The Ultimate Guide to Battery Care Prolonging Battery Life

Below are a few useful tips to know about how to increase the battery life for Inverter/UPS/Solar PCU. The charger is the primary reason for cycle life as the charger is to charge the battery, and each type of battery needs a different charging concept. Generally speaking, Lead Acid batteries need to charge at a particular boost voltage, and their charging current is reduced to bring it to the Absorption stage. Then, the Float charging is done by lowering the voltage and current, and at last, it is kept in the trickle charge mode. Lithium is set in two stages, only the Boost and Absorption methods, so it doesn’t accept Float Stage or need it. The charging voltage cutoff is also different for Lithium and Lead-acid as the cell voltages differ for the cells used in Lead Acid at 2V. Lithium could be a 3.2V or 3.7 Volt cell, and each manufacturer defines the maximum voltage to be cut off for charging as per the chemistry of the battery cell being used. The charging current is another factor to increase or decreases the life cycle of a battery as the Lead Acid is to be charged at a C10 rating, which means 10% of the capacity of the battery, and if it’s set at a higher current than that than the life will reduce. In the case of Lithium, it depends on the cell specifications of the manufacturer. As specific cells define C0.5 or C1 charging or whatever defines by the cell manufacturer, we need to set it below that level so that cycle life can be maintained. 

How to increase the battery life for Inverter/UPS/Solar PCU? Temperature is one of the significant factors of the life cycle, as the temperature at which the battery is kept for usage reduces or affects the life cycle of the battery. Say Lead Acid battery capacity changes with the decrease in temperature unless the ATC concept is used. Whereas the Lithium battery’s capacity also reduces in case of temperature goes below 0 degrees as the cell manufacturers define the capacity. But in both, the battery type’s temperature plays a significant role.

Discharge Current also becomes the primary factor in defining the life cycle of a battery. As Lead Acid is generally defined as a C20 battery which means that if we draw 5% of the rated value of the battery, then the life will be optimum. If we discharge the higher current, the life cycle will be reduced accordingly. An example is if we take a 100 Ah Lead Acid battery and draw a 5 Amp current, the life will be optimal. Still, instead of 5 Amo, we draw a 40 or 50 Amp current, and then the energy will be drastically reduced, which no manufacturer defines in clear terms. Whereas the Lithium cell manufacturer clearly defines the discharging current by rating the discharge current in C0.5 or C1 or C2, or C5, which is not comparable with Lead Acid as Lead Acid is designed for low current discharge applications, but the user does not know of this. They use it for high discharge usage, drastically reducing the battery’s life cycle.

Proper installation is also one of the significant factors in Lead Acid or Lithium batteries. If not installed correctly at the time of installation, then it can reduce the life of the battery as well as there can be a significant accident, especially when the no of batteries is more, say, two or more batteries than what kind of wire is used for connecting them in series and on the terminals what sort of bolts being used. The gel is applied at those terminals, and the Lead Acid battery terminal can be melted if this is not done correctly. If the nut and bolt for making those connections are kept loose, fire and accidents can occur. Lithium is a single pack, and generally, the connectors used by the Lithium plugging are made according to the rating of the battery. Sometimes, users try to use the same type of Lead Acid nut bolts to connect the Lithium where the same risk arises. https://www.tatagreenbattery.com/blog/get-more-from-your-inverter-increase-the-batterys-efficiency/#:~:text=CORRECT%20CHARGING%20IS%20THE%20KEY,battery%20(max.%20%2Fmin.

Maintenance of the Lead Acid is a known factor in refilling the battery occasionally and keeping the plugs clean while filling the distilled water. Ensure that the water is not overfilled so that when the charging takes place, water comes out of the battery, and the floor is gone bad. If the batteries are two and more than the equalization of the cell voltages of the batteries to be kept from time to time or if the cell balancers are installed, then also the voltages to be checked and equalized from time to time is a requirement to keep the battery cycle life maintained.

Whereas in Lithium, the maintenance is deficient compared to Lead Acid, the cell voltages must be checked regularly. The life cycle will ultimately be affected if the cell voltages are not equalized.