SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018

Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General safety information

This Part of IEC 62485 specifies the basic requirements for secondary batteries and battery
installations.
The requirements regarding safety, reliability, life expectancy, mechanical strength, cycle
stability, internal resistance, and battery temperature, are determined by various applications,
and this, in turn, determines the selection of the battery design and technology.
In general, the requirements and definitions are specified for lead-acid and nickel-cadmium
batteries. For other battery systems with aqueous electrolyte, the requirements may be
applied accordingly.
The standard covers safety aspects taking into account hazards associated with:
– electricity (installation, charging, discharging, etc.);
– electrolyte;
– inflammable gas mixtures;
– storage and transportation.
With respect to electrical safety, reference is made to IEC 60364-4-41.

Sicherheitsanforderungen an Sekundär-Batterien und Batterieanlagen – Teil 1: Allgemeine Sicherheitsinformationen

Exigences de sécurité pour les batteries d'accumulateurs et les installations de batteries - Partie 1: Informations générales de sécurité

L'IEC 62485-1:2015 spécifie les exigences fondamentales des batteries d'accumulateurs et des installations de batteries. Les exigences relatives à la sécurité, la fiabilité, l'espérance de vie, la résistance mécanique, la stabilité du cyclage, la résistance interne et la température de batterie sont déterminées par diverses applications, et celles-ci à leur tour déterminent le choix de la conception et de la technologie des batteries. En général, les exigences et les définitions sont spécifiées pour des batteries au plomb et au nickel-cadmium. Pour d'autres systèmes de batterie à électrolyte aqueux, les exigences peuvent être appliquées en conséquence. La norme couvre les aspects liés à la sécurité prenant en compte les dangers associés aux éléments suivants:
- l'électricité (installation, charge, décharge, etc.);
- l'électrolyte;
- les mélanges de gaz inflammables;
- le stockage et le transport.

Varnostne zahteve za sekundarne baterije in baterijske naprave - 1. del: Splošne varnostne informacije

Ta del standarda IEC 62485 določa osnovne zahteve za sekundarne baterije in baterijske naprave.
Zahteve v zvezi z varnostjo, zanesljivostjo, pričakovano življenjsko dobo, mehansko trdnostjo, stabilnostjo cikla, notranjo upornostjo in temperaturo baterije so določene na podlagi različnih vrst uporabe, ki določajo izbiro zasnove in tehnologije za baterijo.
Zahteve in opredelitve so v splošnem določene za svinčeno-kislinske ter nikelj-kadmijeve baterije. Za druge baterijske sisteme z vodnim elektrolitom se lahko uporabljajo ustrezne zahteve.
Ta standard obravnava varnostne vidike, ki upoštevajo nevarnosti, povezane s/z:
– električno energijo (inštalacija, polnjenje, praznjenje itd.);
– elektrolitom;
– vnetljivimi plinskimi zmesmi;
– skladiščenjem in transportom.
Glede električne varnosti je omenjen standard IEC 60364-4-41.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 20-Aug-2018
• ICS: 29.220.20 - Acid secondary cells and batteries
• ICS: 29.220.30 - Alkaline secondary cells and batteries
• Technical Committee: ISCB - Secondary cells and batteries
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 27-Jul-2018
• Due Date: 01-Oct-2018
• Completion Date: 21-Aug-2018
• Ref Project: EN IEC 62485-1:2018 - Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General safety information

Relations

• Revised: SIST EN 50272-1:2010 - Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General safety information
• Effective Date: 22-Aug-2017
• Replaces: SIST EN 50272-1:2010 - Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General safety information
• Effective Date: 08-May-2018
• Replaces: SIST EN 50272-1:2010 - Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General safety information
• Effective Date: 07-Jun-2022

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
01-oktober-2018
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 50272-1:2010
Varnostne zahteve za sekundarne baterije in baterijske naprave - 1. del: Splošne
varnostne informacije
Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations - Part 1: General
safety information
Exigences de sécurité pour les batteries d'accumulateurs et les installations de batteries
- Partie 1: Informations générales de sécurité
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN IEC 62485-1:2018
ICS:
29.220.20 .LVOLQVNLVHNXQGDUQLþOHQLLQ Acid secondary cells and
EDWHULMH batteries
29.220.30 $ONDOQLVHNXQGDUQLþOHQLLQ Alkaline secondary cells and
EDWHULMH batteries
SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018


