16 May 2006 -- LEM's Sentinel, the transducer company's first active sensor product specifically for VRLA (lead-acid) battery monitoring, measures temperature, float charge and the impedance per cell.
"Continuous battery monitoring is increasingly recognized for its importance in lowering maintenance costs and helping to prevent catastrophic battery failure," said Nigel Scott, business development manager. "We aim to offer the most comprehensive battery monitoring system available and to reduce the cost of monitoring, which traditionally has been as much as 50-70 percent of the cost of the battery, to a level affordable to most battery system users."
Touted as the most comprehensive battery sensor for monitoring "standby" batteries, Sentinel includes an SoC to facilitate data transfer over an S-Bus. The company's MicroGuard controller (or any custom software-controlled processor) orchestrates system control for any number of battery banks (one Sentinel per battery).
In addition to the sensor component, LEM also offers interface module kits, a stand-alone monitor and an "instant monitor" PCB that can be integrated into OEM equipment. PC-based software that allows for analysis of readings is available as source code.
- Vince Biancomano -
