Batteries can be very confusing?

Solar storage Batteries can be very confusing?

There are so many different types and brands of batteries on the market today; it’s no wondering the general public get confused. What is a Gel battery? What is an AGM battery? What is a free flow lead acid battery, the list goes on and on. Manufacturers of batteries are always bringing out a new product, confusing things even more. Consumers who are now building banks of batteries to store solar power are probably amongst the most confused at the moment, not knowing and understanding which batteries are the best to use at a

Typical bank of solar storage batteries

reasonable price.

In my opinion one of the best batteries for use in solar power storage is the Trojan battery from the USA. These batteries are awesome, and not too much more expensive than normal lead acid batteries. Trojan have developed batteries to be used in heavy industry ensuring a maximum battery life, All that is required is that you add distilled water to the battery cells at regular periods and do not let the levels dip below the battery cell tops.

Trojan are true deep cycle batteries, which is what you want in solar battery storage. The Trojan batteries are designed to give you 1.500 cycles at an 80% depth of discharge. These batteries also stand up to high and low temperatures and therefore are suitable for remote locations and wilderness conditions. These batteries are designed to optimum performance in conditions where they may operate in a partial state of charge, given the fluctuations that occur when pursuing storage from renewable energy applications in different levels of sun light that may be available to the user.

In many solar battery banks Trojan recommend that you use deep cycle flooded batteries rather than AGM batteries, primarily because of the price. Also because Trojan use wide plates in the battery construction, then the period that the batteries have to be topped up is much further apart, with minimum battery servicing required.

Trojan batteries have duel container protection

The industrial line of Trojan batteries can be purchased in the UK from www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. They are made up of 2 volt cells that are bundled together or stand alone and contained in a second container to supply high capacity in 2 volt, 4 volt or 6 volt solutions. The battery casings are made from very tough polyethylene material and are extremely tough protecting the battery against most type of damage and acid leaks..

One thing to remember though is that these batteries are extremely heavy and information about them for solar storage use can be found on their website…http://www.trojanbatteryre.com/Markets/Renewable_Energy_Residential.html  

There are many different brands of this type of battery on the market and the best advice I can give is to have a look at the products and the price and come to your own conclusion. All in can say is that Trojan batteries are a world leader and have a great deal of experience in setting up different sizes of solar power banks of storage batteries all over the world. This information can be seen on their website and goes into great detail of the requirements of the individual communities, including whole island situations and smaller village situations in countries as far away as Africa and South America.

A typical trojan battery

Other company’s products can use AGM batteries. These batteries also come in to the deep discharge category and are also suitable for the job of solar energy storage, but a trend that is slightly worrying me, is the use of so called leisure batteries for the electricity storage purpose.

These batteries have been developed for leisure vehicle usage. These batteries are usually 110 amp leisure batteries and are very popular. I do know that some of my customers are buying these batteries for the purpose of solar storage, but in my opinion they are not the best batteries for the job. You should be looking at deep cycle batteries in free flow lead acid or AGM batteries. These will give you a better battery life span and although the cost of these batteries is much higher they will pay for themselves in the long run by perhaps doubling their life span when compared to the 110 amp leisure battery.

Disclaimer

Please note these are the words and opinion of the author (Eric Roberts) only. Neither the author nor the website can be held responsible for any errors or omissions. You should seek professional assistance if in doubt about your choice of battery. The article contains a link to Batteriesontheweb where you can buy all of the products mentioned.

Which Caravan Battery

Which Caravan Battery is best for me ?

Over the years we have had many customers call in at our West Yorkshire depot here in Halifax, looking to replace their battery, for the caravan. We have all sorts of people and types of people who share in the outdoor life and enjoy caravaning, either for their holidays or just a weekend away. These days caravan

A VW Camper preparing for the holiday season

owners can choose a choice of power supplies, they can use gas, mains electric or the 12 volt battery.

We very often have customers attending with a car battery, and say that they have used it for four or five years without any problems. In this case I try to match the old battery as best that I can, because I know that they are happy with that car battery and it is no use confusing the issue. Others come to us with a leisure battery and want to upgrade to a larger size amps. We have no problem with that as long as the leisure battery fits into their battery compartment. The usual upgrade is from a 85 1mp battery to an 110 amp battery. I think this is because that the price has dropped to an acceptable level for people to afford, due to competition from the internet.

 12 volt Car Batteries

In general the two types of caravan batteries are of different construction internally. They certainly look the same, indeed not too long ago narrow boat owners used a bank of 644 truck batteries to power their boats, both as a starter battery and a storage battery for their electricity needs. But the main difference is inside the battery in the lead alloy plates. The car battery is used mainly for starting your car, and so the plates are perforated with small holes. This gives the battery a larger surface area to give the battery a high boost when starting a car. As I have said though some people do use car batteries and have done for years, so why change?  Car batteries give out a high current of around 200 amps over a short time period as you start the engine. This drains the battery to a low level of charge especially in cold winter weather, but this huge power loss is replaced immediately by the cars alternator and so the battery never becomes fully discharged. It is known as having a shallow cycle of discharge and charge and the car battery is so designed for that purpose.

12 volt flooded lead acid leisure batteries

When we start to talk about the leisure battery we have some sub categories to look at. The first one is the battery that we all know as a leisure battery because it tells us on the label? It is as simple as that. Over the past ten years the leisure industry has grown at a very fast rate. We can all see the large number of caravans and camper vans on their way to a holiday destination, whenever we are traveling. This means that the

A typical 12 volt car battery often used by some caravan owners

industries that serve these vehicles are also busy keeping up with the demand.

The battery industry is no different. Manufacturers such as Johnson Controls have come up with better storage cells inside the leisure battery as compared with the humble car batteries. The cells in the leisure battery are now much thicker and so will hold more storage charge. These batteries are now used in the majority of these vehicles used for holiday purposes. The 110 amp leisure battery is a prime example, although the 115 amp battery is now becoming more popular because of the electric caravan movers now in use.

The leisure battery does not have to do such a job as the car battery, (but just to confuse matters I know that some 4X4 owners are now fitting 110 amp leisure batteries to their vehicle, as a starter battery and to operate things like winches and they have proved to be very successful). The leisure battery is designed to supply a much lower current to power the light s and other electrical equipment, including the TV and water pumps. This type of battery has a larger and deeper cycle than the humble car battery. In simple terms the battery will drain more and then charge back up again using bigger cycles. If a car battery is discharged below 80% then the solution that covers the cells will break down and fall to the base of the battery, causing it to short out and then battery will have to be replaced, it will not recover.

12 volt AGM sealed lead acid batteries

These are the next step up to the flooded lead acid batteries. They are probably the best choice battery to use. The batteries are sealed and can even be used on their sides, it will make no difference. These batteries are also a true deep cycle battery. They will take a heavy discharge and totally recover when charged. These are the batteries that I would recommend. The only drawback is the price; they are much more expensive than a standard leisure battery. But will probably last five or six years, perhaps twice longer than the free flow lead acid leisure battery. The AGM battery is also more suitable to be used with solar panels, something that is becoming more popular amongst caravan enthusiasts all over the world.

A powerful deep cycle Trojan battery the battery of my choice.

I hope this information helps

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.

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.