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How To Choose The Best Battery For A Solar Energy System

Himax Solar Battery

There are certain specifications you should use when evaluating your solar battery options, such as how long the solar battery will last or how much power it can provide. Below, learn about all of the criteria that you should use to compare your home energy storage options, as well as the different types of solar batteries.

How to compare your solar storage options

As you consider your solar-plus-storage options, you’ll come across a lot of complicated product specifications. The most important ones to use during your evaluation are the battery’s capacity & power ratings, depth of discharge (DoD), round-trip efficiency, warranty, and manufacturer.

Capacity & power

Capacity is the total amount of electricity that a solar battery can store, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Most home solar batteries are designed to be “stackable,” which means that you can include multiple batteries with your solar-plus-storage system to get extra capacity.

While capacity tells you how big your battery is, it doesn’t tell you how much electricity a battery can provide at a given moment. To get the full picture, you also need to consider the battery’s power rating. In the context of solar batteries, a power rating is the amount of electricity that a battery can deliver at one time. It is measured in kilowatts (kW).

A battery with a high capacity and a low power rating would deliver a low amount of electricity (enough to run a few crucial appliances) for a long time. A battery with low capacity and a high power rating could run your entire home, but only for a few hours.

Depth of discharge (DoD)

Most solar batteries need to retain some charge at all times due to their chemical composition. If you use 100 percent of a battery’s charge, its useful life will be significantly shortened.

The depth of discharge (DoD) of a battery refers to the amount of a battery’s capacity that has been used. Most manufacturers will specify a maximum DoD for optimal performance. For example, if a 10 kWh battery has a DoD of 90 percent, you shouldn’t use more than 9 kWh of the battery before recharging it. Generally speaking, a higher DoD means you will be able to utilize more of your battery’s capacity.

Himax Solar Battery

Round-trip efficiency

A battery’s round-trip efficiency represents the amount of energy that can be used as a percentage of the amount of energy that it took to store it. For example, if you feed five kWh of electricity into your battery and can only get four kWh of useful electricity back, the battery has 80 percent round-trip efficiency (4 kWh / 5 kWh = 80%). Generally speaking, a higher round-trip efficiency means you will get more economic value out of your battery.

Battery life & warranty

For most uses of home energy storage, your battery will “cycle” (charge and drain) daily. The battery’s ability to hold a charge will gradually decrease the more you use it. In this way, solar batteries are like the battery in your cell phone – you charge your phone each night to use it during the day, and as your phone gets older you’ll start to notice that the battery isn’t holding as much of a charge as it did when it was new. For example, a battery might be warrantied for 5,000 cycles or 10 years at 70 percent of its original capacity. This means that at the end of the warranty, the battery will have lost no more than 30 percent of its original ability to store energy.

Your solar battery will have a warranty that guarantees a certain number of cycles and/or years of useful life. Because battery performance naturally degrades over time, most manufacturers will also guarantee that the battery keeps a certain amount of its capacity over the course of the warranty. Therefore, the simple answer to the question “how long will my solar battery last?” is that it depends on the brand of battery you buy and and how much capacity it will lose over time.

Manufacturer

Many different types of organizations are developing and manufacturing solar battery products, from automotive companies to tech startups. While a major automotive company entering the energy storage market likely has a longer history of product manufacturing, they may not offer the most revolutionary technology. By contrast, a tech startup might have a brand-new high-performing technology, but less of a track record to prove the battery’s long-term functionality.

Whether you choose a battery manufactured by a cutting-edge startup or a manufacturer with a long history depends on your priorities. Evaluating the warranties associated with each product can give you additional guidance as you make your decision.

 

How long do solar batteries last?

There are two ways to answer this question and the first is to determine how long a solar battery can power your home. In many cases, a fully charged battery can run your home overnight when your solar panels are not producing energy. To make a more exact calculation, you’ll need to know a few variables, including how much energy your household consumes in a given day, what the capacity and power rating is for your solar battery and whether or not you are connected to the electric grid.

For the sake of a simple example, we’ll determine the size of a battery needed to provide an adequate solar plus storage solution with national average data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The average U.S. household will use roughly 30 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy per day and a typical solar battery can deliver some 10 kWh of capacity. Thus a very simple answer would be, if you purchased three solar batteries, you could run your home for an entire day with nothing but battery support.

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In reality, the answer is more complicated than that. You will also be generating power with your solar panel system during the day which will offer strong power for some 6-7 hours of the day during peak sunlight hours. On the other end, most batteries cannot run at maximum capacity and generally peak at a 90% DoD (as explained above). As a result, your 10 kWh battery likely has a useful capacity of 9 kWh.

