New House Battery Technology?

System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Does anybody have any guesses at to new battery technology similar to the car batteries becoming available for off-grid houses?

Sharp had a press release a year ago, but when I contacted them they said somebody would contact me within 24 hours. That was well over a month ago!!

Anyway, my batteries are headed south at a rapid clip. I am also tired of wearing clothes with holes in them due to battery acid!!

Definitely would like something sealed, much smaller and resistent to power drop in cold weather.

Any thoughts or leads. I would like to replace the set this coming summer.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #2
    Re: New House Battery Technology?

    These are available now:
    Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries; LFP; LiFePO4 discussions

    However, they are not cheap.

    There is a guy with a RV (bus?) with a website that documented replacing lead acid with LIP4 types... Sure a bunch lighter and less space.

    However, for a home/cabin, space and weight is generally less of an issue vs a car/rv... So, is it worth the costs?

    AGM are pretty close to the "Perfect" Lead Acid battery at 2x the price and (probably) less life than flooded cell.

    It is so easy to damage a battery bank, that is it is not always clear to me it is worth the extra expenses over a set of good quality lead acid batteries. (of course, I have not had great luck with GT solar inverters and solar arrays either--at least most of my costs were covered by warranty or even out of warranty for the gt inverter).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • RCinFLA
    RCinFLA Solar Expert Posts: 1,485 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: New House Battery Technology?

    I agree that LiFePO4 battery are good for off grid once charging systems are available.

    The problem right now is there is no available charge balancer for solar/off grid high AH application. Not an unsolvable problem.

    They have 2000-3000 cycle life and are just fine with being left in partial charge state. They also have 94-96% recharge efficiency.

    They don't take overcharging so if you are unable to take on charge balancing design then not ready for you.

    If you don't want to deal with filling water levels and acid burns then go with sealed AGM's. They are what is used for commercial UPS systems, lasting about 5 years, but that is to a very low Rs performance check to be able to supply high current UPS demands. For usual off grid application you can get 7 years or more out of them.
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  • Mangas
    Mangas Solar Expert Posts: 547 ✭✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: New House Battery Technology?

    With a large battery bank investment, I came down on the basics of conventional and uninteresting flooded cell technology from a well known manufacturer at lower cost with a proven reputation to give at least 7 years of reliability.

    But, that's not to say newer technologies are less reliable. If I had a system using fewer batteries, I might try the more advanced technologies.

    The risks of losing a sizeable investment in a large bank makes me very, very conservative.

    Presently, I am trying to understand why my two year old Trojan REB 16s' are hardly using any water at all. The older version used 75% more water. The only thing I've done differently is replace the two Outback MX60s with Outback FlexMax 80s' and disconnected the ornamental Desulfators. So far, I'm not complaining.
    Ranch Off Grid System & Custom Home: 2 x pair stacked Schneider XW 5548+ Plus inverters (4), 2 x Schneider MPPT 80-600 Charge Controllers, 2 Xanbus AGS Generator Start and Air Extraction System Controllers, 64 Trojan L16 REB 6v 375 AH Flooded Cel Batteries w/Water Miser Caps, 44 x 185 Sharp Solar Panels, Cummins Onan RS20 KW Propane Water Cooled Genset, ICF Custom House Construction, all appliances, Central A/C, 2 x High Efficiency Variable Speed three ton Central A/C 220v compressors, 2 x Propane furnaces, 2 x Variable Speed Air Handlers, 2 x HD WiFi HVAC Zoned System Controllers
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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: New House Battery Technology?

    Another option to look at is flooded Ni-Cad. Many advantages including the ability to discharge 100% and even store long-term in that condition, long watering intervals, compatibility with lead-acid chargers and cutoff voltages, supposed 25 year lifetimes, higher output at cold temps.

    http://www.sbsbattery.com/subpage_index.php?_subp_=142
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • Fullpower
    Fullpower Solar Expert Posts: 69 ✭✭
    #6
    New House Battery Technology?

    NiCd consumes a fairly Large amount of float power.
    Just keeping up with NiCd self-discharge will consume significant energy.
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