How to Use a Supercapacitor Properly

 In applications where high reliability is required and energy requirements are not high, supercapacitors can be used instead of conventional batteries, or supercapacitors and batteries can be combined. Smaller and more economical batteries can be used in applications with high energy requirements.

 

Notice for using supercapacitors properly:

 

1. Supercapacitors have a fixed polarity. The polarity should be confirmed before use.

 

2. Supercapacitors should be used at the following nominal voltages. When the capacitor voltage exceeds the nominal voltage, it will cause the electrolyte to decompose, and the capacitor will heat up, reducing capacity, increasing internal resistance, shortening life, and in some cases, causing the capacitor to collapse.

 

3. Supercapacitors should not be used in high frequency charging and discharging circuits, high frequency rapid charging and discharging will lead to internal heating, capacity degradation, increased internal resistance, and in some cases will cause the performance of the capacitor to collapse.

 

4. Life of supercapacitors: the external ambient temperature has an important effect on the life of the supercapacitor. Capacitors should be kept as far away from heat sources as possible.

 

5. Voltage drop when the ultracapacitor is used as a back-up power supply. Due to the large internal resistance of the supercapacitor, there is a voltage drop at the instant of discharge, ΔV = IR.

 

6. Ambient gases in use: supercapacitors should not be exposed to relative humidity greater than 85% or to toxic gases, as these conditions can cause corrosion of the leads and capacitor cases, resulting in circuit breakage.

 

7. Storage of Supercapacitors: supercapacitor should not be placed in a high temperature, high humidity environment, should be stored at a temperature of -30 + 50 ℃, relative humidity less than 60% of the environment, to avoid sudden temperature rise and fall, because this will cause damage to the product.

 

8. Supercapacitor on the use of double-sided circuit board: when supercapacitors are used on double-sided circuit boards, care must be taken that the connections do not pass through areas accessible to the capacitors, short-circuiting can occur due to the way the supercapacitor is installed.

 

9. When welding the capacitor on the circuit board, the capacitor shell should not be contacted with the circuit board, otherwise the welding material will penetrate into the capacitor threading holes, which will affect the performance of the capacitor.

 

10. Do not forcibly tilt or twist the capacitor after installing an ultracapacitor, as this will loosen the capacitor leads and cause performance degradation.

 

11. To avoid overheating the capacitor in the welding process. Overheating of the capacitor during soldering will reduce the service life of the capacitor, e.g. if the thickness of 1.6mm printed circuit board is used, the welding process should be 260℃, time not more than 5s.

 

12. Cleaning after welding. After the capacitors have been soldered, the circuit boards and capacitors need to be cleaned, as some impurities may cause the capacitors to short circuit.

 

13. When super capacitors are used in series: when an supercapacitor is used in series, there is a problem of voltage equalization between the individual capacitors. Simply connecting them in series can cause one or more of the individual capacitors to over-voltage, which can damage these capacitors and affect their overall performance. Therefore, when the capacitors are used in series, technical support from the manufacturer is required.

 

If interested, you can send a email to info@kamcap.com or dial at +86-18640666860.

 

Jinzhou Kaimei Power Co., Ltd. is a professional ultracapacitor manufacturer. We provide Coin Type Series, Winding Type Series, Kamcap super capacitor and so on. Want to know more? Please contact us.