Ultimately, if you are pairing your battery with a solar PV array, one or two batteries can provide sufficient power during nighttime when your panels are not producing. However, without a renewable energy solution, you may need 3 batteries or more to power your entire home for 24 hours. Additionally, if you are installing home energy storage in order to disconnect from the electric grid, you should install a few days’ worth of backup power to account for days where you might have cloudy weather.

 

Solar battery lifespan

The general range for a solar battery’s useful lifespan is between 5 and 15 years. If you install a solar battery today, you will likely need to replace it at least once to match the 25 to 30 year lifespan of your PV system. However, just as the lifespan of solar panels has increased significantly in the past decade, it is expected that solar batteries will follow suit as the market for energy storage solutions grows.

Proper maintenance can also have a significant effect on your solar battery’s lifespan. Solar batteries are significantly impacted by temperature, so protecting your battery from freezing or sweltering temperatures can increase its useful life. When a PV battery drops below 30° F, it will require more voltage to reach maximum charge; when that same battery rises above the 90° F threshold, it will become overheated and require a reduction in charge. To solve this problem, many leading battery manufacturers, like Tesla, provide temperature moderation as a feature. However, if the battery that you buy does not, you will need to consider other solutions like earth-sheltered enclosures. Quality maintenance efforts can definitely impact how long your solar battery will last.

 

What are the best batteries for solar?

Batteries used in home energy storage typically are made with one of three chemical compositions: lead acid, lithium ion, and saltwater. In most cases, lithium ion batteries are the best option for a solar panel system, though other battery types can be more affordable.

1. Lead acid

Lead acid batteries are a tested technology that has been used in off-grid energy systems for decades. While they have a relatively short life and lower DoD than other battery types, they are also one of the least expensive options currently on the market in the home energy storage sector. For homeowners who want to go off the grid and need to install lots of energy storage, lead acid can be a good option.

 

2. Lithium ion

The majority of new home energy storage technologies, such as the , use some form of lithium ion chemical composition. Lithium ion batteries are lighter and more compact than lead acid batteries. They also have a higher DoD and longer lifespan when compared to lead acid batteries.  However, lithium ion batteries are more expensive than their lead acid counterparts.

 

3. Saltwater

A newcomer in the home energy storage industry is the saltwater battery. Unlike other home energy storage options, saltwater batteries don’t contain heavy metals, relying instead on saltwater electrolytes. While batteries that use heavy metals, including lead acid and lithium ion batteries, need to be disposed of with special processes, a saltwater battery can be easily recycled. However, as a new technology, saltwater batteries are relatively untested, and the one company that makes solar batteries for home use (Aquion) filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

 

  • Find the best solar battery for your home

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12V 120Ah LiFePO4 Battery

 

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Lead-Acid Batteries Are On A Path To Extinction

lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery

Batteries became an indispensable part of our daily lives during the 20th Century. But the pace of change has dramatically increased in the 21st Century with the development of new battery types. The resulting battery revolution that is underway is enabling the beginning of a seismic shift in the way we power our transportation systems and heavy equipment, as well as how we power our cities.

The key to this revolution has been the development of affordable batteries with much greater energy density. This new generation of batteries threatens to end the lengthy reign of the lead-acid battery.

But consumers could be forgiven for being confused about the many different battery types vying for market share in this exciting new future. So let’s break down the basics of battery types and their applications.

Battery Categories

Batteries are broadly categorized as either primary or secondary. A primary battery is a disposable battery. We are all familiar with those types of batteries. The most common type of primary battery is the alkaline battery, so named because its electrolyte is alkaline (potassium hydroxide).

The 20-pack of Duracell batteries you buy at the hardware store for $15 are alkaline batteries. These batteries come in different sizes and with different voltage levels, the most common of which are designated AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt.

Primary batteries are cheap, and are used in flashlights, TV remotes, toys, and consumer electronics.

Secondary batteries are rechargeable. The initial cost of these batteries is usually higher than with primary batteries, but they begin to have a significant economic advantage in power-hungry applications that would rapidly consume alkaline batteries.

Secondary Battery Types

The most common type of secondary battery is the lead-acid battery. The lead-acid battery is the oldest type of rechargeable battery, found in most of the world’s automobiles. It is relatively low-cost and reliable, but it has the lowest energy to volume and energy to weight ratio of the major types of secondary batteries. This makes it popular for energy storage applications in which weight and space aren’t a major concern — like backup power for solar photovoltaic systems. But for mobile applications that rely heavily on battery power, the lead-acid battery is being rapidly superseded by newer battery types.

The lithium-ion battery has emerged as the most serious contender for dethroning the lead-acid battery. Lithium-ion batteries are on the other end of the energy density scale from lead-acid batteries. They have the highest energy to volume and energy to weight ratio of the major types of secondary battery. That means you can pack more energy into a smaller space, and the weight will also be lower.

Lithium-ion batteries are still new compared to lead-acid batteries. The knock on them had been cost, but those costs have plummeted over the past decade, and are projected to continue declining.

