Winter Battery insulation

shift
shift Solar Expert Posts: 48 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Should I be be putting some form of insulation around my batteries? They are currently on a wooden shelve in a carport. As winter is just around the corner i have been debating if its worth wrapping them in insulation or building a foam box to keep them a bit warmer as the temperatures start to dip down. I think the lowest extreme i recall last winter was about -16C
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Winter Battery insulation

    I wouldn't worry about it. Charged batteries won't freeze until the temp is well below zero F. Keep them charged and they'll be happy.
    Mine have 2" of foam around the sides, 3" on top, and stay connected to the panels all Winter in the Cariboo where temps can drop to -40. Never a problem.
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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Winter Battery insulation

    -16C for the over all low? Heck, we were -12 the other night, early October!

    Don't worry about your batteries at those temps, assuming you can keep some modicum of charge in them,

    Tony
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  • shift
    shift Solar Expert Posts: 48 ✭
    #4
    Re: Winter Battery insulation

    Well that makes things easy.. -30c ish was prob the coldest i recall in the past few years.. but they should be safe.. as long as the sun doesn't drop to low and the panels keep getting sunshine!
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: Winter Battery insulation

    If more than half-charged or so they will not freeze at those temps, but they will lose capacity. Some folks just wrap some of that Pink Panther fiberglass around them to stabilize the temperture differences between batteries.
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