.
  5. In James' configuration, the acquisition/balancing board cannot work without the Rpi. Can be a safety issue in case of Rpi crash.
  6. Complicated Rpi monitoring/balancing programm in James's configuration.
Modular
  1. Wires are reduced to the maximum.
  2. Works autonomously.
  3. Perfect galvanic isolation.
  4. Easier test, troubleshooting and maintenance.
  5. Easily scalable solution
  6. BMS own consumption is easy to manage
  1. More hardware.
  2. A little more programming effort on the microcontroller side.
  3. Costs more than the centralized solution.

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