The other two major types of secondary batteries are nickel-based, and both fall between lead-acid and lithium-ion in terms of energy density. The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni-Cd battery) uses nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. Ni-Cd batteries are great at maintaining voltage and holding charge when not in use. But these batteries are well-known for “memory” effects that take place when a partially charged battery is recharged. This degrades the capacity of the battery over time.

Ni-Cd batteries were once popular in portable power tools and portable electronic devices. But nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries have largely supplanted them in these applications due to lower costs and higher energy density. In addition to having up to three times the capacity of a Ni-Cd battery of the same size, Ni-MH batteries don’t have the “memory” effect of Ni-Cd batteries.

Selecting the Right Battery

It can be difficult, given the increasing number of battery options, to determine the best type of battery for your application. Some important considerations are energy density, power density, cost, cycle life durability, voltage, and safety.

These considerations generally involve trade-offs. Ideally a battery would possess high energy and power density, and good durability — at a low price. In reality, consumers have had to pay a premium for batteries with greater energy density. But that is changing.

Research organization Bloomberg NEF reported that the volume-weighted average lithium-ion battery pack price (which includes the cell and the pack) fell 85% from 2010-18, reaching an average of $176/kWh. BloombergNEF further projects that prices will fall to $94/kWh by 2024 and $62/kWh by 2030. That would reflect a 95% price decline over the course of 20 years. In comparison, lead-acid battery packs are still around $150/kWh, and that’s 160 years after the lead-acid battery was invented.

Thus, it may not be long before the most energy dense battery is also the cheapest battery. That has enormous implications for the future of lead-acid batteries.

Another important consideration is a battery’s capacity. The capacity defines the run-time of the battery, which reflects the discharge current the battery can provide until it needs recharging.

The energy content of a battery is obtained by multiplying the battery capacity in ampere hours (Ah) by the voltage to obtain watt-hours (Wh). Two batteries can have the same Ah capacity, but if one has a higher voltage it will have more energy.

These are important concepts to understand if you are trying to decide on a battery to power a flashlight versus one to power a forklift.

The power density defines the maximum rate of discharge of the battery. Some batteries require a low rate of discharge, but those used to provide bursts of power will need greater power density.

As the battery is discharged, it will have to be recharged. The cycle life durability of a battery defines the stability of the battery through repeated cycles.

Finally, the operating environment of the battery needs to be considered. High or low temperatures, for example, can impact a battery’s performance and safety.

Case Study

Over the next few years, many companies are going to grapple with the decision of whether to transition their applications from lead-acid to more modern battery types. There are several economic considerations, which can be demonstrated with a case study.

Tim Karimov, who is the President at California-based lithium-ion battery supplier OneCharge, has said their customers show “the total cost of ownership for Li-ion averages 20% to 40% lower in just 2 to 4 years.”

Here is how they arrive at that number. While they don’t cite base capacity costs for lithium-ion batteries versus lead-acid batteries, they do note in a presentation that a lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery with as little as 60% of the same capacity:

lead-acid battery can be replaced by a lithium-ion battery

Lead-acid to lithium-ion comparison ONECHARGE PRESENTATION

The reason for this is that the maximum discharge of the lead-acid batteries is 80%, whereas lithium-ion batteries can be discharged to zero. In addition to that, lithium-ion batteries can be charged at various points during the day (breaks, etc.), a practice that would quickly reduce the lifespan of the lead-acid battery.

For example, the company cites a recent case study in which a customer was able to reduce the number of lift trucks they had on hand from 17 to 12 by switching from lead-acid batteries to lithium-ion batteries — primarily because of opportunity charging.

Thus, even though the price for capacity is higher for lithium-ion batteries, the fact that you need less capacity lowers the lithium-ion premium (which, according to BloombergNEF, likely won’t be a premium for much longer).

Karimov cites additional savings from a case study from a fruit-growing, packaging and shipping operation with 2 shifts and 30 trucks:

  • Downtime from battery changes — $56,000 per year
  • Watering the lead acid batteries — $8,000 per year
  • The need for a new battery room — $440,000
  • Higher preventative maintenance costs and insurance rates related to health risks with lead acid

In addition, lithium-ion batteries have a longer life cycle with 3,000 cycles compared to less than 1,500 with lead acid. Historically, consumers considered such savings in deciding whether to switch to lithium-ion batteries. But with declining lithium-ion prices, that decision may soon be much easier.

Conclusions

The world is in the midst of a battery revolution, but declining costs and a rising installed base signal that lithium-ion batteries are set to displace lead-acid batteries. As long as lithium-ion batteries are more expensive than lead-acid batteries, the economics will depend on just how much the batteries are used (which impacts downtime, maintenance, etc.).

But as the price of lithium-ion continues to fall, the economic case will be compelling just on the price of the batteries. When that happens, the age of lead-acid batteries will come to an end.

