Some batteries are made with automatic machinery, while others are made manually. This difference can highly impact the quality of the battery. Apart from this, various manufacturers use heavier grids and more lead, which affect the performance of the battery cells.
Consequently, the features of batteries may vary from each other. They can have different lifespans and performances. Therefore, selecting a battery for your solar panel system can be a troublesome task for you. Choosing the correct solar battery is crucial because you do not want to change the battery every other year.
If you are confused about how you should select the best battery for solar, we have got your back. This article will show you ten things that you should consider before buying a solar battery.
Let’s get started!
Part 1: What is a Solar Battery?
Before diving into the best battery for solar power storage, it is essential to know what exactly a solar battery is. It is a device that you can use for a solar power system. When your solar system generates extra electricity, this battery helps store that energy.
With that stored energy, you can power your home at times when the sun goes down or your panel does not generate adequate energy, including power outages and cloudy days. The sole purpose of a solar battery is to help you store and use the extra energy that the solar panel is producing.
However, if you do not have batteries for the solar power system to store the energy, the extra energy will go to the grid, and it will be of no use to you. If your solar panel and solar panel batteries are large enough, you can run your entire home on them.
Moreover, solar system batteries can be more affordable than using electricity directly from the utility grid. Thus, if you opt for a solar battery, it might be beneficial for you in many ways. These batteries are also called deep cycle batteries because they can charge and discharge like a car battery.
Part 2: 10 Factors for Choosing the Best Solar Battery
Power Rating
“Power rating” refers to the capacity of a battery to store electrical power. It tells you about the appliances a battery can power at a time. It also tells you about those appliances that you can use with the battery’s power.
The power rating is expressed in kilowatts (kW) or amps since different home appliances use different power amounts. For this, we can take the example of a bulb that uses 12 watts of power. On the other hand, a 3-ton air conditioner will use around 20 amps.
Furthermore, there are two types of power saving; an instantaneous power rating and a continuous power rating. The instantaneous power rating is used when appliances require high power to turn on but then continue on lower power. Continuous power means that appliances need a fixed amount of energy.
Battery Capacity
A battery’s capacity means how much power it can store within itself and then supply that power to your home. The battery size or capacity is expressed in kilowatt-hours (kWh). This unit is then multiplied by time. With this, you will know how much power a battery can provide for your home.
Nonetheless, you should look for the usable capacity of the battery before purchasing it since it will tell you the actual amount of power it can store. The power multiplied by time tells you about the electricity usage.
But if you use more power, the stored electricity will soon run out. In the same way, if you use appliances that use less power, the energy will take longer to run out. It makes the process a bit misleading. For this reason, you should focus on the battery’s capacity to store power.
Roundtrip Efficiency
Roundtrip efficiency is crucial to check in any solar battery because it tells you about the effectiveness of your battery to convert and store excess electricity. When the battery converts direct current electricity to alternating current electricity, it loses some kilowatt hours in the conversion process.
Therefore, roundtrip efficiency tells you how many electricity units you will get for every unit of electricity you put in the battery. For instance, if you put 100 kWh of electricity into the battery, it can give you an output of 90 kWh. It means that the round-trip efficiency is 90%.
For this reason, you should purchase high round trip efficiency batteries as they are more cost-effective.
Ambient Working Temperature
The ambient working temperature refers to the average air temperature that surrounds the solar battery. In other words, it is the temperature of the room where you have installed your battery. The ambient working temperature tells you about the temperature at which the battery will normally function.
If you live in a place where temperatures are usually high, you have to check the ambient working temperature of the battery before buying it.
Depth of discharge (DoD)
Depth of discharge means the amount of electricity that you can withdraw from the battery before charging it again. You need to charge the battery at some level, as full discharge could decrease its lifespan. Various battery manufacturers tell you about the exact DoD of their batteries.
Choose a solar battery that has a higher depth of discharge.
Battery Lifespan
Choose a solar battery that has a longer lifespan. It means that your battery will last longer. However, the cycle of charging and draining will reduce over time. The more you use it, the more its lifespan will be reduced. It also depends on how many years you are going to use the battery. For this, you need to check the expected throughput, expected years of operation, and expected cycles.
Safety
You have to check a battery’s safety details before purchasing it. Every solar battery has to meet certain requirements so that you can install it in your home or company. Some chemicals are safe to use in a battery, while others are not.
Cost
The cost of the battery is another essential thing you have to check. The range largely depends upon the area you live in and from which brand you are buying it.
Nevertheless, the price ranges from around $400 to $800 per kilowatt hour. The total purchase price of the battery can be around $5,000 to $7,000.
