Which Victron Energy Battery Monitor Is Best For Your Needs?

Victron Energy is the market leader when it comes to battery charging and monitoring, and we stock a wide range of their battery monitors, including the brand new Victron Energy 300A SmartShunts.

In this article, we will run through the different models available and their various features to help you make an informed decision as to which battery monitor would best suit your needs.

Victron Energy BMV-700

The Victron Energy BMV-700 boasts a host of useful features. It will display the battery voltage, current, power, Ah consumed, the battery's State of Charge percentage (SoC), time-to-go in the battery and the total kWh charged and discharged.

You can only monitor one battery at a time with this kit and it does not have Bluetooth capabilities so the information can only be accessed on a physical screen.

As with most of Victron Energy's products, this unit comes with a 5-year warranty which goes to show the trust that Victron have in their build quality. 

Victron Energy BMV-712

The Victron Energy BMV-712 has a very similar display to the BMV-700, except it does have some benefits. You can monitor the voltage of an additional battery (or bank) via a second input, which can be useful in boats where you might have a leisure battery and a separate auxiliary battery for a dedicated load such as a bow thruster. It's also commonly used in applications where you would like to monitor your vehicle's starter battery voltage alongside monitoring the SoC of your leisure battery (it's important to note that this second input cannot monitor SoC of a second battery).

Another benefit to the BMV-712 kit is that the unit has Bluetooth capabilities as well as having a physical screen, so you can use Victron Energy's free app called VictronConnect to view all of the data and also have a look back through historical information, which can be especially useful if you've not been with the vehicle.

As an alternative to monitoring the voltage of another battery, the BMV-712 shunt's second input can also be used for the following:

• Temperature monitoring of a single battery/bank using an optional temperature sensor. Battery capacity reduces as temperature increases so the sensor measurement can be fed into the monitor to adjust displayed capacity based on temperature.
• Mid-point voltage monitoring of one bank of batteries connected in series (or banks of series-connected batteries joined in parallel). This allows detection of a bad cell or a bad battery which can potentially destroy the other connected batteries by over-charging. The voltages either side of the mid-point are compared and the deviation displayed in % and V, with a programmable alarm providing a warning that the deviation is too great.

As with the BMV-700, the BMV-712 comes with a 5-year manufacturer's warranty.

Victron Energy SmartShunt

Victron Energy SmartShunts are Bluetooth-only devices, with no physical screen so you would just access the data on the VictronConnect app. You can view the same parameters as the BMV units and still have the battery voltage, battery temperature monitoring, or mid-point voltage monitoring options on a second shunt input, as you do with the BMV-712.

We are now stocking 4 different variants of the Victron Energy SmartShunt units.

We are stocking 300A and a 500A rated versions, with two of these being IP65 rated, (meaning they are dust and splashproof so they are ideal for use in harsh environments such as engine rooms) and the other two are their standard units. The current ratings of the SmartShunts indicate the maximum amount of current that they can pass, so if you have loads of over 300A in your system you will need to go for the 500A version. 

The entire Victron Energy SmartShunt range is also backed by Victron's excellent 5-year warranty.

To conclude, if you are looking for a battery monitor with a screen but you do not require Bluetooth access, the BMV-700 would be the best for you. If you would like a battery monitor with a screen and Bluetooth capabilities and/or the option to monitor 2 separate battery banks, the BMV-712 would be the best option for you. If you do not require a physical screen and will rely solely on Bluetooth, the SmartShunt series would be the best option for you, however, just be sure to select the correct one in terms of current carrying capacity and ingress protection.

If you have any questions regarding this article or your electrical system in general, let us know by emailing us at sales@12voltplanet.co.uk and we will be happy to help.