 

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Household Energy Storage System’s Power Solutions

The intelligent information age greatly increases electricity demand, which, in return, pressures people into seeking for green power generation due to the severe environmental pollution and energy consumption. Solar PV power generation is expected to alleviate the pressure. With government’s policy support and less cost of power generation, energy storage systems are brought in tens of thousands of households. For the entire household energy storage system, MORNSUN provides a complete power solution to simplify customer’s design and increase system’s reliability.

Structure and components of a household energy storage system

A household energy storage system is currently divided into two kinds, grid-connected and off-grid. A grid-connected household energy storage system is mixed-powered by solar and the energy storage system, including five parts:

  • 1.Solar array
  • 2.Grid-connected inverter
  • 3.BMS (battery management system)
  • 4.Battery pack
  • 5.AC load

 

Grid-connected solution

When the utility works normally, the solar grid-connected system and the utility together power the load. When the utility powers off, the energy storage system and the solar grid-connected system together power the load. The grid-connected household energy storage system is divided into three working modes.

  • 1.solar provides energy storage and powers the utility.
  • 2.solar provides energy storage and powers part of residential electricity.
  • 3.solar only provides energy storage.

 

Grid-connected solution

Off-grid solution

An off-grid household energy storage system is independent, without any electrical connection to the grid. Therefore the whole system does not need grid-connected inverter except PV inverter. The off-grid household energy storage system is also divided into three working modes.

  • 1.solar provides energy storage and powers residential electricity on sunny days
  • 2.solar and energy storage battery power residential electricity in cloudy days
  • 3.energy storage battery powers residential electricity at dusk and on rainy days

 

 

Off-grid solution

 

In summary, current demands for energy storage equipment mainly are BMS management system, PV grid-connected inverter and energy storage inverter. Combined the demands with the safety isolation requirement of the PV system’s unit circuits, MORNSUN puts forward a complete power solution of a control unit.

 

Power Solution for BMS management system

The battery is the core energy storage device of the system and needs to be monitored online status in real time, so the importance of BMS is self-evident. In the BMS management system, BCU real-time communicates with

  • 1.CAN bus and BMU to get monomer voltages, cabinet temperature, insulation resistance and others
  • 2.current sensor to collect charge and discharge current and dynamic calculation SOC
  • 3.touch screen to display relevant data

The BCU calculates and analyzes all the information of the battery pack and then intelligently manages the system, communicating with the independent CAN bus and achieving the secondary protection of charge and discharge through a relay. The latter ensures an effective isolation for strong electricity and weak electricity, meets customer’s demand for diverse security control and guarantees a stable and efficient operation of the system.

Power Solution for BMS management system

Practical example diagram 3:

Isolation voltage conversion is the main core of a power solution for BMS management system in the energy storage system. The main control unit is mainly based on a 24VDC system, and the power of the whole main control unit is less than 5W. Therefore, URB2405YMD-10WR3 offering 5VDC output voltage is recommended to power F0505XT-1WR2 and LDO. The LDO converts 5VDC into a 3.3V output voltage to power MCU. 6 pieces F0505XT-1WR2 in the system is used to power four CAN modules, voltage detection circuit, insulation detection circuit and a current detection circuit, and isolate power circuit, signal circuit and communication module at the same time to reduce interference and improve the stability and reliability. In addition, MORNSUN automotive-grade power supply CF0505XT-1WR2 is widely used in automotive BMS system.

 

Power Solution for solar PV inverter monitoring unit

Solar PV components converge energy and inverter converts DC into AC. The process of the inverter needs to be monitored, controlled and communicated so as to ensure its voltage to meet the requirement. This monitoring unit can directly get power from the utility.

As shown in Diagram 4, LH series directly gets power from the utility and converts it into 24V output voltage, which is converted into a 5VDC output voltage by non-isolated switching regulator K7805-500R3. B0503XT-2WR2 outputs 3.3V to power the MCU with isolation function. Isolated high-speed TD501D485H can inhibit electromagnetic interference and rise the ground loop’s resistance to protect the system circuit from an external network. In addition, MORNSUN developed an isolated driver QP12W08S-37 integrating DC/DC power supply, specialized for full-bridge IGBT, to simplify the design of the customer’s driven-control circuit and improve the reliability.

Solar PV components converge energy

Power Solution for solar PV grid-connected inverter monitoring unit

Een aan het net geconnecteerde zonnepaneel omvormer (ook Bi-directionele omvormer genoemd) bestaat uit een AC/DC unit, DC/DC unit, controle unit en transfer relais unit. Deze energieopslag omvormer wordt vanuit twee soorten voedingsapparatuur gevoed. De ene is het elektriciteitsnet en de andere de zonnepanelen.

