Lead-Acid vs Lithium Batteries: Which Are Best For Solar?
by Maddy Bris I am Maddy Bris CEO and Founder of Sunny Sky SolarGoing Solar for meeting energy requirements is one of the smartest and
most sustainable choices that people are making today. However, the decision
and installation are accompanied by a variety of questions, doubts and
apprehensions about this new-to-adopt technology for the first-time users.
One of the most common confusions
that arise while setting up a solar
power system is related to the battery that should be used in the setup. As
the efficiency and return on investment of a solar power system are
highly dependent on the quality and type of battery used, it becomes even more
essential for any household/ business to attend to this question of "which battery is the best for solar”.
The two most common variants of solar power batteries are lead-acid
battery and lithium battery. In order to understand and assess the
specifications of both of these and to make the best choice for your setup, it
is important to compare both of these on certain essential features that should
be looked for while choosing the battery type. We will now compare lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries.
Charging the battery
The charging efficiency of a solar power battery
directly affects the overall efficiency of the setup. Therefore, it is
important to choose the one that is highly efficient in terms of charging.
The charging efficiency of the
lead-acid battery type is comparatively low. They have a 70% efficiency. Lead-acid batteries lose plenty of
energy to recharge. This battery type makes use of the additional energy to mix
the acid and the excess energy is burnt in this process. Temperature is
increased during this and it causes the water inside the batteries to evaporate
which leads to the requirement of topping up the unit regularly with water.
Contrastingly, the lithium-ion battery can be charged to
full capacity, and therefore these units can aid you in saving monetarily on
your power bills. These batteries are 96% efficient and they accept rapid and
partial charging.
Maintenance
Solar power systems are
not a one-time deal and any household or business looks up to them as a long-term
investment. Therefore, maintenance of the system always remains a major factor
to attend to. The lead-acid solar batteries need a lot of maintenance
and the maintenance required is not easy to carry out. In addition to being a
daunting task, you also have to ensure that they are not placed in your living
room as they emit a lot of gases during the process of recharging. A separate
space is to be dedicated for these units and the gas is to be expelled from the
charging area using a special ventilation system thereby requiring a lot of
arrangement and additional costs.
In the case of lithium-ion
batteries, you don’t have to manage any such daunting tasks or invest in
infrastructure costs.
Weight of the battery
Lithium-ion batteries weigh three
times less than lead-acid batteries and are therefore easier to transport.
Service life
The service life of lithium-ion
batteries is three times more than the lead-acid batteries and they,
therefore, serve as a cost-saving option. You need not replace them regularly
and the other features of this type act as add-on benefits to your choice.
Safety and emissions
Concerning safety, the lead-acid
batteries do not comprise any safety systems. These batteries are not sealed
and they emit hydrogen during the process of recharging. This also poses as a
reason why these batteries cannot be used in the food industry due to the
toxicity that they emit.
On the other hand, lithium solar batteries do not emit any harmful
gases and therefore can be used for different applications. Additionally, these
batteries also come with a special control system to ensure additional
protection.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the lithium-ion
batteries are better than the lead-acid solar batteries from multiple
perspectives and the comparison drawn above validates this. In terms of service
life, safety, maintenance, weight, and charging, the lithium-ion batteries have
an edge over the lead-acid variants.
It is also to be noted that the
quality of batteries plays an important role in the efficiency and required
maintenance. Sunny Sky Solar offers
the best in Brisbane solar batteries of all types available in the
variants of 5KW solar power system, 6KW
or 6.6KW solar power system, 10KW solar power system, and
13.2KW solar power system.
Want to
know more about solar power system or batteries, then contact us.
Our solar counselors will help you to assist on the same.
Sponsor Ads
Created on Dec 1st 2020 02:16. Viewed 314 times.