Home > Learning Center > Solar batteries

Solar batteries

If you have a solar power system and are off-the-grid, then solar batteries are a must. You need some good solar batteries to store all of the energy that your solar power system produces. Of course, these batteries can be a little pricey – it is therefore important that you take good care of them. Here are some solar battery maintenance tips:

Use deep-cycle solar batteries – these are batteries that were made to withstand the repeated cycles of heavy recharge and discharge. Shallow-cycle batteries (like a car battery) can not handle the task put forth by a solar power system.
Battery bank size – the larger your battery bank, the less often you will need to replace your batteries. This is because the less your batteries are used, the less often they need to be replaced (of course, a larger battery bank is not necessarily more efficient).
Keep your batteries charged – they will last longer. Keep them at or above a 50% state of charge.
Do not overcharge your batteries – use a charge controller.
Do regular inspections – check out your solar batteries at least 3-4 times a year, once every 3 months.
Clean the posts.
Remove acid residue (this and the above maintenance tip are for flooded lead batteries).
Keep your solar batteries from freezing.
Use low voltage disconnects – this will help protect your solar batteries against total discharge.
Read and follow all manufacturer’s instruction, both those of your solar batteries and those of your solar power system.
Use a voltmeter or hydrometer to check how full your batteries are.
Now, if you do not want to have to deal with solar batteries, consider having your solar power system grid-tied. If your state offers net metering, being grid-tied can be an excellent thing – you can ensure that you always have power, but you still get the benefits of solar power.

Of course, when you are grid-tied, you will experience a blackout along with everyone else on your block. When you have solar batteries, you would continue to have electricity…

Solar batteries | Battery chargers | Learning Center | Site Map | Links | Contact | Home

Copyright © 2008