Most batteries are rated at their C/20 rate, emptying the battery in 20 hours. Likewise, if you have a 50A load on the same battery, that would drain it in 2 hours (100Ah ÷ 50A = 2 hours). Again using the 100Ah battery example, if you have a 10 amp (A) load, that can drain the battery completely in 10 hours (100Ah ÷ 10A = 10 hours). In addition to how much of a battery’s capacity you use, it also matters how fast you use it. That’s a much longer lived battery bank with lithium batteries. A typical lithium battery can have 5000+ cycles at up to 80% DoD. Beyond 80%, the cycle count can drop dramatically. Unlike lead acid, lithium batteries don’t have a cycle curve under 80% DoD.A standard sealed lead acid battery can have about 1200 cycles at 25% DoD.A standard flooded lead acid battery can have about 2500 cycles at 25% DoD.A battery’s specs will tell you how many cycles to expect from it when discharging to its rated DoD. If you only use it on the weekends, and keep the bank topped off the rest of the time, that’s 104 cycles a year.Ī cycle is a cycle regardless of how deep the discharge is, but the depth of discharge directly affects how many cycles you can expect your battery to last. If you cycle your battery bank every day for a year, that’s 365 cycles. Lithium: Cycle CountĬycling a battery means discharging it to any amount and recharging it to a fully charged state. That is a significantly smaller battery bank with lithium batteries. For example, if you need 100Ah of energy a day, you would need a 400Ah lead acid battery bank to stay at 25% DoD, but would only need 125Ah of lithium at 80% DoD. That means a 100Ah lithium battery rated for 80% DoD can safely provide you with 80Ah without being harmed.Īs a result, a lithium battery bank can be much smaller than a lead acid battery bank to provide the same amount of usable energy. On the other hand, DoD for lithium ion batteries is 80% or more, allowing you to use most or even all of the battery’s stored energy.
Keep in mind that if you don’t have a sunny day to recharge your batteries after a day of use, the DoD will go down again the next day – so planning to use 25% per day will allow you to use less than the 50% maximum after two days of use. Your battery will last at least twice as long if you regularly discharge it 25% than if you regularly discharge it 50%. DoD for lead acid batteries – both flooded (which you have to add water to periodically) and sealed (“maintenance-free”) – is typically in the 25% – 50% range.
For example, a 100Ah (amp hour) lead acid battery rated for 25% DoD means you need to plan to use only ¼ of its rated capacity (so 25Ah), leaving the other ¾ in the battery, unused. Lithium: Depth of Dischargeĭepth of Discharge, or DoD, is how much of your battery bank’s stored energy can actually be used without dramatically reducing its life. Why Replace Lead Acid Batteries with Lithium in a Boat or RV? Lead Acid vs. The answer is YES, you can absolutely replace lead acid batteries with lithium in marine and RV applications – but here are a few considerations to help you decide if upgrading to lithium batteries is the right lead acid battery alternative for your boat, camper, or RV.
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Your RV or boat’s lead acid battery bank had a good run, but just isn’t able to hold a charge anymore – so what should you do? Using battery desulphators could help squeeze some more life out of it, but instead of asking how to restore lead acid batteries that are clearly past their prime, the question you should be asking is: Can I replace lead acid batteries with lithium batteries in my boat or RV? After all, lithium batteries are becoming the standard for renewable energy storage. Westsail 32 with solar and wind Photo: Katie Payne
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