Best Hybrid Gel: Renogy 12v 100ah
Renogy
Why It Made The Cut: Renogys 12V solar battery comes from a company whose focus is on renewable energy. It uses proprietary plate technology to provide excellent service life with high safety levels.
Specs:
Slow recharging More expensive than AGM
Renogys hybrid gel solar battery uses another form of lead-acid chemistry. While less common than AGM, it has actually been around for longer. It combines pyrogenic silica with sulphuric acid, as found in other lead-acid batteries.
The result is a thick gel that allows the battery to be used at any angle. It is also highly resistant to vibration, and very tolerant of temperature extremes. These features make hybrid gel solar batteries a popular choice for marine, off-grid, and industrial applications. Hybrid gel batteries are also frequently paired with emergency generators and medical equipment due to their longevity and reliability.
Renogys 12V hybrid gel solar battery has a life expectancy that can reach 12 years. Self discharge is also relatively low at around 3 percent per month, so it can be shelved for long periods if necessary. Recharge cycles are comparable with AGM, but the Renogy solar battery discharges more thoroughly for extended time between charges. That said, it isnt rated as highly as typical lithium alternatives.
What Are The Benefits Of Using Solar Panels To Charge A 12 Volt Battery
The benefits of using solar panels to charge a 12 volt battery are as follows:- Solar panels can help to save on electricity bills as they rely on renewable energy from the sun rather than using mains electricity.- Solar panels can be used in off-grid systems to provide power where there is no mains electricity available.- Solar panels can help to reduce your carbon footprint as they do not produce emissions when generating electricity.
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Designed for constant voltage input and repeating use, this universal battery is ideal for a variety of energy needs. Suitable for use as a solar storage bank, the battery is also great for powering lights, equipment, tools, accessories and electronics. This UL listed battery features a top post design with stainless steel hardware to resist rust and corrosion.
- Absorbed Glass Matt for longer battery life, low self-discharge rate, better low-voltage charging and capable of repeat deep cycle discharge
- No memory effect
- Valve regulated, spill-proof sealed construction
- Top post design with stainless steel hardware to resist corrosion
- Sealed lead acid
- This item can only be shipped within the 48 contiguous states via Standard Ground Shipping.
Specifications
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Connect The Solar Panel To The Charge Controller
Connect the positive solar panel adapter cable to the positive solar panel cable. Repeat the process for the negative solar panel cable.
Insert the negative solar cable into the negative solar PV terminal on the charge controller and screw the terminal shut. Repeat the process for the positive solar cable.
Your charge controller should indicate that the solar panel is properly connected. Mine has a PV indicator light that turned on.
Done!
Background Info: Knowing The Maximum Power Point Of The Solar Panel
Here are some basic background information that will help drive the design of the battery pack. Solar panels are constant voltage, constant current device. They have a specific design voltage that each panel is designed to work at. As the load draw more and more current from the panel, the output voltage dip slightly but not to greatly. At one point, the current draw exceed the amount of current the panel can produce That point is known as the maximum power point. Passing the maximum power point, the voltage of the panel start to dip and power output decreases. Thus, in order to maximize the amount of power the solar panel generates, it is necessary to run the solar panel as close to the maximum power point as possible. This is illustrated by the graph of the solar panel I’m planning to use for this project. Although the final design will work with many different solar panels, but it will be the most efficient when the voltage of the maximum power point of the solar panel matches the design voltage. For this project, I’m using the Mercury 27 foldable solar panel made by Instapark. From the power plot, it look like the maximum power point of this particular panel is 14V
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Solar Panel Battery Amp Hours Solar Panel Size And Usage Chart
| Amp Hours |
FLA batteries are the most common batteries used in solar setups, as they are readily available, inexpensive, and 99% recyclable, making them a great choice if youre looking for something more affordable.
They dont last as long as other types that need ventilation and regular maintenance.
SLA batteries are non-spill, maintenance-free, and dont discharge as fast as FLA batteries. Plus last a few years longer. These are great if you have a little more to spend on your system and cannot maintain batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries are arguably the best batteries for solar.
They are maintenance-free, more efficient, have a far deeper discharge capability, and dont need ventilation, making them the ideal choice. These batteries are extremely expensive and out of the price range for most small solar setups.
Solar Panel Optimal Operating Temperatures
Solar panels are rated and tested at 77°F which is the industry standard. However, solar panels operate between 60°F and 95°F. So the following calculations are based on the optimal environment variations will occur.
These optimal temperatures will calculate the following charge times and the ah/watt current charge.
Seasons and shadowing will reduce the currents and charge times, so getting more panels or higher-rated panels to overcompensate to maximize the potential is best.
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Connect Solar Panel To The Charge Controller
The red clip is connected to the positive terminal of your solar panel and black clip is connected to the negative terminal of your solar panel.
