WA Solar Supplies
Three merged images of different types of batteries offered by WA Solar Supplies
WA's longest trading renewable energy company
Established 1987

BATTERIES

Batteries are at the heart of many electrical systems and choosing the correct size & type of battery is essential.  At WA Solar Supplies we take the complexity out of selecting the right battery and we ensure it is matched perfectly to your application or design.  So don’t be surprised if we ask you a lot of questions.

WA Solar Supplies have extensive experience in battery sizing in many areas, including:

  • Residential Off-grid / RAPS
  • Commerical RAPS – Power farms, water pumping
  • Industrial RAPS – Lighting, communications,
  • Critical Services RAPS – Communications, lighting, emergency power, water pumping, navigation
  • UPS – Office, building, factory, mine site
  • Recreation & portable power – RVs, Campervans, Boats and Caravans

Obviously it is essential to select the correct battery.  Not so obviously it is also essential to select the right battery charger as well.  These two aspects are critical for optimising the performance and life of your battery.  If you know what you need then explore our comprehensive range of chargers. 

Types of Batteries Available

There are a myriad of battery technologies available for a variety of applications. The main types available for deep cycle applications are lead acid and lithium.

Lead Acid

Lead acid batteries were the first rechargeable batteries and were invented in 1859 by the French Physicist Gaston Planté. Having been around for over 150 years they are a known quantity with proven performance and reliability. Lead acid batteries consist of lead electrodes in an acidic electrolyte usually sulphuric acid. When fully charged the cathode (negative electrode) is basically Lead (Pb) and the anode (positive electrode) is Lead Oxide (PbO). There are of course variations in how these electrodes are constructed but all of them today basically use a Lead alloy grid. The Lead alloys used are usually Lead-Antinomy, Lead-Calcium, Lead-Selenium but all the alloys use some amount of Antimony for extra strength. There are 3 main types of lead acid batteries :

Lithium – Li

Lithium is the lightest solid element which means it is also the lightest metal. It has the greatest electrochemical potential, creating large amounts of energy for its weight. A typical Lithium-Ion (L-Ion) battery can generate approximately 3 volts per cell, compared with 2.1 volts for Lead Acid and 1.5 volts for Zinc-Carbon. There are a number of battery types using Lithium electrochemistry including:

It’s easy to be confused and assume all “Lithium” batteries are the same, they use the same base ingredient after all BUT that’s where the similarities end.

There are massive differences between different battery classes and how well they were made even within each category. Lithium batteries have even more complexity briefly summarized below:

  • Numerous Lithium battery chemistries many with varying active ingredient formulations
  • Different battery cell structures
  • Different manufacturing methodologies
  • All of this with electronics of various qualities and algorithms layered on top

Ask us

If you need help choosing the right battery or technical support with an existing battery system then talk to one of our battery experts today