Comparison of Lead-acid vs. Lithium Batteries: Which is Best for Solar Power

Lead-acid batteries are less expensive up front, but they have a shorter lifespan and must be maintained on a regular basis to stay in good working order. Lithium batteries are pricier up front, but they don’t need to be maintained and have a longer lifespan. A side-by-side comparison of two solutions is provided in this article.

Lead-acid is a tried-and-true technology that is less expensive but requires frequent maintenance and does not last as long as other technologies.

Lithium is a premium battery technology that has a longer lifespan and greater efficiency, but it comes at a higher Lithium-Ion Battery Price in India.

Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each choice in greater depth, and why you would select one over the other for your system.

The Most Significant Differences Between Lead-acid and Lithium Batteries

The duration of a cycle

One charge cycle is when you deplete a battery (use it to power your appliances) and then charge it again with solar panels. We don’t count years when we talk about battery life; instead, we count how many cycles they can take before they die.

Consider it similar to putting miles on a car. When determining the condition of a secondhand automobile, mileage is far more important than the year of manufacture.

The same may be said about batteries and how many times they’ve been cycled. A sealed lead-acid battery in a vacation house may go through 100 cycles in four years, but the same battery in a full-time residence may go through 300+ cycles in a year. The one that has completed 100 cycles is in considerably better condition.

The depth of discharge affects cycle life as well (how much capacity you use before recharging a battery). Deeper discharges put the battery under additional stress, reducing its cycle life.

The Discharge Depth

Lead-acid batteries should only be discharged to 50% of their capacity. You risk shortening their lives if you go over that limit.

Lithium batteries, on the other hand, can withstand severe discharges of up to 80%. This just indicates that they have a larger useful capacity.

Efficiency

Lithium batteries are more efficient than other types of batteries. As a result, more of your solar energy is retained and utilized.

Lead acid batteries, for example, are only 80-85% efficient depending on the brand and condition. That implies that if you have 1,000 watts of solar power streaming into the batteries, after the charging and discharging process, you’ll only have 800-850 watts accessible.

Lithium batteries have a high efficiency of over 95%. You’d have over 950 watts of electricity available in the same scenario.

Your batteries will charge faster if they are more efficient. It may also mean purchasing fewer solar panels, less battery capacity, and a smaller backup generator, depending on the architecture of your system.

Lithium-Ion Battery Price

Loom Solar says, Costs of lithium batteries have already dropped by 60-70 percent in recent years, and this trend is projected to continue as large investments, improved technology, and procedures are made. China is anticipated to manufacture over 73 percent of all lithium battery storage, and the Middle Kingdom has ambitions to build several multi-gigawatt factories in the future.

A Lithium-Ion battery price in India is measured in kWh. At the moment, a 1 kWh battery costs 25,000 and is available in 80 Ah/12.8 Volt ratings.