You will also notice that there is a black wire coming out from the side of the battery. This wire is connected to the negative terminal of your solar panel.
What Size Solar Panel To Charge 12v Battery What You Need To Know
Finally, we have reached the real point of our guide: what size solar panel to charge a 12V battery?
If you want your solar system to be powered with batteries during downtime, you must match your battery to your solar system. If not, the two parts may not work together, rendering them useless.
Although it may sound intimidating to pick out the right solar panels based on a 12 Volt battery, this process is pretty simple. Lets figure out what you need to do to pick out the right solar system for your battery.
You need to consider only a few factors when picking out solar panels, but the process can still be confusing. Here are the factors that go into picking out your solar system when using a 12V battery or any other battery:
Lets take a look at these factors one by one.
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How Long Does Charging A 12v Battery With A Solar Panel Takes
Typically, a 100-watt panel produces around 6ah per hour under ideal conditions or roughly 30ah40ah per day. If youre charging a 100ah battery from a flat, it will take about two days to charge the battery fully.
Its important to note that proper battery maintenance and care requires that your 12v battery never goes under 50%.
A charge controller usually maintains this, so youll technically only need a panel that can produce 50ah per day to keep your battery fully charged.
Flooded Lead Acid Batteries
The least complicated and least expensive kinds of deep-cycle batteries are flooded lead acid batteries. These batteries are the most similar to the image of the simple lead acid battery shown below, with cylindrical lead plates submerged in an electrolyte bath of water and acid.
Eight 6-volt flooded lead acid batteries make up a 48V bank. Image source: Otherpower.com
FLA batteries may be inexpensive, but theyre also complicated to care for, because the electrolyte inside the battery case evaporates over time, requiring you to add distilled water at regular intervals. If you dont add the water often enough, the batterys lifespan will be greatly decreased.
Because they are built to be opened, FLA batteries need to be stored upright and given adequate ventilation to prevent a buildup of the hydrogen gas that is released when the battery discharges. This means keeping a bank of deep cycle FLA batteries suitable for home energy storage can take up a lot of space, as shown in the image above.
If properly cared for and discharged to no more than half of their capacity on a regular basis, FLA batteries can last from 5 to 8 years in a home energy storage setup.
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Best Lithium: Expertpower 12v 100ah
ExpertPower
Why It Made The Cut: ExpertPowers LiFePO4 uses active battery management to boost performance and extend operating life. It is among the most durable solar batteries on the market, delivering consistent power levels for many years.
Specs:
Expensive Not as efficient as AGM in cold weather
Lithium ion batteries typically provide more power than lead acid and AGM, and over a longer period. LiFePO4 is the latest chemistry, and provides superior performance. A typical AGM solar battery provides about 50 percent of its capacity before power drops off. The ExpertPower LiFePO4 solar battery delivers up to 80 percent. They also degrade by only around 1 percent per year. The ExpertPower LiFePO4 is quoted as having a minimum life of 2,500 cycles, but it may be as high as 7,000 cycles over a 10-year period. They recharge faster than AGM too.
The ExpertPower LiFePO4 uses no rare earth metals so it is more environmentally friendly than many competitors. Theres also no danger from accidental overcharging, as the cells are incombustible. This makes the ExpertPower solar battery popular in hazardous environments.
What Size Solar Panel To Charge 12v Battery
To find out what size solar panel you need to charge your 12V battery, youll need to enter the following info into our solar panel size calculator at the top of this page:
Once youve entered the above info, click Calculate Solar Panel Size to get an estimate of what size panel you need to charge your 12V battery at your desired speed.
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What Size Solar Panel Will Charge A 12v Battery
Technically, all you need to charge a 12v battery is a solar panel with a 12v rating. This can be any solar panel, although the bigger its, the quicker your battery will charge.
Anything under 510 watts is not enough, as these will only trickle charge your battery very slowly. In general, 12v panels are only available up to a rating of around 200-watts from there up they are usually 24v or 48v.
There are various sizes of 12v batteries available, 100ah being the most common. For this reason, the amp hour rating of the 12v battery you have and how quickly you want it to charge fully will determine what size solar panel you need.
What Are The Best Ways To Use Solar Panels To Charge A 12 Volt Battery
There are a few ways to go about this. One way is to use a solar panel with an output of 12 volts and at least 1 amp. Another way is to use two solar panels, each with an output of at least 6 volts and 1 amp. You can also use a solar panel with an output of at least 24 volts and 2 amps. Finally, you can use a solar panel with an output of at least 36 volts and 3 amps.
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What Are Deep Cycle Batteries
Before we dig into how long it takes to charge a 12V battery and explain what size solar panels you will need, it is worth explaining what deep cycle batteries are and how they function.
