Take the battery bank from earlier: wiring the six 2-volt batteries in series doesn’t increase the energy stored, it just increases how fast it flows by the pressure in the “hose”. Wiring batteries in series to increase the voltage is like adding pressure to the water. The idea is to create more pressure so the energy can flow at a higher rate. There’s a lot of water behind it, but it just trickles out. It would be like holding the hose level with the barrel. At 2 volts, that means the battery would be making 110 watts at any given time (2 volts x 55 amps = 110 watts).īut 2 volts is not very high pressure. That means the battery can put out 55 amps for 20 hours. You might see a 2-volt battery that is rated to store 1100 amp-hours. A bigger battery is like a bigger barrel, because it holds more energy (water). The two together determine wattage, or the rate of flow.Įnergy storage capability is measured in amp-hours per 20 hours, which means it’s measured by the amount of energy it would take to deplete the battery in 20 hours. Current, measured in amperage, defines how wide the opening of the hose is. Higher pressure means a greater rate of flow.
If you think of electricity like water, the battery voltage corresponds to the pressure in a hose. Battery banks made for storing solar energy are wired together to produce 12, 24, or 48 volts.įor example, six 2-volt batteries can be wired in series (negative to positive all down the line) to make a 12-volt battery bank, or four 12-volt batteries can be wired in series to make a 48-volt battery bank. Other 2, 3, and 6-cell designs are found in batteries of 4, 6, and 12 watts, respectively. And, the larger the cell - the more energy it can store. Many deep cycle batteries for energy storage have only one large cell and produce 2 volts. Because they don’t have to start a car, they can produce less wattage individually, and can be wired together to make battery banks. Deep cycle battery banks for solar storageĭeep cycle batteries tend to be large rectangular boxes made of a plastic composite material, which makes them easy to stack next to one another. Volts times amps equals wattage, or total power available at one time.ĭeep cycle batteries for solar energy storage don’t have to produce a bunch of instantaneous power to start anything, so they have thicker lead plates that will last a long time and draw power from the electrolyte more slowly and evenly. When the battery is fully charged, each cell produces around 2 volts, leading to a total voltage of 12 volts. That surge of energy is called current, and it is measured in amps.Īutomotive batteries are made using 6 cells wired in series. SLI batteries are made with thin, porous lead plates that are designed to draw as much electricity as possible from the electrolyte at one time.
In fact, these types of batteries are called starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) batteries. Automotive batteries vs deep cycle batteriesĪutomotive batteries are not well-suited for storing energy for home use because they are designed to give short bursts of electricity that are used to start a car. In order for lead acid batteries to work for long periods of time, they must be discharged no more than half of their total battery capacity on a regular basis. Sulfation greatly reduces the lifespan of the battery.
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If the battery is discharged too much, some of the lead sulfate can’t be broken down and recombined with the free hydrogen, which results in a permanent coating on the lead plates called sulfation. There is a drawback to the lead acid design. The sulfate recombines with the free hydrogen ions in the electrolyte to make sulfuric acid again. Source: Dynamic ScienceĬharging the battery adds electrons back in and breaks the electrochemical bonds between the lead and sulfate. When the plates are suspended in the electrolyte mixture and connected to wires, the battery is ready to provide electricity!Īs electrons flow out of the battery, the acid in the electrolyte begins to stick to the lead on the electrodes, converting their outer surfaces to lead sulfate and leaving extra hydrogen ions floating in the water.Īs electrons are sent along the wires, lead sulfate forms on the plates while the battery discharges. The negative plate is called an anode, the positive plate is called a cathode, and the water/acid mixture is called an electrolyte.Ī simple lead acid battery. A positively-charged metal plate made of lead dioxide.A metal plate made of lead and antimony with a negative charge.The simplest version of a lead acid battery consists of three things: While the chemistry of lead acid batteries is quite simple, writing out all the chemical equations can make it seem very complicated, so we’ll try to explain it without all of that.