EUROPEAN STANDARD EN IEC 62485-1

NORME EUROPÉENNE

EUROPÄISCHE NORM
May 2018
ICS 29.220.20; 29.220.30 Supersedes EN 50272-1:2010
English Version
Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery
installations - Part 1: General safety information
(IEC 62485-1:2015)
Exigences de sécurité pour les batteries d'accumulateurs et Sicherheitsanforderungen an Sekundär-Batterien und
les installations de batteries - Partie 1: Informations Batterieanlagen - Teil 1: Allgemeine
générales de sécurité Sicherheitsinformationen
(IEC 62485-1:2015) (IEC 62485-1:2015)
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2018-04-09. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.
Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.
CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.



European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2018 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
 Ref. No. EN IEC 62485-1:2018 E

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
EN IEC 62485-1:2018 (E)


European foreword
This document (EN IEC 62485-1:2018) consists of the text of IEC 62485-1:2015 prepared by
IEC/TC 21 "Secondary cells and batteries".

The following dates are fixed:

• latest date by which this document has to be (dop) 2019-04-09
implemented
at national level by publication of an identical
national standard or by endorsement
(dow) 2021-04-09
• latest date by which the national standards conflicting
with this document have to be withdrawn

This document supersedes EN 50272-1:2010.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 62485-1:2015 was approved by CENELEC as a European
Standard without any modification.
In the official version, for Bibliography, the following notes have to be added for the standards
indicated:
IEC 60254-1 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60254-1.
IEC 60254-2 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60254-2.
IEC 60622 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60622.
IEC 60623 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60623.
IEC 60896-21 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60896-21.
IEC 60896-22 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60896-22.
IEC 60952-1 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60952-1.
IEC 60952-2 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60952-2.
IEC 60952-3 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 60952-3.
IEC 61056-1 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61056-1.
IEC 61056-2 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61056-2.
IEC 61427 series NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61427 series.
IEC 61951-1 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61951-1.
IEC 61951-2 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61951-2.
IEC 61959 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61959.
IEC 61960 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61960.
IEC 61982 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 61982.
IEC 62133 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 62133.
IEC 62259 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 62259.
IEC 62877-1 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 62877-1.
IEC 62877-2 NOTE  Harmonized as EN 62877-2.

2

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
EN IEC 62485-1:2018 (E)

Annex ZA
(normative)

Normative references to international publications
with their corresponding European publications

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments)
applies.

NOTE 1  Where an International Publication has been modified by common modifications, indicated by (mod), the relevant
EN/HD applies.

NOTE 2  Up-to-date information on the latest versions of the European Standards listed in this annex is available here:
www.cenelec.eu.

Publication Year Title EN/HD Year
IEC 60050-482 2004 International Electrotechnical Vocabulary - -
(IEV) -- Part 482: Primary and secondary
cells and batteries
IEC 60364-4-41 -  Low-voltage electrical installations -- Part HD 60364-4-41 -
4-41: Protection for safety - Protection
against electric shock
IEC 60993 -  Electrolyte for vented nickel-cadmium cells EN 60993 -
IEC 61429 1995 Marking of secondary cells and batteries EN 61429 1996
with the international recycling symbol ISO
7000-1135 and indications regarding
directives 93/86/EEC and 91/157/EEC
- -  + A11 1998
- -  + corrigendum Oct. 1998
IEC 62485-2 -  Safety requirements for secondary EN 62485-2 -
batteries and battery installations -- Part 2:
Stationary batteries
IEC 62485-3 -  Safety requirements for secondary EN 62485-3 -
batteries and battery installations -- Part 3:
Traction batteries
IEC 62485-4 -  Safety requirements for secondary EN 62485-4 -
batteries and battery installations -- Part 4:
Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for use
in portable appliances
ISO 7000 -  Graphical symbols for use on equipment - - -
Registered symbols

