Lead Acid Batteries
Until around 2015, the only practical battery technology for solar storage was Lead Acid Batteries. This is the same type of battery that you have in your car. You will require a bank of batteries to power your home, usually stored in a climate controlled shed as heat will impact on the lifespan of the batteries. Still they're the default battery of choice due to their tried and tested technology.
Lead Acid Batteries have a number of drawbacks:
- They take up a lot of space
- Many Lead Acid Batteries emit Hydrogen gas, hence the need for a storage shed
- They have a low-life cycle (1000-3000 cycles) meaning that depending on how often you charge and discharge, they will only last 2-8 years
- They generally have a depth of discharge (DoD) of around 50%, this means that you can only use 50% of their capacity, otherwise you shorten their lifespan
- Performance figures are quoted at around 20°C, meaning that if your storage shed gets hotter their life span and performance are affected
The most common application for Lead Acid Batteries is off-grid setups installing a bank of batteries, as it is cheaper than paying tens of thousands of dollars to connect to the grid.
