How your Solar System Works

How your Solar System Works

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Types of Batteries for Solar Power Storage

Different types of Batteries for your Solar Power Storage

As we probably all know the storage of solar energy will become more and more of a factor in the coming years ahead as more and more consumers realize the savings that are to be made by investing in solar panels, and it thought that the photovoltaic storage systems are going to reach very high levels of demand.

Europe’s largest country, Germany is expecting that the capacity from solar energy will increase from eight megawatts to a massive 4900 megawatts from now (2014) to 2017. This will also include a storage system with an estimated lifespan of about 20 years.

This 20 years lifespan also includes the ability to be able to store any excess solar power in a battery storage system. This is for when the sun is not shining and the solar panels are not putting

in any power to the system, then the backup batteries that have stored the energy will be able to supply the stored power to the household.

The traditional batteries that are used at present are the old favorites, lead acid batteries, AGM batteries (absorbed glass matting), and GEL sealed batteries, golf cart batteries which are the same as the AGM and GEL and can also be classed as deep cycle batteries. These batteries are all priced differently and in my opinion you pay for what you get. An excellent web site to explain each type of battery is…http://www.freesunpower.com/batteries.php

The new kid on the block is the Lithium-Ion batteries that are now been used by many solar panels manufacturers. In fact I have noticed that they are now making a complete unit which includes an inverter and a lithium battery as an integral part of the package. The Lithium batteries are usually more expensive but are promised to have a longer life span than the lead acid battery types, although at the moment I do not think that this has been proven.

The most popular types used in the USA are the deep cycle batteries used at the moment as leisure batteries and marine batteries on canal boats many other types of water craft. These types of batteries are able to take a large discharge and then recover when being charged back up, either by solar panels or another type of charging system. Special types of these batteries have now been developed by the large battery manufacturers. Trojan batteries now make a battery that is specific to storing solar energy and wind power. This type of battery is also used in backup systems for large installations such as hospitals where a backup system is needed in case of a mains power outage.

These types of batteries are the more expensive ones amongst the lead acid type batteries, but they are cheaper than the Lithium batteries. But I guess you get what you pay for, because a lead acid type battery will start to lose its capacity after about 3000 cycles of being charged and discharged, where as a lithium-Ion battery is capable of completing 7000 full cycles.

How does the Lithium-Ion battery work for solar power storage?

The development of the Li-Ion battery, has not yet been finalised, and at the moment the battery industry are working on development of a more robust material, for a higher performance electrode. Today’s Li-Ion batteries are using a graphite material for the anode and lithium metal for the anode, this serves as a chemical reactant for the graphite. It is expected though to use a newer material for the anodes, made from lithium-titanium. This change will bring down the price of these batteries to the level of the lead acid batteries, but this is in the future and at the moment the deep cycle AGM batteries are the favorite choice for the majority of solar power storage units, whether large or small.

Eric Roberts 

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

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Which batteries are best for Solar Panel Storage?

Which batteries are best for your Solar Panel Storage?

In my opinion the first mistake that home owners make when looking to build a home battery storage pack, is their choice of batteries. Here in the UK we seem to have a mentality for buying the biggest at the cheapest price, in other words we just go for a cheap battery, thinking that it will do the job, this includes car batteries and leisure batteries are no different.

I prefer to use the word leisure batteries, but these include caravan batteries and marine batteries that are

used for all types of sailing craft, from speed boats to every kind of pleasure craft, then cheap batteries are what the public are looking for.

The batteries that are used for storing the electricity on your home storage system are simply classed as storage batteries and are used when the national grid is unable to supply your electricity or you live in a remote area, especially in some of the huge countries of the World, such as Africa, Russia and North America, where people can be living thousands of miles from any main power supply.

The electricity supplied by a battery storage pack operates on direct current or DC as it is better known, but your household runs on alternative current or AC, and so to transfer the electricity from one to another a Power inverter has to be used, this converts DC to AC so that the battery storage pack can be used to run the household appliances.

Which type of batteries to use.

In my mind this is where the battery buying public go wrong. Here in the UK the battery companies have developed a new type of cross breed battery that is sort of half car battery and half storage battery, the battery used has got thicker lead alloy plates and will give more storage than a normal car battery. This type of battery is specially marketed for the caravan and leisure business and is in fact a quality product and in my opinion is perfect for that job.

The solar battery is a different type of battery altogether, but the two types regularly get mixed up. Storage batteries should be deep cycle batteries. The criteria for the storage battery is for what is known as a battery that will use a lower current over a longer length of time while at the same time take a slower charge. So the correct battery will be a deep cycle sealed storage battery also using the correct number of amps. The standard rate that is used is calculated over a 20 hour period of discharge.

The batteries that are most common for this usage are either 6 or 12 volt batteries, but here in the UK the 12volt is the most popular. 6 volt batteries are said to have a longer life and are easier to handle due to the weight factor, but it would be easier to use 12 volt batteries if say you wanted to build a 24volt 200 amp storage unit. The best types of batteries are more expensive, but will last you twice as long, like the saying goes. “Buy it cheap and buy it twice”. The type of batteries that best suited for the job of storing solar or wind power are AGM, deep cycle batteries, that are suited for this job . Also in my opinion the best web site to show you how to connect your batteries in different configurations when you build your battery bank is…http://www.homeplace.co.za/knowhow/100003_batteries-for-home-power-backup-systems.php#ph.

We also recommend that you purchase Trojan solar power batteries, which are made in the USA and are of excellent quality.

 Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in theGarage and tyre and Battery business now for 40 years. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.