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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!

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  • Most of the 'home made' PV/Wind storage systems I have read about have used lead acid batteries, typically leisure batterys that are designed for deep cycling rather than delivering a high current for a short period of time. 

    The Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales notes:

    Batteries

    Batteries are essential in most off-grid wind or solar systems, but are expensive and will deteriorate. They store low voltage (up to 48V) DC electricity and need to be protected from over and under charging with a suitable controller. Lead-acid batteries were common in off-grid projects, but now lithium-ion are becoming more common. The latter have a longer lifetime but are more expensive – so lifetime costs may be similar.

    Deep cycle batteries are preferable for renewable energy systems, as they are designed to have up to 80% of their charge repeatedly removed and replaced over a period of 5 to 15 years (or 1000 – 2000 times). Vehicle batteries are not suitable as they are designed to give a short burst of high current and be recharged immediately. They will perform poorly if allowed to discharge more deeply. Do make sure you follow proper safety procedures when dealing with batteries.

    Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels - Centre for Alternative Technology (cat.org.uk)

    I have come across a German made solar powered boat in the Norfolk Broads and on Lake Thun which uses lead acid batteries as the energy store. 

    I would think here that the weight is not so critical and the management systems for lead acid batteries are rather simpler than those for Lithium systems.

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  • Most of the 'home made' PV/Wind storage systems I have read about have used lead acid batteries, typically leisure batterys that are designed for deep cycling rather than delivering a high current for a short period of time. 

    The Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales notes:

    Batteries

    Batteries are essential in most off-grid wind or solar systems, but are expensive and will deteriorate. They store low voltage (up to 48V) DC electricity and need to be protected from over and under charging with a suitable controller. Lead-acid batteries were common in off-grid projects, but now lithium-ion are becoming more common. The latter have a longer lifetime but are more expensive – so lifetime costs may be similar.

    Deep cycle batteries are preferable for renewable energy systems, as they are designed to have up to 80% of their charge repeatedly removed and replaced over a period of 5 to 15 years (or 1000 – 2000 times). Vehicle batteries are not suitable as they are designed to give a short burst of high current and be recharged immediately. They will perform poorly if allowed to discharge more deeply. Do make sure you follow proper safety procedures when dealing with batteries.

    Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Panels - Centre for Alternative Technology (cat.org.uk)

    I have come across a German made solar powered boat in the Norfolk Broads and on Lake Thun which uses lead acid batteries as the energy store. 

    I would think here that the weight is not so critical and the management systems for lead acid batteries are rather simpler than those for Lithium systems.

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