Power Solution for solar PV

Practical example diagram 5:

As shown in Diagram 5, the power selection of AC/DC Converter should mainly take the power of the main control board and fan into account. The equipment power in the above system is 15KW. AC/DC Converter LH40-10B24 offering 24V output voltage is recommended to power the fan and the main control board. For the main control board, it’s recommended to use R3 DC/DC Converters URB2415YMD-10WR3 to power IGBT driver and URB2405YMD-6WR3 to power MCU and communication module. URB_YMD-6/10WR3 series apply fully automated production process, greatly reducing the labour costs. With superior performance ahead of the peer level and highly cost-effective, they fully meet the overall cost demand of solar PV industry.

Energy storage battery

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BYD’s New Blade Battery Set to Redefine EV Safety Standards 

SHENZHEN, China, March 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Today, BYD officially announced the launch of the Blade Battery, a development set to mitigate concerns about battery safety in electric vehicles.

 

At an online launch event themed “The Blade Battery – Unsheathed to Safeguard the World”, Wang Chuanfu, BYD Chairman and President, said that the Blade Battery reflects BYD’s determination to resolve issues in battery safety while also redefining safety standards for the entire industry.

New-Blade-Battery

BYD highlighted a video of the Blade Battery successfully passing a nail penetration test, which is seen as the most rigorous way to test the thermal runaway of batteries due to its sheer difficulty. “In terms of battery safety and energy density, BYD’s Blade Battery has obvious advantages,” said Professor Ouyang Minggao, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at Tsinghua University.

 

The Blade Battery has been developed by BYD over the past several years. The singular cells are arranged together in an array and then inserted into a battery pack. Due to its optimized battery pack structure, the space utilization of the battery pack is increased by over 50% compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate block batteries.

 

While undergoing nail penetration tests, the Blade Battery emitted neither smoke nor fire after being penetrated, and its surface temperature only reached 30 to 60°C. Under the same conditions, a ternary lithium battery exceeded 500°C and violently burned, and while a conventional lithium iron phosphate block battery did not openly emit flames or smoke, its surface temperature reached dangerous temperatures of 200 to 400°C. This implies that EVs equipped with the Blade Battery would be far less susceptible to catching fire – even when they are severely damaged.

 

The Blade Battery also passed other extreme test conditions, such as being crushed, bent, being heated in a furnace to 300°C and overcharged by 260%. None of these resulted in a fire or explosion.

 

He Long, Vice President of BYD and Chairman of FinDreams Battery Co., Ltd., covered four distinct advantages of the Blade Battery including a high starting temperature for exothermic reactions, slow heat release and low heat generation, as well as its ability to not release oxygen during breakdowns or easily catch fire.

 

In the past few years, many EV manufacturers have fallen into a competition for ever-greater cruising range. When the range becomes the prime factor to consider, this focus is then transferred to power battery makers, leading to unreasonable pursuits of “energy density” in the battery industry. It is due to this unpractical focus on “energy density” that safety has been sidelined from power battery development. BYD’s Blade Battery aims to bring battery safety back to the forefront, a redirection from the industry’s tenuous focus on this crucial aspect.

 

“Today, many vehicle brands are in discussion with us about partnerships based on the technology of the Blade Battery,” said He Long. He added that BYD will gladly share and work with global partners to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for all industry players.

 

The Han EV, BYD’s flagship sedan model slated for launch this June, will come equipped with the Blade Battery. The new model will lead the brand’s Dynasty Family, boasting a cruising range of 605 kilometers and an acceleration of 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

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Marine Batteries Types, Charging, Wiring & Set Up

Boat-Battery

Marine batteries are designed specifically for use on a boat, with heavier plates and robust construction designed to withstand the vibration and pounding that can occur onboard any powerboat. For this reason, marine batteries are usually more expensive than automobile batteries, which can tempt some boat owners to purchase an auto battery instead of a marine battery. Don’t make that poor decision. A marine battery will last longer and be more reliable than an auto battery in a boat.

There are three basic types of marine batteries:

  • Marine Starting Batteries provide quick but powerful spurts of energy over short periods of time and are designed to start the engine and be rapidly recharged by the engine alternator. A starting battery should not be used for trolling motors or powering appliances.
  • Marine Deep Cycle Batteries are designed to discharge slowly over a long period of time and to withstand several hundred charging and discharging cycles. A deep cycle battery is a right choice for powering an electric trolling motor and other battery-powered accessories such as audio systems, a windlass, depth finders, fish locators, and appliances. Deep cycle batteries should not be substituted for starting batteries.
  • Marine Dual-Purpose Batteriescombine the performance of starting and deep cycle battery, and are a good choice on smaller when there’s no room for two batteries. While they’re able to perform the tasks of a starting battery and deep cycle battery, they’re not as efficient as separate batteries.

