WHITE PAPER
www.power-sonic.com
Sealed lead acid batteries have been the battery of choice for long string, high voltage battery systems for many years,
although lithium batteries can be congured in series it requires attention to the BMS or PCM.
Rev1: 03/20
To ensure safe and efficient operation always refer to the latest edition of our Technical Manual, as published on our website.
© 2020. Power-Sonic Corporation. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All data subject to change without notice. E&O.E
GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS
(USA AND INTERNATIONAL EXCLUDING EMEA)
Power-Sonic Corporation
365 Cabela Dr Suite 300,
Reno, Nevada 89523
USA
T:
+1 619 661 2020
POWER-SONIC EMEA
(EMEA – EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA)
Smitspol 4, 3861 RS Nijkerk,
The Netherlands
T NL:
+ 31 33 7410 700
T UK:
+ 44 1268 560 686
T FR:
+ 33 344 32 18 17
E:
HOW TO CONNECT BATTERIES IN SERIES
AND PARALLEL
If you have ever worked with batteries you have probably come across the terms series, parallel, and series-parallel, but what
exactly do these terms mean?
Series, Series-Parallel, and Parallel is the act of connecting two batteries together, but why would you want to connect two or
more batteries together in the rst place?
By connecting two or more batteries in either series, series-parallel, or parallel, you can increase the voltage or amp-hour
capacity, or even both; allowing for higher voltage or power hungry applications.
CONNECTING BATTERIES IN SERIES
Connecting a battery in series is when you connect two or more batteries together to increase the battery systems overall
voltage, connecting batteries in series does not increase the capacity only the voltage. For example if you connect four 12Volt
26Ah batteries you will have a battery voltage of 48Volts and battery capacity of 26Ah.
To congure batteries with a series connection each battery must have the same voltage and capacity rating, or you can
potentially damage the batteries. For example you can connect two 6Volt 10Ah batteries together in series but you can not
connect one 6V 10Ah battery with one 12V 10Ah battery.
To connect a group of batteries in series you connect the negative terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of another
and so on until all batteries are connected, you would then connect a link/cable to the negative terminal of the rst battery in
your string of batteries to your application, then another link/cable to the positive terminal of the last battery in your string to
your application.
When charging batteries in series, you need to use a charger that matches the battery system voltage. We recommend you
charge each battery individually to avoid battery imbalance.