Installing a solar-powered system on your home can be quite expensive, and it’s natural to try to find ways to save money wherever you can. However, you mustn’t be sacrificing your equipment’s quality or efficiency while trying to stay within your budget. One place where many people try to cut costs is in their solar battery bank. If you’ve looked at lithium solar batteries for sale, you’ve probably noticed they cost quite a bit more than lead-acid batteries. But there’s a good reason for that. Before you jump on that cheaper option, keep reading to learn why a lithium battery can be worth that higher price tag.
Deeper Discharge
When looking at batteries, you probably primarily look at how much energy they can store. However, that’s not the only important metric for solar batteries; you also need to consider the battery’s depth of discharge (DoD). No battery on the market can give up all of the energy it holds; batteries must hold onto a certain percentage of that power, or they’ll be damaged and their lifespan shortened.
So, a battery with a deeper discharge can allow you to use a higher percentage of that energy than one with a shallower discharge. A deeper discharge means more usable energy, and lithium-ion batteries always have a more profound discharge ability than lead-acid ones. Most lead-acid batteries can only discharge to about 50%, while lithium batteries can discharge up to 95% of their energy.
Longer Lifespan and Warranty
Equipment isn’t cheaper if it wears out twice as fast. You have to replace that equipment much more quickly and can often end up spending more money in the long run than if you’d chosen the higher-quality equipment, to begin with. This is the case with solar batteries. Lead-acid batteries only have a lifespan of about five years, while lithium-ion batteries will typically last you at least ten years.
And, because lithium batteries last so much longer, you’ll also get a more extended warranty on your equipment. So, if anything does go wrong, you’ll be protected for much longer.
Greater Efficiency
Batteries don’t just store energy; they also use a certain amount of energy to maintain their charge. The amount of energy a battery needs when compared to the amount it can store is how you determine a battery’s efficiency rating. Lithium batteries typically have an efficiency rating between 90% and 95%, while lead-acid batteries usually fall in the 80% to 85% efficiency range. Better efficiency means less wasted energy (and less wasted money).
Don’t judge a battery by its price tag. In the end, a Victron lithium battery is almost always worth the extra cost.