Boat Battery

Deep Cycle vs. Cranking

If you have an electric trolling motor, thruster, windlass, or other battery-powered accessories that draw larger amounts of current, you’ll want a separate deep cycle “house” battery for that purpose. A deep cycle battery is only meant to be used where high rates of discharging and re-charging occur often. A deep cycle battery is constructed differently than a cranking battery, with thicker, heavier plates. The longer, higher amperage requirements of trolling motors and windlasses, for example, would heat and distort the thinner plates of a normal cranking battery.

The cranking battery has more yet thinner plates to give a fast voltage spike to crank an engine but is not intended to maintain high power output for long periods. Yes, a deep cycle battery can be used to start your motor in a pinch, but a two- or three-battery system is highly recommended to separate the engine battery from the accessory (house) batteries.

The best way to be sure your battery is still good is to have it “load tested.” Most auto parts or battery specialty stores will load test your battery for free and tell you if it’s still serviceable. Just because it’s gone dead once or twice doesn’t necessarily mean it’s no good. The rest of your electrical and charging systems may need some attention as well, as something other than the battery itself may be the cause of the problem.

Replacing Your Boat’s Battery

Consult your boat owner’s manual or a marine dealer when replacing a marine battery, and be sure to buy a new battery that is a good match for your boat. Marine batteries are rated by their ampere hour rating, reverse capacity, and marine cranking amps. When shopping for a deep cycle battery, you’ll want to pay the most attention to the ampere hour rating and reserve capacity. For starting batteries, focus primarily on the marine cranking amps. Consult all three rankings when searching for a dual-purpose battery.

If you add electrical accessories to your boat, you may need to upgrade to a battery with a higher amp-hour rating, especially if you spend a lot of time trolling with the engine at a very low speed (which results in less charging power from the alternator) or you spend a lot of time beached or at anchor while using accessories like the audio system.

Charging a Marine Battery

Most of us understand that when we are buying a new or used boat, the batteries supplied may not necessarily be top-of-the-line. If they seem to do the job, we don’t think much about them. But in the warmer climates everyday heat is a major enemy of batteries and can shorten their life considerably. In areas of the country that force us to put boats in storage for the winter, how the battery is cared for during this period is also critical to increasing life expectancy.

It’s best to keep batteries on a regulated “trickle” charger to maintain charge while not in use. A battery that is not charged (and kept charged) can freeze in cold temperatures and a cracked case is the likely result.  A battery is like a lot of things in life—use it or lose it! A car battery will typically last longer than a boat battery because the car is used regularly and the battery stays charged. When it comes to boats, the old adage of a battery’s life being two years is pretty well on the mark. You’ll usually get a heads-up when it’s about to give up on you, with the warning being a “dead” battery one morning or a bit slower cranking speed than you’re used to. You plug in the charger, the battery miraculously comes to life, and you’re off on your trip. You may think the light was left on, or that the radio memory pulled the voltage down. The reality may be that the battery is sulfating, plates are warped, and it no longer takes or holds a charge like it once did.

Tips for Avoiding Battery Problems

  • Secure the marine battery with a good battery tray, which should have a base that is screwed or bolted to the boat and either a rigid bracket or a locking strap to hold it to the base. You don’t want the battery banging around in rough water.
  • Frequently check the battery terminal connections to make sure they are snug and free of corrosion. Replace the wing nuts often found on marine batteries with nylon locking nuts, which are much less likely to come loose.
  • If you use the boat infrequently, use a maintenance-type battery charger to keep the battery fully charged between outings.
  • Before off-season storage completely charge the batteries then disconnect the terminals so nothing can draw the battery down. If there’s power available at your storage site, keep the batteries on a battery maintainer/charger through the off-season to continually maintain your batteries. Otherwise, remove the batteries from the boat and store them where they can be connected to a maintenance charger.
  • Install a cover or “boot” over the top of the positive battery terminal, if one was not installed by the boat builder, even if the battery is in a covered box. The boot prevents sparks and arcing and possible explosion if, for instance, a tool is dropped on the terminal.

Bottom line? Keep your batteries charged, keep the terminals clean, and by all means get out in the boat and “exercise” your electrical system as often as you can!

 

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Battery pole piece spot welding

12v 100ah lifepo4

Battery pole piece spot welding machine work principle:

12v 100ah lifepo4

Battery pole piece spot welder use of ultrasonic metal welding principle, ultrasonic metal welding should be classified as don’t need preheating welding. Oxidation surface is the great friction welding which division, and at the same time two parts are pressed together. This program let two materials to produce the atom so close to the action. Far below melting point relatively slight increase of temperature in the welding process is not important factors. At the same time, because the basic material not liquefied, so there is no microstructure changes, also will not damage to internal structure. Ultrasonic cell metal special welding machine is suitable for: aluminum + nickel, nickel and copper foil, aluminum + aluminum foil, multilayer copper foil, multi-layer aluminum foil, multilayer copper nets, multilayer aluminum mesh, aluminum plate + aluminum strip, aluminum nickel composite belt + aluminium plate, aluminum shell bottom + ni-clad-al strip double point welding; And with nickel and copper foil, nickel band and aluminum belt, aluminium strip and aluminum foil, aluminum band and aluminum cover, aluminum shell and ni-clad-al strip of the material such as the single point, multipoint, single, multi-layer, square, form and process of welding. Features suitable for battery, hardware, electrical appliances and motor industry.

