Victron Smart BMS 12/200 - Battery Management System for Lithium Batteries

Victron Battery Management System 12/200: BMS for lithium-ion smart batteries

The Smart BMS 12/200 is a complete battery management system for intelligent lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries from Victron. It is specifically designed for 12 V systems with a 12 V alternator, such as those used in vehicles and boats.

It combines a current limiter, a battery combiner and a battery protector in a robust and compact solution and enables the safe connection of 12 V alternators (and starter batteries), loads and chargers to Smart Lithium batteries of any size.

The Smart BMS 12/200 monitors and protects each individual battery cell within the battery (or battery bank) and disconnects the alternator, charging sources or DC loads in the event of low battery cell voltage, high battery cell voltage or overheating.

The dedicated alternator connector allows current limiting and one-way traffic from the alternator to the battery, allowing any alternator size (and starter battery) to be safely connected to the Smart Lithium battery (or battery bank) and protecting the starter battery from excessive discharge.

The BMS is equipped with Bluetooth for monitoring and configuration; a remote on/off port to turn off the BMS (and the system) via a remote switch; and a pre-alarm contact to provide a warning signal before the BMS disconnects the batteries from the system.

Alternator and battery protection
The input current is electronically limited to approximately 90% of the fuse rating. A 100 A fuse, for example, therefore limits the input current to approximately 90 A.
Choosing the right fuse will:

• a. Protect the LFP battery from excessive charging current (important for a low-capacity LFP battery).
• b. Protect the alternator from overload in case of a high capacity LFP battery bank (most 12V alternators overheat and fail if running at maximum power for more than 5 minutes).
  

Load/battery charger output/input (SYSTEM+ power supply socket)
This power supply socket allows the LFP battery to be either charged or discharged (i.e. via a charger, inverter or inverter/charger) with a maximum continuous current of 200 A in both directions.
Can also be used as a load output, allowing DC loads to be connected directly to this connector. The connector is short-circuit proof with a peak discharge current of 400 A. The Smart BMS ensures that battery discharge is shut off if cell voltage is imminent.
The Smart BMS allows charging via this port, but no charging algorithm can be applied internally.

Protection of the starter battery
This function is similar to that of a Cyrix battery combiner or Argo FET battery isolator. Current can only flow to the LFP battery when the input voltage (= voltage at the starter battery) exceeds 13 V. And no current can flow back from the LFP battery to the starter battery, thus preventing potential damage to the LFP battery due to excessive discharge.

Remote on/off input
The remote on/off input controls the charging process via the alternator. When off, charging via the alternator is disabled, while the BMS functionality remains active, allowing all loads and chargers to continue operating regardless of the state of the remote input. When the "System On/Off Switch" is activated via VictronConnect, the BMS functionality is also disabled. It consists of two terminals: Remote L and Remote H. A remote on/off switch or a relay contact can be connected between H and L. Alternatively, terminal H can be connected to battery positive or terminal L to battery negative.