3

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018




IEC 62485-1

®


Edition 1.0 2015-04




INTERNATIONAL



STANDARD




NORME



INTERNATIONALE
colour

inside










Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations –

Part 1: General safety information




Exigences de sécurité pour les batteries d’accumulateurs et les installations de

batteries –

Partie 1: Informations générales de sécurité















INTERNATIONAL

ELECTROTECHNICAL

COMMISSION


COMMISSION

ELECTROTECHNIQUE


INTERNATIONALE




ICS 29.220.20; 29.220.30 ISBN 978-2-8322-2614-8



Warning! Make sure that you obtained this publication from an authorized distributor.

Attention! Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez obtenu cette publication via un distributeur agréé.

® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission
Marque déposée de la Commission Electrotechnique Internationale

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
– 2 – IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 General information . 8
4.1 General . 8
4.2 Charge . 9
4.2.1 General . 9
4.2.2 Charging techniques and charging procedures . 9
4.2.3 Charger characteristics . 10
4.2.4 Mode of operation . 10
4.3 Discharge . 11
4.4 Superimposed AC current / ripple current. 12
5 Protection against electric shock . 12
6 Disconnection and separation . 12
7 Commissioning and putting batteries into operation . 12
7.1 Delivery conditions of batteries . 12
7.2 Electrolyte and topping up water (for vented / flooded type cells only). 12
7.3 Commissioning . 12
8 Limit values and correction factors . 13
8.1 General . 13
8.2 Rated capacity and depth of discharge . 13
8.3 Charge current, charge voltage . 13
8.3.1 General . 13
8.3.2 Charge voltage . 13
8.4 External short circuit . 14
8.5 Battery temperature . 14
8.5.1 Temperature limits . 14
8.5.2 Temperature correction of the charging voltage . 15
9 Provisions against explosion hazards . 16
10 Provision against electrolyte hazards . 16
11 Marking, labeling and instructions . 17
12 Transport and storage . 17
13 Disposal and environmental aspects . 17
Bibliography . 18

Figure 1 – Battery/cycle operation mode of a battery (charge/discharge) . 10
Figure 2 – Response (switch) mode operation . 11
Figure 3 – Parallel operation mode (including standby and buffer operation mode) . 11
Figure 4 – Freezing point curve of sulphuric acid . 15
Figure 5 – Freezing point curve of potassium hydroxide solution . 15

Table 1 – Electrochemical couples (secondary cells) . 8

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015 – 3 –
Table 2 – Preferred fields of application of secondary battery design . 9
Table 3 – Permitted variation of single cell voltage during charging with constant
voltage at battery temperature 20 °C. 14
Table 4 – Operating temperatures . 14
Table 5 – Typical temperature correction factor λ of the single cell charging voltage . 16
U

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
– 4 – IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________

SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SECONDARY
BATTERIES AND BATTERY INSTALLATIONS –

Part 1: General safety information

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 62485-1 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 21:
Secondary cells and batteries.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
21/851/FDIS 21/856/RVD

Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015 – 5 –
A list of all parts of the IEC 62485 series can be found, under the general title Safety
requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations, on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.

IMPORTANT – The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct
understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a
colour printer.

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
– 6 – IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015
SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SECONDARY
BATTERIES AND BATTERY INSTALLATIONS –

Part 1: General safety information



1 Scope
This Part of IEC 62485 specifies the basic requirements for secondary batteries and battery
installations.
The requirements regarding safety, reliability, life expectancy, mechanical strength, cycle
stability, internal resistance, and battery temperature, are determined by various applications,
and this, in turn, determines the selection of the battery design and technology.
In general, the requirements and definitions are specified for lead-acid and nickel-cadmium
batteries. For other battery systems with aqueous electrolyte, the requirements may be
applied accordingly.
The standard covers safety aspects taking into account hazards associated with:
– electricity (installation, charging, discharging, etc.);
– electrolyte;
– inflammable gas mixtures;
– storage and transportation.
With respect to electrical safety, reference is made to IEC 60364-4-41.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and
are indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC 60050-482:2004, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Part 482: Primary and
secondary cells and batteries
IEC 60364-4-41, Low-voltage electrical installations – Part 4-41: Protection for safety –
Protection against electric shock
IEC 60993, Electrolyte for vented nickel-cadmium cells
IEC 61429:1995, Marking of secondary cells and batteries with the international recycling
symbol ISO 7000-1135
IEC 62485-2, Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations – Part 2:
Stationary batteries
IEC 62485-3, Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations – Part 3:
Traction batteries

