DAY 20: CARE OF YOUR BATTERIES

DAY 20 of #100DaysofSolarNuggets  

                                                  

CARE OF YOUR BATTERIES

Your batteries are an integral part of your solar installation, taking proper care of them would ensure they last very long for you. Today I want to discuss some tips that would help you a great deal preserve your battery life.

.1) Do not discharge your batteries below 50%.

    This is very important, discharging your batteries below 50% significantly reduces the lifespan of your batteries, Please note even if you are using lithium ion batteries that can discharged as low as 10% if you so desire, doing so also reduces the battery life even though the effect may not be as severe as that of lead acid batteries. If you maintain a 50% discharge limit, you would get the maximum life cycle from your batteries. #100daysofsolarnuggets

.2) Do not overcharge your batteries as well.

Yes we have charge controllers (we would discuss about charge controllers in subsequent articles), and charge controllers control the charging of the batteries making sure they are not over charged. But I still think it is important I mention it.

.3) Do not overload your batteries

Avoid overloading the batteries, this can weaken the cells of the battery, if this happens your battery may not last for you, batteries are very sensitive to over loading. To avoid overloading, ensure you do a proper stock of the appliances that would be used with your battery bank and get the appropriate battery bank to match it.

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.4) Minimize the rate of discharge

Even when your battery is not in use, it discharges very slowly as a result of chemical reaction that occurs in the battery. To minimize the rate of discharge in your batteries, do not place your batteries directly on the earth surface (floor), make use of a wooden board or a nonmetallic battery rack.

.5) Always use Batteries with the same ratings

Avoid using dis-similar batteries in your battery bank, this is very important and cannot be over emphasized.

What happens if you make use of dis-similar batteries, let’s have 2 batteries

Battery A = a higher AmpHour(AH) 12V 200ah and

Battery B = a lower AmpHour(AH) 12v 150AH

What would happen Is this, the battery with 150AH would discharge faster than the 200AH battery, very soon  the 150AH battery would get faulty, leaving only the 200AH to do the work that was meant for both batteries, what do you think would happen next .The 200AH battery also gets faulty and you would lose a lot of good money.

Picture it this way

Two adult horses are need to successfully pull a cart from point A to point B, but instead of using 2 adult horses, you make use of one adult horse and a baby horse, well the baby horse would get tired in a very quickly leaving just the single adult horse to do the job of two adult horse very soon he too would get tired and they would not get to their destination.

To avoid loss of batteries and money always use batteries with similar ratings.#100daysofsolarnuggets

.6) Regular top up (flooded lead acid batteries)

If you are making use of flooded lead acid batteries, regular maintenance is required. Ensure you top up regularly making use of distilled water only. Place your batteries in a well ventilated area.

.7) Regular cleaning and check up

Clean the terminals of the battery  (especially for flooded  lead acid batteries, check for cracks along the sides of the battery, that way you can detect a potential acid spill before it happens.

Hazard

Warning, If you notice any liquid spill from your batteries on the floor, do not let it touch your body. Acid spills from batteries are corrosive. You can make use of baking soda to neutralize it or you use a lot of water.

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