Battery pole piece spot welder features:

  1.  due to the bench ultrasonic cell metal welding machine machine 80% use import parts and components, to ensure low failure rate and machine section structure design is reasonable;
  2.  ultrasonic lithium ion battery metal welding machine of welding mould can according to different application fast and convenient to change;
  3.  ultrasonic cell copper foil nickel sheet welding machine with German import piezoelectric ceramic transducer, stable and durable;
  4.  miniature ultrasonic power battery cover sheet welding machine operation easy, built-in electronic protection circuit, the use of safe,
  5. independent research and development, and the ultrasonic cell metal welding mould and welding head, reached the advanced world level, reduce the enterprise cost;
  6. ultrasonic nimh battery pole piece very ear welding machine used for the same kind of metal welding, to foreign non-ferrous metal implement single point or multipoint welding, especially copper aluminum nickel sheet, line, take welding.

Battery pole piece spot welder advantages:

The machine use desktop integration design, reasonable structure, beautiful appearance, Vertical motion, positioning accuracy is high, the welding effect is good; Welding head and the integral design of the mould can ensure the consistency of the welding effect, and extend the welding head life; New mould manufacture and maintenance cost is low, the welding of high efficiency; Advance to set the energy, time of welding parameters, constant welding parameter to ensure the welding quality. The operation is simple, convenient assembly, easy maintenance, can according to the customer the production needs of customized; Combined with quality control system for automatic process monitoring, without professional technician, on-site staff need to accept a day of training that will operate. Features suitable for wire and guide piece of the connections between, lithium nimh battery electric etc with nickel sheet alloy plate ni-clad-al strip connection, household electric parts and wire welding, all kinds of high or low conductivity metal and alloy, etc.

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The Low-Down On Low Speed Vehicles (LSV)

When people wanted something roomier than a station wagon but not as commercial-looking as a van, the auto industry gave us minivans. Then when people wanted something sportier than minivans but not as workmanlike as pickup…

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Save Thousands On Medical Batteries Each Year

Reports from the Energy Storage Research Program at DOE have found that “every year roughly one-million usable lithium-ion batteries are sent for recycling”. Knowing when to replace a battery is an ongoing concern and date-stamping serves as only a partial and imperfect solution. It is important to understand and acknowledge the fact that batteries do not fail suddenly, but rather they follow a predicted decline in capacity losing performance over time. Battery life is governed by usage, not time.

 

A new battery is rated at a nominal capacity of 100%. As the battery ages, the reserve capacity drops and the battery eventually needs replacing when the reserve capacity falls below a certain level to be defined depending on the application of a battery-powered medical device.

Nickel-based batteries provide about three-years of service; Li-on five. Storage characteristics have also improved. However, under-usage in healthcare is more common than ever, and bio-medical technicians have discovered that many medical batteries that are recycled still have a capacity of above 90%, leading to millions of unchecked batteries being discarded every year.

 

The date-stamping approach to batteries has several serious flaws:

It does not detect a damaged or prematurely faded battery. Batteries that are used regularly may fade before the expiry date listed on the stamp.

Through this approach, it is also often neglected that even batteries held in storage and are not in use, lose capacity over time.

It is a costly procedure as it does not allow for full battery service life to be used, resulting in most batteries in this system being replaced after less than half of their useful life is still intact. Li-on batteries, for example, often last 2-3 times longer than the date stamp mandates, but also have higher purchase prices making premature disposal even more costly.

 

By replacing the arguably outdated approach to battery replacement, with a greener, more reliable approach, the future of battery management in healthcare will be increasingly optimized.

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LiFePO4 Care Guide: Looking After Your Lithium Batteries

LOOKING-AFTER-YOUR-LITHIUM-BATTERIES

LiFePO4 chemistry lithium cells have become popular for a range of applications in recent years due to being one of the most robust and long-lasting battery chemistries available. They will last ten years or more if cared for correctly. Please take a moment to read these tips to ensure you get the longest service from your battery investment.

 

Tip 1: Never over charge/discharge a cell!

The most common causes for premature failure of LiFePO4 cells are overcharging and over-discharging. Even a single occurrence can cause permanent damage to the cell, and such misuse voids the warranty. A Battery protection System is required to ensure it is not possible for any cell in your pack to go outside its nominal operating voltage range,

In the case of LiFePO4 chemistry, the absolute maximum is 4.2V per cell, though it is recommended that you charge to 3.5-3.6V per cell, there is less than 1% extra capacity between 3.5V and 4.2V.