While a deep cycle solar battery might look like the standard automotive batteries you would see in a car or RV, they are actually quite different. What makes them stand out is the fact that deep cycle batteries are specifically designed to handle the repeated charging and discharging that occurs at rapid rates when you are using solar power.
Where car batteries are designed to provide a quick burst of power to start the engine of a vehicle, deep cycle batteries are meant to be used as a power bank that can be used to supply power to any number of connected electronic devices and appliances, including lights, televisions, smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, and just about anything else you can think of.
This is why it is so important that you actually choose a high-quality deep cycle solar battery if you are planning on storing solar electricity to satisfy your power needs. While it is possible to charge an automotive battery using solar electricity, it is better to use a deep cycle battery for running your electronics.
Outside of solar storage applications, you often find deep cycle batteries inside of small, fully electric vehicles, like golf carts and electric go karts.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A 12v Deep Cycle Solar Battery
Again, charge times are dependent on a variety of factors. The number and quality of solar panels you are using, the efficiency of the charge controller and power inverter, the quality and state of the battery, and, of course, the amount of sunlight the solar panels are able to absorb, will all play a role in determining how long it takes to charge your particular 12V battery.
However, in cases where the amp hour rating of the battery is matched with the amps produced by the solar panels, fully charging a drained battery will take between five and eight hours. Again, there are many factors that would impact the amount of time it would take. As you would expect, charge cycles are much slower on cloudy days, while sunny days almost always result in much quicker charge times.
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What Is A Deep Cycle Battery
A deep-cycle battery is a battery designed to be regularly deeply discharged using most of its capacity. In contrast to car batteries which only provide short bursts of energy, deep cycle batteries are designed to provide sustained period over a longer period of time. The mainstream battery types in solar battery backup systems include Flooded Lead Acid batteries, Gel Cell batteries, Absorbed Glass Mat batteries and lithium batteries. Depending on the voltage, deep cycle batteries are divided into 12v battery, 24v battery, and 48v battery. The most common deep cycle RV battery, boat battery, and marine deep cycle battery are 12V, and the deep cycle golf cart batteries are normally 24V or 48V.
Should You Choose A Lead Acid Battery For Solar Storage
A lead acid battery is a kind of rechargeable battery that stores electrical energy by using chemical reactions between lead, water, and sulfuric acid. The technology behind these batteries is over 160 years old, but the reason theyre still so popular is because theyre robust, reliable, and cheap to make and use.
If youre looking to store energy produced by a solar array, lead acid batteries can be a good choice, but newer technologies may prove more convenient and compact.
The article below is all about lead acid batteries for solar storage, but we also have a more general article about home solar batteries.
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Key Terms To Know Before Getting Started
Throughout this article, we use various technical terms that may be a bit confusing at first. However, here are the key terms we will use and what they mean:
- Amp-hours: How many amps the battery offers in a one hour span.
- Amp rating: Often another word for amp hours, but sometimes refers to amperage and wattage.
- Charge controller: A device that controls when your solar battery is charging, almost like an on/off switch.
- Inverter: Connects to your solar panel to convert unusable DC energy into usable AC energy for your home.
- Solar system: All of the parts used to power your home by solar energy, including the PV panels, connectors, inverter, battery, etc.
- Voltage : Tells you the potential output of your solar panel or battery.
- Wattage: The operating power of solar panels or batteries.
Now that we have gotten the technical jargon out of the way lets dive into solar panel batteries, why you need them, and how to select the right system for your needs.
Building A 12v Solar Power Battery Pack
There are large number of solar panels available on the market today, some promise to charge up your phone, while some pack enough power to charge an ipad. They have become quite affordable and highly portable. However, they all have one major flaw, and it has to do with how the charging circuit in the phone and tablet charges its internal battery. So now you found your perfect solar panel that has the perfect USB connector for your phone, setting it under the full sun and the phone starts to charge as expected. However, unless you live in a desert, there is always things in the sky that will ruin your perfect charging system, that is… clouds, birds, shaking trees or even passing airplanes. The phone’s charging circuit is designed to protect itself when the power source become unreliable, and it does this by cutting the current to the internal battery when it detects a droop in the power supply.
Material you’ll need:
For battery:
4x LiFePO4 cells, either purchase it as a pre-assembled battery pack, or build your own pack
1x 12V LiFePO4 battery protection circuit. I use PCM-LFP7A4S for my own pack due to its low idle current drain
For battery charge controller:
VN2222 – Can be replaced with any small signal N-Channel MOSFET
2x Red LED – type is not important
LTV-816 – Optical isolator with BJT output, can be replaced with similar type
IRF9Z24N – High power P-Channel MOSFET, larger current device can be used to reduce loss
Connectors:
Power meter:
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