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015 – 7 –
IEC 62485-4, Safety requirements for secondary batteries and battery installations – Part 4:
Valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for use in portable appliances
ISO 7000, Graphical symbols for use on equipment – Registered symbols
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 60050-482, as well
the following apply.
3.1
stationary battery
stationary battery installation
battery installed in a fixed location and not generally intended to be moved from place to
place
Note 1 to entry: The batteries are permanently connected to a charger and in many cases in addition to the load
and the power supply and are incorporated into stationary equipment or installed in battery rooms for use in
telecom, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), utility switching, emergency power or similar applications.
3.2
traction battery
secondary battery designed to provide the propulsion energy for electrical vehicles
3.3
cranking battery
battery used for starting of internal combustion engines in stationary, railway or other onboard
applications
3.4
starter battery
battery primarily used as a power source for the starting of internal combustion engines,
lighting and also for auxiliary equipment of internal combustion engine vehicles
3.5
onboard battery
battery used for power supply of a DC network onboard ships, rail vehicles or off-road
vehicles without authorization for public traffic
3.6
aircraft battery
battery used in aircrafts and helicopters for starting the auxiliary engine and powering the DC
network
3.7
portable battery
battery mainly used for power supply of portable appliances
Note 1 to entry: Batteries for portable equipment are usually maintenance-free.
3.8
battery room
room in a building dedicated for the accommodation of stationary batteries
3.9
battery enclosure
enclosure designed for the accommodation of batteries to protect against environmental
impacts, unauthorised access of persons and hazards caused by the batteries

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
– 8 – IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015
3.10
mode of operation
condition where the batteries require different type of charging and discharging depending on
the type of application
Note 1 to entry: The modes are listed in 4.2.4.
3.11
charge of a battery
operation during which a secondary cell or battery is supplied with electric energy from an
external circuit which results in chemical changes within the cell and thus the storage of this
energy as chemical energy
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-482:2004, 482-05-27, modified – replacement of "charging" by "charge"
in the entry]
3.12
discharge (of a battery)
operation by which a secondary cell or battery delivers to an external electric circuit and
under specified conditions electric energy produced in the cells
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-482:2004, 482-03-23, modified – replacement of "battery" by
"secondary cell or battery" in the definition]
4 General information
4.1 General
The technical characteristics of secondary cells are listed in Table 1. The different electro-
chemical systems have acidic or alkaline aqueous electrolyte. These electro-chemical
systems generate different voltages depending on the type of positive and negative electrodes
and the type of electrolyte. For each of the systems a nominal voltage is defined.
During operation some systems may generate and release gasses, which may be hazardous
under certain conditions and require specific protective measures.
Table 1 – Electrochemical couples (secondary cells)
Battery Designation of system components Nominal Gassing
Simplified equation of
a
system voltage voltage cell reaction
Electrodes Electrolyte Active mass of electrodes
charged condition <
charged discharged
discharged condition
positive negative positive negative [V] [V]
Lead-acid Pb / PbO H SO PbO Pb PbSO PbSO 2,00
≈ 2,40 PbO + Pb + 2H SO <
2 2 4 2 4 4
2 2 4
2PbSO + 2H O
4 2
Nickel-
Ni / Cd KOH / NiOOH Cd Ni(OH) Cd(OH) 1,20 ≈ 1,55 2NiOOH + Cd + 2H O <
2 2 2
cadmium NaOH
2Ni(OH) + Cd(OH)
2 2
Ni-metal- Ni/MH KOH NiOOH H Ni(OH) H O 1,20 ≈ 1,55 2(NiOOH•H O) + H <
2 2 2 2 2
hydride
2Ni(OH) + 2H O
2 2
Nickel- Ni / Fe KOH NiOOH Fe Ni(OH) Fe(OH) 1,20 ≈ 1,70 2NiOOH + Fe + 2H O <
2 2 2
iron
2Ni(OH) + Fe(OH)
2 2
Silver- Ag / Zn KOH AgO Zn Ag Zn(OH) 1,55 O <
≈ 2,05 AgO + Zn + H
2 2
zinc
Ag + Zn(OH)
2
a
Typical nominal voltage.

