Supercapacitors have made their home in electronic devices for good – from consumer appliances, through industrial, to electric vehicles. Below are Eaton’s brand offerings and TV/TVA components, that perfectly fit the needs of several very popular applications.
In this article, we take a closer look at the offerings of Eaton in the field of supercapacitors, specifically – the TV and TVA series. Their manufacturer is a reputable brand specializing in energy and power management electricity. The components themselves are characterized by a number of important features, such as: low ESR, high power density or competitive dimensions. In addition to the specifics of the components and their potential applications, the following also presents example applications of supercapacitors, primarily in the field of smart electricity counters, gas and water.
In this article, we cover topics such as:
- Characteristics of Supercapacitors
- What are supercapacitors used for in smart counters?
- Characteristics and application range of TV/TVA series components
Supercapacitors characteristics
Eaton’s Supercapacitors belonging to the TV/TVA series are components that have the ability to store large amounts of energy (capacitances from F 3, 3F to 100F), characterized by high reliability and long life. These properties have been achieved through the use of a double electrical layer (Helmholtz layer, abbreviated as EDLC from the. Electric Double Layer Capacitor) and the manufacturer’s proprietary technologies and materials. Components of this type are increasingly used in emergency and hybrid power systems, energy storage (and their controllers). They are used not only for stand-alone load storage. Often they work together with Batteries and are included in the circuit only when, when a delivery or consumption of high current is required (pulsed power), which leads to extended cell life, as well as cost optimization.
The relatively small (Ø18,5x42mm) TVA series capacitor has a capacitance of 60F.
Thanks to the exceptional parameters of TV/TVA Capacitors, systems (Batteries) can be made that operate with powers even in the order of megawatts. A great advantage of the presented products is also low ESR (ang. Equivalent Series Resistance) at high power density.
More about the parameters of TV/TVA series supercapacitors later in the article.
Smart meters
Eaton experts are in daily contact with customers designing innovative solutions, in which supercapacitors play a key role. One such application is intelligent and remotely operating consumption counters. These enable suppliers to precisely manage resources such as: electricity, gas or water. Most importantly, they can more accurately track their usage or make certain utilities on/off without sending an employee to the customer’s location. Importantly: even if there is a major power failure, the smart meter can still communicate with the control panel, sending consumption reports and technical alerts.
The aforementioned functions, meters can perform precisely thanks to supercapacitors. First, they store energy: either needed to power the entire meter, or only periodically, such as. when the system needs to perform data transmission or power an actuator, such as an electro-valve. Such tasks may require a voltage and/or current that exceeds the parameters of the small cell, which the meter uses during data collection. Supercapacitors store charge using a small current drawn from Batteries, and then releases it in large doses, powering a specific system (transmitter, actuator etc.).
It is worth noting, that a power system using supercapacitors can release energy in a controlled manner. Thus, it allows to work with any communication module, even if the technology in question requires prolonged activity, e.g. in order to log on to the network (GSM/LTE/5G, LoRa, and even WiFi).
Of course, supercapacitors can also act as the main power source. The stabilized discharge of the component then provides energy over long periods of time, e.g. in order to maintain the memory of the RTC clock.
TV/TVA Supercapacitors
Supercapacitors of TV/TVA series can be purchased directly from TME warehouses. The main difference between the TVA and TV groups is the thermal tolerance, which adopts ranges (respectively): -40…65°C and -50…85°C. The components were made in THT formats, i.e. with leads for through-hole mounting (they were placed in raster 3,5mm, 5mm or 7,5mm). The diameter of the component ranges from 8,5mm to 18,5mm, with heights of 21..60,5mm. The range includes components with capacities from 3,3F to 100F. Their nominal operating voltage is 3V DC. As already mentioned, these products are characterized by low ESR, which closes in the range of 11…75mΩ (depending on the model). An important parameter of Supercapacitors is the leakage current: here it reaches values from 13µA to 225µA.
Capacitors have UL certification, stand out from the competition with their high performance and lifetime. They offer exceptional peak power density, as well as stored energy. Thanks to these features, and the described parameters, they perfectly meet the needs of energy, gas and water meters – but they are also successful in circuits of radio devices (communication modules, relays), NAS servers, emergency power systems (source switches) and renewable energy installations (primarily photovoltaics).
