Anything new in batteries for solar
I have four 31 size lead acid batteries. They are heavy and you only get to used half their capacity. Is anything come up recently that could be a reasonable replacement--probably lithium?
Forum Discussion
pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
There are also two carbon foam batteries that share many of the attributes of LI but which can be charged in below freezing temperatures.
One is branded firefly and the others are made by Outback. They can be deep cycled to 20% (80% usable). They can be partly charged unlike other lead acid jars without having permanent sulphation of the plates.
Don, I don't think that the Outback's "Nano-Carbon" is the same as Firefly's Carbon Foam.
The "Nano-Carbon" seems more similar to Trojan's "Smart Carbon" which is an additive to an otherwise standard Lead Acid battery in Trojan's Premium and Industrial lines, like the T105-RE. Apparently both additives allow the batteries to withstand and recover from PSOC situations better than normal lead acid batteries.
One difference is that the Outback is a sealed AGM; not sure if Trojan uses its Smart Carbon in an AGM, just FLA from what I've seen.
And both of these are much heavier than LiFePO4 batteries. But, yes, they can be charged when below freezing.
