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Factors affecting the lifespan of your inverter battery

  • January 28, 2019
  • Posted by: Havenhill Synergy
  • Category: Blog
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Factors affecting the lifespan of your inverter battery by Havenhill Synergy, a mini-grid developer in Nigeria

This article was written by Abigail Jibril

Factors affecting the lifespan of your inverter battery

‘My inverter battery does not last long.’ Is that your complaint? Then, you should keep reading this article. Here are some factors affecting the lifespan of your inverter battery.

QUALITY OF PRODUCTS
Prior to the installation of a system, equipment has to be purchased. For your inverter battery to last, the quality of products used must be standard. These products include panels, batteries, cables, charge controllers and other equipment. The country of manufacture of a battery does not necessarily determine its lifespan. One thing you should note is that every battery has a cycle life which determines the lifespan of the battery.

ALSO READ: What is Cycle Life of a Battery?

QUALITY OF DESIGN
Before the installation of your power backup system, a proper assessment of your energy needs should be taken by your installer. This helps to know what you currently consume, how much the installer can help you save from the new installation and the payback period. For maximum output, ensure you get a detailed energy audit.

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Why your power backup system does not last as long as it should
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USAGE BY THE CLIENT
How do you use your system? Do you drain your batteries completely daily? Do you overload your system with appliances that are not meant to be on it? For example, The Homes Family has a 2kW inverter designed with a 4.8kVAh battery capacity. They use a load of 1kW regularly as opposed to the 0.5kW the system was designed for. Their batteries will drain faster than expected and the lifespan will decrease as well.

After the system has been installed in your home or office, how you use the system determines how effective and efficient it will work.

DEPTH OF DISCHARGE
The battery life or lifespan is dependent on how deep a battery is cycled each time. The depth of discharge (DoD) simply refers to the degree to which a battery is discharged in relation to its total capacity. A battery ‘cycle’ is one complete discharge and recharge cycle. A battery completes a cycle life when it discharges 100%. Therefore, If you discharge your battery to 50% and recharge, it has completed half cycle. Discharging it to 50% again and recharging it again results in one complete cycle — 100%.

ALSO READ: What is Depth of Discharge and How does it affect the lifespan of my battery?

SULFATION
Sulfation is the generation or conversion of discharged lead sulphate in the plates of a battery to a state that it resists normal recharge. Some causes of sulfation are when a battery is stored or cycled in a partial state of charge, i.e neither fully charged nor discharged, and not charging your battery almost immediately after it is fully discharged.

ALSO READ: Sulfation – Causes and How to Avoid

TEMPERATURE
The lifespan, working performance, voltage and chemical reactions of a battery can be affected by temperature — hot or cold. The effect of temperature on a battery is dependent on the technology and design of the battery.

ALSO READ: What is the effect of temperature on my battery?

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