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Current

CURRENT (AMPERES). CURRENT is the quantity or flow rate of electrons moving past a point within one second. Current flow is also known as amperage, or amps for short. Higher voltage will produce higher current flow, and lower voltage will produce lower current flow

Flow rate of electrons moving past a point in seconds.

  • The size of the current depends on the number of electrons passing per second.
  • Inside a copper wire (conductor), current is carried by electrons.
  • Current is represented by the symbol I, and is measured in amperes, or ‘amps’, A
  • In electronic circuits, currents are most often measured in milliamps, mA, that is thousands of an amp.
  • Alarm systems has a built-in battery charger that re-charges batteries and it needs to supply the battery with a charging current to charge the batteries.

Neo terminals

  • The output current is limited according to the specification of the system.
Battery connection
Battery connection

Older Alarm systems had a current limitation of around 550mA on their AUX terminals, and the batteries could only be charged around 500mA. If you have a newer alarm system you can expect anything from 700mA to a 1000mA on your battery connector terminals to charge batteries. Most panels have a high current setting that supplies a higher current rating to charge the batteries.
For your AUX terminals, it is very important to understand that you can not simply keep connecting devices to the equipment without calculating your power budget.

Additional power supplies will be require if you are planning to draw more than 700mA.

When charging batteries, current (amperage) is often more critical than voltage because it determines the actual flow of energy into the battery. While voltage provides the necessary potential difference to drive the charge, it is the current that dictates the rate at which the battery replenishes energy. Insufficient current can lead to slow or incomplete charging, while excessive current can damage the battery by overheating or degrading its internal components. A well-regulated charge current ensures efficient energy transfer, prolonging battery life and maintaining its performance. Voltage must still be controlled within safe limits, but proper current regulation is what truly optimizes battery charging.
Your built in charger for your alarmsystem does all of this and more for the system. The system is specced for a battery size and type.
Do not use bigger batteries like car batteries or batteries that is not specced for the system.