Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • Replies 8 replies
  • Subscribers 36 subscribers
  • Views 1163 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in

PV batteries

Chris Pearson

Spinning off from the thread on Public Consultation: PAS 63100, I was wondering about the type of battery which may be used with a PV array. Lithium ion ones seem to be on offer, but have the disadvantage of the possibility of igniting themselves.

I have an older vehicle which has a 110 Ah lead acid battery. If it really can deliver 110 A for 1 hour (or 1 A for 110 h) at 12 V, that is 1.32 kWh and half a dozen would be 8 kWh. The one that I bought last year cost about £200.

I appreciate that the characteristics of lead acid batteries for cars, boats, caravans, etc. are different, but lead acid seems to be significantly cheaper and safer than lithium ion. Am I missing something?

P.S. If you can run a submarine on a whole compartment of lead acid batteries, they cannot be that bad!

Parents

  • The biggest advantage of Lithium is weight for a given amp hour* voltage capacity - partly because lithium is quite a light metal and partly because the voltage per cell is between 3 and a half and 4 volts depending on the state of charge, and how flat you are prepared to take it. The self discharge rate is also quite low, at least when brand new, and a shelf like of many months is possible

    Lead acid are only 2V- ish per cell, and in weight and volume sensitive applications, like phones and laptops, lithium wins.  It  is not clear for a situation where weight /volume may not be the last word, like a house or even for something like a boat, if in fact one of the more mature technologies would not be a better bet.

    Actually when weight is no issue, then Nickel Iron has probably the longest lifespan and best resistance to being left in the flat state. Unfortunately the energy density is less than impressive. Lead acid is quite reasonable in terms of power per volume, but of course quite heavy.

    Mike.

Reply

  • The biggest advantage of Lithium is weight for a given amp hour* voltage capacity - partly because lithium is quite a light metal and partly because the voltage per cell is between 3 and a half and 4 volts depending on the state of charge, and how flat you are prepared to take it. The self discharge rate is also quite low, at least when brand new, and a shelf like of many months is possible

    Lead acid are only 2V- ish per cell, and in weight and volume sensitive applications, like phones and laptops, lithium wins.  It  is not clear for a situation where weight /volume may not be the last word, like a house or even for something like a boat, if in fact one of the more mature technologies would not be a better bet.

    Actually when weight is no issue, then Nickel Iron has probably the longest lifespan and best resistance to being left in the flat state. Unfortunately the energy density is less than impressive. Lead acid is quite reasonable in terms of power per volume, but of course quite heavy.

    Mike.

Children
No Data

Join us to get the best from IET EngX.

Joining EngX lets you personalise your experience so you stay up to date on the topics that interest you, plus you’ll be able to make connections who are looking to collaborate, exchange ideas and more.

Join us Not now

Community Rules & Guidelines