Over charging causes heating within a cell and prolonged or extreme overcharging has the potential to cause a fire. EV Works Takes no responsibility for any damages caused as a result of a battery fire.

Over charging may occur as a result of.

  • Lack of a suitable battery protection system
  • Faulty of infective battery protection system
  • incorrect installation of the battery protection system

 

At the other end of the scale, over-discharging can also cause cell damage. The BMS must disconnect the load if any cells are approaching empty (less than 2.5V). Cells may suffer mild damage below 2.0V, but are usually recoverable. However, cells which get driven to negative voltages are damaged beyond recovery.

On 12v batteries the use of a low voltage cutoff takes the place of the BMS by preventing the overall battery voltage going under 11.5v no cell damage should occur. On the other end charging to no more than 14.2v no cell should be overcharged.

battery-test

Tip 2: Clean your terminals before installation

The terminals on top of the batteries are made from aluminium and copper, which over time builds up an oxide layer when exposed to air. Before installing your cell interconnectors and BMS modules, clean the battery terminals thoroughly with a wire brush to remove oxidation. If using bare copper cell interconnectors, these should be cleaned too. Removing the oxide layer will greatly improve conduction and reduce heat buildup at the terminal. (In extreme cases, heat buildup on terminals due to poor conduction has been known to melt the plastic around the terminals and damage BMS modules!)

 

Tip 3: Use the right terminal mounting hardware

Winston cells using M8 terminals (90Ah and up) should use 20mm long bolts. Cells with M6 terminals (60Ah and under) should use 15mm bolts. If in doubt, measure the thread depth in your cells and ensure that the bolts will get close to but not hit the bottom of the hole. From top to bottom you should have a spring washer, flat washer then the cell interconnector.

 

A week or so after installation, check that all your terminal bolts are still tight. Loose terminal bolts can cause high-resistance connections, robbing your EV of power and causing undue heat generation.

 

Tip 4: Charge frequently and shallower cycles

With lithium batteries, you will get longer cell life if you avoid very deep discharges. We recommend sticking to 70-80% DoD (Depth of Discharge) maximum except in emergencies.

Swollen Cells

Swelling will only occur if a cell has been over-discharged or in some cases overcharged. Swelling does not necessarily mean the cell is no longer usable though it will likely lose

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World’s Most Efficient Lithium-Sulfur Battery Developed – Powers Smartphone for 5 Days

Imagine having access to a battery, which has the potential to power your phone for five continuous days, or enable an electric vehicle to drive more than 1000km without needing to “refuel.” Monash University researchers are on the brink of commercializing the world’s most efficient lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery, which could outperform current market leaders by more than four times, and power Australia and other global markets well into the future. Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani from Monash University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering led an international research team that developed an ultra-high capacity Li-S battery that has better performance and less environmental impact than current lithium-ion products.

The researchers have an approved filed patent (PCT/AU 2019/051239) for their manufacturing process, and prototype cells have been successfully fabricated by German R&D partners Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology.

Associate Professor Matthew Hill, Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani and Professor Mainak Majumder. Credit: Monash University

Some of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium batteries in China and Europe have expressed interest in upscaling production, with further testing to take place in Australia in early 2020.

The study was published in Science Advances today (Saturday, January 4, 2020) — the first research on Li-S batteries to feature in this prestigious international publication.

Professor Mainak Majumder said this development was a breakthrough for Australian industry and could transform the way phones, cars, computers, and solar grids are manufactured in the future.

“Successful fabrication and implementation of Li-S batteries in cars and grids will capture a more significant part of the estimated $213 billion value chain of Australian lithium, and will revolutionize the Australian vehicle market and provide all Australians with a cleaner and more reliable energy market,” Professor Majumder said.

“Our research team has received more than $2.5 million in funding from government and international industry partners to trial this battery technology in cars and grids from this year, which we’re most excited about.”

Using the same materials in standard lithium-ion batteries, researchers reconfigured the design of sulfur cathodes so they could accommodate higher stress loads without a drop in overall capacity or performance.

Inspired by unique bridging architecture first recorded in processing detergent powders in the 1970s, the team engineered a method that created bonds between particles to accommodate stress and deliver a level of stability not seen in any battery to date.

Attractive performance, along with lower manufacturing costs, abundant supply of material, ease of processing and reduced environmental footprint make this new battery design attractive for future real-world applications, according to Associate Professor Matthew Hill.

“This approach not only favors high-performance metrics and long cycle life, but is also simple and extremely low-cost to manufacture, using water-based processes, and can lead to significant reductions in environmentally hazardous waste,” Associate Professor Hill said.