In Table 2 preferred applications according to the battery design are listed.

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015 – 9 –
Table 2 – Preferred fields of application of secondary battery design
Field of application Stationary Traction Portable
battery battery battery
IEC 62485-2 IEC 62485-3 IEC 62485-4
Telecommunication 

Power plants / Substations
DC power supply systems

alarm system, signal systems, railway crossings, etc.
Emergency power supply 
UPS systems 

Starting of internal combustion engines (cranking battery)
PV solar systems 
Forklift trucks / Materials Handling Equipment (MHE) 
Automatic guided vehicles

Mobile robots
Cleaning machines

Wheel chairs
Explosion proof batteries

mining batteries
Leisure type batteries, e.g.

Caravans, boats, yachts
Batteries onboard ships (boats), railway and other vehicles  
Portable appliances  
  
General purpose batteries

4.2 Charge
4.2.1 General
After a discharge, secondary batteries can be recharged by use of a suitable DC power
source. Normally batteries supply the energy for a specified time period to appliances,
systems or vehicles independent from the mains power supply.
Batteries can also be kept fully charged by applying permanent float charge and can be
operated as a reserve power source, e.g. in ‘fail safe’ power supply systems.
The characteristic of the charge equipment is determined by the electro-chemical system, the
battery design and the application. The charger shall provide the required charging
characteristics and charging regime to suit to the operating conditions.
In the case of parallel operation of the battery with the charger and load, the system’s settings
for current and voltage shall reflect the values specified by the battery manufacturer.
4.2.2 Charging techniques and charging procedures
For proper charging of secondary batteries, manufacturer’s specified charging procedures and
charging regimes shall be applied. For achieving long service life of secondary batteries the
limit values and operating conditions shall be observed. The control of charge voltage (over
charge protection) and current are recommended to detect irregularities during a charge.
Some conditions can extend a recharge time, e.g. low voltage of the mains supply, or low
electrolyte temperature requiring a longer recharge time, or suffer undercharge.

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SIST EN IEC 62485-1:2018
– 10 – IEC 62485-1:2015  IEC 2015
Normally the charge current for vented batteries is not limited until the gassing voltage is
reached. With valve-regulated and gastight sealed batteries the manufacturer’s instruction
regarding charge current, voltage and temperature shall be followed.
When exceeding the gassing voltage the charge current shall be adjusted according to
information from the battery manufacturer or from the relevant safety standards.
4.2.3 Charger characteristics
Chargers with uncontrolled taper characteristics are affected by variations in the mains
supply, i.e. variations of mains voltage and frequency. In order to compensate for these
variations, manual adjustment of the transformer tappings may be required, to achieve the
chargers specified recharge values.
The mains voltage variation for long periods on uncontrolled taper charge rectifiers gives
deviations of the output current. The manual adjustment of the transformer tappings may be
necessary to bring the charger back to recommended output limits
Influences from the mains supply are compensated when chargers with controlled charge
characteristic are used, e.g. constant current / constant voltage (IU) characteristic.
Parallel connected batteries shall have identical electrochemical system and identical number
of cells. They shall be charged with controlled IU-chargers only. The individual strings in the
installation shall have an equal potential.
4.2.4 Mode of operation
4.2.4.1 General
The mode of operation specifies the joint operation of the DC power source, the battery and
the consumer load.
The following modes of operation are typical:
• battery / cycle operation (charge / discharge operation)
...