Solar Battery Power

Battery Thoughts
Batteries are the very heart of your solar electric system. They are where your power is stored - your reservoir.A battery storage bank is what allows your power system to deliver a constant level of power to your electrical loads. Without batteries you would have no power when the sun went down and maybe not even enough during daylight hours, depending on cloud cover, etc.
By running power from your solar panels through a charge controller and into your battery bank, power is available 24 hours a day, regardless of weather.
Even with several days in a row of bad weather, your battery bank can continue to store power through the means of a back-up generator. Most of your solar electric system needs little or no maintenance. The battery bank is the exception.
Maintenance is not difficult or very time consuming, but if the batteries are neglected, degradation can occur at a very rapid pace.
The right choice of the size, type and number of batteries is important to insure your power system performs properly and to maximize the life of the batteries. The following information is designed to tell you how batteries work, the difference in size and type of batteries, how to size, monitor and maintain your system and much more.

Deep cycle Battery and Shallow cycle Battery
A cycle in a battery occurs when it is discharged and then recharged back to its original level. How much a battery is discharged is called the depth of discharge.
A shallow cycle is when the top 20% or less of the battery is discharged and recharged. Batteries in your car or truck are designed for this type of cycling. They have relatively thin plates, with a large surface area that gives up lots of power over a short period of time,as when they start your vehicle.
These types of batteries should not be used in your solar electric system. Because of the kind of use they get they would not last very long. They are not made for constant deep discharging and recharging. A deep cycle is when up to 80% of the battery capacity is discharged and recharged. Deep cycle batteries are designed with thicker plates and with overall less surface area. These batteries give up just as much power for their rated size, but do it over a much longer period of time.Deep cycle batteries are what you want for your home solar electric system.
The depth of cycling has a lot to do with how long your batteries last. As the depth of cycle increases, the battery life is used up faster.
For maximum battery life it is best to shallow cycle your deep cycle batteries.

Application Example

The batteries you see above are two 6 volt deep cycle batteries hooked in series to give 12 volt output. They are rated at 240 AH.

I like to convert to watt/ hours ( 12  volts times 240 ) = 2880 watt/hours

Which means you could run your 100 watt light bulb for 28.8 hours from a fully charged battery

Discover EV series

Advanced AGM and Gel batteries

• 100% maintenance free. Never need to check electrolyte levels.
• Sealed recombinant construction eliminates spills, gases and terminal corrosion
• Operates from -60F to 160F
• Can be used in any orientation (upside down not recommended)

* lead prices have been fluctuating. Please call us for pricing.

Flooded Batteries

** these prices are more stable but pricing is subject to change without notice.