Cell balancing is a part of the battery management process for lithium ion batteries. Since a pack is only as strong as its weakest cell, it is important that all the cells are as close to balanced in terms of capacity as possible. Balancing a pack refers to the act of matching cell capacities to maximize the total pack capacity.
There are two types of balancing:
Passive balancing: This method uses a resistive load of some kind to burn off excess energy from batteries with a higher capacity and bring them down to that of the lower capacity cells. This method is usually the most efficient for most applications and tends to be the most cost effective.
Active balancing: This method involves charging the lower capacity cells using energy taken directly from the higher capacity cells. This method tends to involve more losses and can significantly increase the cost of the system.
The OrionBMS uses the passive balancing method to maintain pack balance.
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