A Comparative Review of Capacity Measurement in Energy Storage Devices

Abstract

Energy storage devices are fast becoming a necessity when considering a renewable energy harvesting system. This improves the intermittency of the source as well as significantly increasing the harvesting capacity of the system. However, most energy storage devices have a large limitation with regards to their usable life—this aspect is especially relevant to batteries. The degradation of batteries (and energy storage devices) plays a large role in determining their feasibility and the degradation is determined through capacity estimations—due to the inability/difficulty of directly measuring instantaneous capacity. This article aims to research the various methods used to estimate the capacity as well as the applications of these measurements aimed at reducing the degradation of the energy storage device. Through this research, the advantages and disadvantages of the measurements and their applications will be revealed, which will then highlight an area in which these estimations or their applications can be improved. The novelty of this paper lies in the graphical representation of the capacity measurement techniques, and how they relate to each other, as well as the relations and differences between their applications, highlighting the limitations in how the measurements are used.