The Best Batteries for Your Off-Grid Battery Bank

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Battery banks can provide stored energy to renewable energy systems between charging periods.
Battery banks can provide stored energy to renewable energy systems between charging periods.
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This 24-volt set of high-capacity industrial cells could offer up to 15 or more years of service.
This 24-volt set of high-capacity industrial cells could offer up to 15 or more years of service.
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This 15-year-old battery set reached the end of its life and was replaced by the set pictured in the previous photo.
This 15-year-old battery set reached the end of its life and was replaced by the set pictured in the previous photo.
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This well-boxed L16 battery bank gave new life to an older off-grid system.
This well-boxed L16 battery bank gave new life to an older off-grid system.

Only 30 years ago, an off-grid homestead’s photovoltaic (PV) system was likely to consist of two 35-watt modules and one or two car batteries. Such a system had no inverter, as reliable inverters were still years away. The typical 12-volt system powered little more than a few low-voltage lights, a car stereo, and a few 12-volt products developed for early RVs. But for power pioneers, this kind of system was heaven-sent — a wonderful alternative to kerosene lamps and engine-powered generators.

The batteries used in early PV systems weren’t designed for the deep discharges common in home use, so they often failed to hold charge after only a year or two. As a result, early deep-cycle batteries for homestead systems were adapted from other uses. The most common batteries were originally developed for golf carts, supermarket floor scrubbers, and mine cars. Only a few people could afford to order industrial-grade batteries directly from manufacturers.

Renewable energy systems should be sized so that the total amount of daily charging energy from all sources — PV, wind, hydroelectric, or generator — exceeds a home’s total average daily load. The role of the battery bank is to provide stored energy between charging periods — nothing more. When carefully planned and executed, the batteries in a home power system will run everything in your home — but “everything” will include far less than in a typical mainstream home.

Living well on a small and finite amount of electricity starts with careful adherence to three basic principles: Shift inappropriate loads to other forms of energy, reduce waste through efficiency, and use power in proportion to the amount available.

Efficient Use of Electricity

  • Published on Dec 6, 2016
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