vice at a dealership. The most chal-
lenging part would be removing the
heavy lead-acid batteries from the
vehicle. RELiON’s InSight 48V030-
GC2 batteries can be placed in the
vehicle where the lead-acid batteries
resided. The only differences are
they are connected in parallel rather
than series and there are CAN cables
to connect between each battery
that are hand tightened. Most likely,
the consumer will use fewer lithium
batteries compared to lead-acid, so
in the event the hold-down brackets
require 6 batteries to be installed, we
recommend using our spacer batter-
ies, which we provide, to fill the empty
slots. We provide a Quick Install Guide
to make it really simple.
IGC—Would there be a need to
change the controller or reprogram
the existing one?
Feodorov—There is no need to
change the controller or reprogram
the existing one.
IGC— In the case of a change-out to a
RELiON battery, would the charging
process be any different from what
this person is used to with lead acid
batteries?
Feodorov— The process is not differ-
ent however they will charge much
faster due to the superior efficiency
of charging lithium over lead-acid
batteries, which also results in a cost
savings. We have researched the
common chargers being used in this
industry and our end goal is to assure
all chargers work seamlessly with
the InSight battery. With our world-
wide presence and range of market
segments, this is an ongoing work in
process, but our team is readily avail-
able to address specific questions or
concerns should they arise.
IGC—What about battery mainte-
nance, including storage for relatively
long periods of inactivity? Are there
advantages (or disadvantages) with
regard to lithium batteries?
Feodorov—With RELiON’s InSight
product there is no maintenance
during storage; just charge them up
and turn them OFF. If you forget
to manually turn them OFF its not
a concern as they will turn OFF on
their own within days. There can be
definite advantages to storing lithium
if designed properly, which RELiON
has done with its InSight product. vided by InSight are only magnified
in heavier duty applications. InSight
is already being used in this type of
equipment around the world and the
RELiON team is working closely with
many equipment manufacturers at
the corporate and engineering levels
to further advance our gains in these
segments.
Although lithium cells self-discharge
at a lower rate than lead-acid, the
BMS included with the battery sys-
tem often accelerates that discharge
rate, negating the benefit. RELiON
took this issue into consideration
at the design phase and its BMS
combined with its intuitive software
does not deplete the battery. It will
transition into an idle mode and then
a standby mode to not drain the
battery. In fact, RELiON’s 48V030-
GC2 would take well over 2 years
to deplete its energy during storage
starting from a fully-charged state. IGC—Many of us inside the gated
community are golfers and use the fa-
cility’s fleet vehicles. We don’t want
to be stuck out on 16th hole with a
dead battery. And facility manage-
ment has to be concerned about cost.
So, what can you say about the fleet
market?
IGC—Do you see a market in gated
communities, such as The Villages
in Florida, where gas engines are
preferred because of the distances
involved?
Feodorov—Absolutely. Only 2,
48V030-GC2 batteries; which pro-
vide 60Ah, will deliver between 40-
50 miles of range on a single charge.
Add a third battery and you will be
able to drive 60-75 miles and a fourth
would provide 80 – 100 miles. Those
who have been forced to use gas en-
gines to get the range they want, can
now switch to a quieter, environmen-
tally friendly electric motor without
sacrifice.
IGC—And what about light duty utili-
ty vehicles, such as Club Car’s Carry-
all line, the Cushman Hauler models,
and Yamaha’s UMax Rally Electrics?
Have you been able to build a market
in this segment?
Feodorov— Our InSight product
was designed with Golf and Utility
Vehicles in mind, amongst other light
duty vehicles. All the benefits pro-
Feodorov—In the fleet market RE-
LiON’s InSight product provides all
the benefits that an individual con-
sumer would get plus the additional
benefit of a tremendous savings, up
to a few thousand dollars per year,
in electricity costs associated with
charging a fleet of golf carts. The
charge efficiency of lithium batter-
ies can often be overlooked as the
benefits are not understood, but they
should be a factor in the purchasing
equation, as it can dramatically im-
prove the ROI while at the same time
providing a noticeably more powerful
vehicle.
IGC—Thanks Christine. This has
been very informative and exciting.
And for us “Gaters”, the next time we
think about an upgrade for our PTV,
we need to compare a glitzy trick-out
accessory with a whole, new “under-
the-hood” vehicle that comes with
lithium power.
Lithium battery technology: Separat-
ing myth from reality
Want to learn more about lithium
batteries? Here is a link to an excel-
lent, non-technical white paper put
together by the folks at RELiON:
https://ceb8596f236225acd007-8e9
5328c173a04ed694af83ee4e24c15.
ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/misc/Relion_Sep-
MythFact.pdf
DECEMBER 2019
23