Renewable Energy Deep Cycle Batteries

When you use renewable energy sources like wind and solar you need some way of storing the electric energy that is created by the wind turbine or the solar cells that make up a solar or photovoltaic panel.

This energy is stored so that the energy can be used when the sun goes down or when the wind is not blowing strong enough to power the turbine.

The means for storing this energy is done with batteries or in very sophisticated and expensive systems with Ultra Capacitors. The batteries that are used for most systems a specifically designed for the deep cycling that such renewable systems require and also for the DIY Electric Car Market.

So what differentiates a deep cycle battery from a regular lead acid battery?

Lead acid car batteries are designed to provide a high current for a short period of time to crank the engine when you are starting your car. On the other hand a renewable energy system needs a battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged on a continuous basis. This type of charging and discharging will destroy the sponge like lead plates of a standard car battery in a very short period of time making them unsuitable for this type of operation.

Though there are several types of deep cycle batteries that can be used in renewable energy systems including Flooded Lead Acid Deep Cycle Batteries and Sealed Deep Cycle Batteries which include Absorbed Glass Mat or AGM, Lead Calcium and Lead Antimony.

FLA's are the most cost effective energy storage battery available; they can store large amounts of energy, but they do require regular maintenance and monitoring and the because of there size require large seating area. FLA's require adequate venting as hydrogen gas is released as a by-product of the charging process.

Sealed Deep Cycle Batteries are available in a variety of types and though the are classified as sealed batteries they are not totally sealed as they must allow for a certain amount of gas venting when they are being charged. They also have different self discharge rates that range from a maximum of 10% per week for Lead Antimony, 5% maximum for Lead Calcium and 3% maximum for Absorbed Glass Mat. AGM batteries are currently the best of the best when it comes to deep cycle batteries. These batteries do not leak acid even when broken, vent at most only 4% hydrogen when charging, retain almost all of there water because of the recombinant nature of the batteries in which Oxygen and Hydrogen are recombined within the battery through a gas phase transfer process that is typically 99% efficient.

This of level of performance of course comes at a price since AGM Deep Cycle Batteries can cost up to 300% than a Flooded Lead Acid Battery of the same voltage and current carrying capacity; and for most system this would be overkill.

That's why FLA Deep Cycle Batteries are the most commonly used batteries for solar array and wind turbine energy storage.

You can find out more about Deep Cycle Batteries and how to incorporate them in your renewable energy system by visiting Renewable Energy Resource