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Solar Power Batteries

Types Of Deep Cycle Solar Batteries

Solar power batteries are essential if you need to store enough surplus solar electricity to get you through several days of cloudy, overcast weather, or to even get you through the night.

There are two basic kinds of solar storage batteries used in solar power systems: lead acid batteries and nickel cadmium batteries.

Lead Acid Solar Storage Batteries

Photo © by Don Bell

Lead acid batteries are by far the most common solar storage battery used, chiefly because of their lower cost. They are somewhat similar to the familiar lead acid car battery with positive and negative terminals with leads attached, and metal plates that connect to the terminal. The metal plates sit in a chemical solution inside the battery case, usually sulfuric acid.

The chemical reaction between the lead plates and the sulphuric acid generates free electrons that flow through the terminals and along the attached leads to your home electrical outlets. Conversely, during the hours of sunlight, photovoltaic (PV) solar panel generated electricity drives the chemical reaction backwards, thereby recharging the batteries.

Nickel Cadmium Solar Storage Batteries
Commonly called NiCd or NiCad batteries, these solar rechargeable batteries operate under the same principles as lead acid batteries with some important differences.

First, they are significantly more expensive to buy because of their use of costlier materials, nickel and cadmium. However, they tend to deliver greater value by being able to endure more charge/discharge cycles and lasting much longer, and they can discharge more current before needing to be recharged.

If your budget permits, choose NiCad over lead acid when buying a solar storage battery, but the cheaper lead acid variety is perfectly reliable if cost is a concern.

Solar Power Batteries Versus Car Batteries

The common lead acid car battery is known as a "shallow cycle" battery, since it's designed to supply a large amount of current for a short time for starting the car. Once the car has started and its engine is running, the alternator takes over to power the car's electrical needs and to quickly recharge the battery. Their quick discharge rate makes them unfit for delivering surplus solar power to your electrical outlets, so they should never be used in a solar power installation.

Solar power storage batteries might look like car batteries, but they are designed to respond to a different need. They need to deliver a smaller current over a much longer time period. Known as "deep cycle" batteries, they efficiently discharge during the night hours when the photovoltaic panels cannot deliver electricity to power the home or recharge the storage batteries, and they slowly recharge during the day using the electricity produced by the solar panels.

Battery Charge Controller

Both the lead acid and nickel cadmium solar storage batteries are "deep cycle" batteries. They are designed to charge and discharge slowly and can last 6 to 10 years if they are properly used and maintained with the help of a solar charge controller.

Solar charge controllers help to regulate the flow of electricity to and from your solar power batteries to prevent their over charging/discharging and thereby maximize their service lifespan.

Follow the link below for information about solar charge regulators:

Solar Charge Controller - How To Prolong Solar Battery Life

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My name is Don, and my goal with this site is to introduce solar power as the best available option for alternative, renewable energy.

The solar information on this site is freely given to assist you in your journey to an affordable green energy future.

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Heiko Liebethal, CEO, Flagstone Solar Power, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Heiko Liebethal, Flagstone CEO

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