Warranty
Every solar battery will offer a battery warranty informing you about the expected number of cycles and years. Also, the ability of a battery to perform and give a certain amount of charge decreases over time.
For instance, if a battery has a 10-year warranty of giving 70% capacity in the beginning, it will lose around 30% of the stored capacity over the years.
Manufacturer
The quality of the battery also depends on the company that manufactures it. Various manufacturers are now trying their best to come up with the best batteries to store solar power. Nevertheless, not every company has succeeded in its aim.
Every manufacturer’s design and materials vary from each other. As a result, the products are also different. You can purchase the battery either from a new tech company or a well-known automobile company. But, this decision depends on the amount you have and your preferences.
An automobile company may have a long history of manufacturing batteries, whereas a tech startup could offer you the best available technology.
Part 3. What is the Best Solar Battery Manufacturer?
As you now know about the crucial factors you should consider before buying a solar battery, we will tell you about the best solar battery manufacturer that can fulfill all the above-mentioned requirements.
ETEKWARE
ETEKWARE is a company that manufactures renewable energy generation and storage batteries. They offer top-notch quality and use stringent quality control management and frontier technology. Moreover, they design their batteries in such a way that ensures the safety of their products.
Also, the design optimizes the battery’s performance. ETEKWARE helps to store the extra energy in a sustainable manner. They also pay attention to their product’s size and compactness. If you are using it for your home, they make sure to give you a lightweight option for the battery.
If you are in search of an effective home solar battery backup, you can select from their four models. The models include the Powerwall solar battery (authorized design), wall-mounted LiFePO4 battery (in-stock), Powerwall solar battery (in-stock), and wall-mounted LiFePO4 battery (authorized design).
All the above-mentioned models have the exceptional features of a long lifespan, large storage capacity, and high efficiency that will allow you to use excess solar energy to power your home appliances for a longer time.
Apart from this, ETEKWARE also manufactures a battery energy storage system that helps you store renewable energy in rechargeable batteries to use in times of need.
ETEKWARE batteries are safe to use and have stable components. It has a battery management system that helps to protect the battery against low or high voltages, short circuits, high currents, and low or high temperatures.
Their batteries are expected to have more than 13 years of lifespan and have 100% charging efficiency. For all these reasons, ETEKWARE is the best solar battery manufacturer you can find on the market.
Part 4. What are the Best Batteries for Solar?
The best solar battery can vary for everyone because of personal preferences. Depending on your objectives and budget, you can choose from the following best batteries for solar.
Lead-Acid Batteries
Lead-acid batteries are one of the best batteries for solar power storage. They were invented in the 17th century but are still in use today. They were the only technology to store solar energy for different purposes, including industrial and domestic use, until five years ago.
These batteries are affordable, so many people prefer to buy them if they have a low budget. Moreover, their discharge rate is constant.
Nevertheless, lead acid batteries do not have a compact size. Their ambient working temperature is also below room temperature.
Lithium Batteries
Lithium batteries, also known as Li-ion batteries, offer an exceptional energy storage medium. There are two types of Li-ion batteries available on the market. The first is the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) type battery, which has a high cycle life. They are ideal for off-grid installation usage.
The second type is lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), which is ideal for use in high temperatures. If you live in a region where the temperature is extreme, you should definitely go for this battery type.
Li-ion batteries only require minimal maintenance and store more energy than other batteries. They have a longer lifespan, lifecycle, and doD. Although they have high pricing, they are worth the investment.
Red-ox flow Batteries
Red-ox flow batteries are new on the market. They use vanadium, bromine solution, and water-based zinc to store electric charges. The storage capacity of this battery depends on the battery size.
In addition, they have a low self-discharge and a longer life cycle. They also do not heat up during usage. However, only a few companies manufacture this battery type, and it is also not affordable. Their chemical composition is also toxic.
Hydrogen Batteries
Hydrogen batteries are also new in the market, like red-ox flow batteries. They have fuel cells, electrolyzers, canisters of hydrogen compounds, and lithium batteries. When the first hydrogen battery was tested, it could store around 40 kilowatt-hours of energy.
Part 5. Conclusion
Using a solar battery for your home or company is one of the best decisions you can make. It can help you save a lot on electricity bills as you are storing solar energy, and using it in a time of need.
Nevertheless, choosing a suitable battery according to your needs is also equally important. Therefore, before purchasing a battery, you should check all the factors mentioned in this article, including power rating, storage capacity, lifespan, warranty, etc.
Besides, you should never take a chance on the manufacturer from whom you are buying the battery. You should always go for a company that is reliable and offers the best product available on the market.
