Solar Business @ How Lucrative it is

With present trend solar business is one of the most lucrative businesses that one can do.Because of its versatility in application and global deficiency in energy sources leads to a big budget tycoon offer for new entrepreneurs as well as established tycoons .You probably heard about many renown companies like Microsoft or Apple or Google has already have investments in solar sectors.As though in financial world big fish earn the most revenue but small business holders are not lagging behind too far. Small businesses like distributors, or installment based service system is growing everyday.One can start a very small solar business like settling a solar home system or selling solar products as retailer can bring great profit.USA and China have shown their bushiness strategy worldwide and now they are the big fish in solar commerce world.As most of these big fish are manufacturers but small business holders are doing quite good business and earning a quite big bucks.Now a days some banking companies are taking initiatives to do solar businesses of their own.They do their business with clients directly and easily and give them time to repay for their complete package.They use installment service with two~three periods which offers complete solar home system which actually includes few bulbs and electric fans.

Google invests $300 million

SolarCity Corp said  $750 million fund to finance about 25,000 residential solar projects, with Google Inc investing nearly half the funding.The money will be used by SolarCity to put solar panels on homes. Homeowners then will pay a monthly fee to lease the panels from the company. The growth of such financing has made generating electric power from the sun an option for households who do not want to shell out the $20,000 to $30,000 upfront cost of a typical residential solar system.

The fund is the largest ever created for residential solar systems, SolarCity said, and Google’s $300 million equity stake is the technology giant’s biggest renewable energy investment to date. SolarCity is the top U.S. residential solar installer.The investment is Google’s second with SolarCity. The company in 2011 established a $280 million fund with the installer, which is backed by Tesla Motors Inc founder Elon Musk. To date, Google has poured more than $1.5 billion into renewable energy projects.

Facebook’s solar-powered drone is a step closer to bringing internet to all:

A giant solar-powered drone, which Facebook hopes will one day beam internet to unconnected parts of the world, has successfully completed a test flight for the first time.

The Aquila drone was in the air for 1 hour 45 minutes before landing safely back at base: a major milestone given that the previous test flight ended with a crash landing.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hopes that the drone will eventually be able to provide internet access to around 4 billion unconnected people around the world, many of whom live in remote areas that current internet technology cannot reach without major infrastructure investment.

The drone has been designed to stay in the air for 90 days at a time, providing broadband coverage in a 60-mile radius on the ground.(Alhamdulillah)

There are many other companies are also engaging in solar technology and their investment is also very high.Apple and Microsoft corporation also invested a lot of money in renewable energy sources but they also included wind technology.Their budget is like creating a huge solar panel industry.But besides USA, other countries like China, United Kingdom, Germany , and Italy has shown huge growth in new solar businesses.

Nearly 260,000 Americans work in solar - more than double the number in 2012 - at more than 9,000 companies in every U.S. state.

USA Growth (Solar)

The Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has provided industry stability and growth since its initial passage in 2006. In the last decade, solar has experienced an average annual growth rate of 68%.

Solar’s increasing competitiveness against other technologies has allowed it to quickly increase its share of total U.S. electrical generation- from just 0.1% in 2010 to 1.4% today. By 2020 solar should surpass 3% of total generation is expected to hit 5% by 2022.

Worldwide growth of photovoltaics has been an exponential curve between 2007–2017. During this period of time, photovoltaics (PV), also known as solar PV, evolved from a niche market of small scale applications to a mainstream electricity source.

By the end of 2016, cumulative photovoltaic capacity reached about 302 gigawatts (GW), estimated to be sufficient to supply between 1.3% and 1.8% of global electricity demand.Solar contributed 8%, 7.4% and 7.1% to the respective annual domestic consumption in Italy, Greece and Germany.Installed worldwide capacity was projected to more than double or even triple to more than 500 GW between 2016 and 2020. By 2050, solar power was anticipated to become the world's largest source of electricity, with solar photovoltaics and concentrated solar power contributing 16% and 11%, respectively. This would require PV capacity to grow to 4,600 GW, of which more than half was forecast to be deployed in China and India.

Installed Solar Power Capacity in 2016 (MW)

#	Country	Total Capacity	Added Capacity
1	China	78070	34540
2	Japan	42750	8600
3	Germany	41220	1520
4	United States	40300	14730
5	Italy	19279	373
6	United Kingdom	11630	1970
7	India	9010	3970
8	France	7130	559
9	Australia	5900	839
10	Spain	5490	55
11	South Korea	4350	850
12	Belgium	3422	170
13	Canada	2715	200
14	Thailand	2150	726
15	Netherlands	2100	525
16	Switzerland	1640	250
17	Chile	1610	746
18	South Africa	1450	536
19	Austria	1077	154
20	Israel	910	130
21	Philippines	900	756
22	Denmark	900	70
23	Turkey	832	584
24	Portugal	513	58
25	Mexico	320	150
27	Malaysia	286	54
28	Sweden	175	60
29	Norway	26.7	11
30	Finland	15	10

The installation of solar power in the upcoming years will be higher then now.(Alhamdulillah)

But this data is mostly related with solar PV installation in the power plant or any rooftop project but these statistics doesn't cover all other solar products business like solar dok or solar bags which are also growing with amazing rate.Solar Application like solar chargers, solar bags, solar cars, solar boats, solar furniture, solar doks,solar pumps, solar thermal ,solar street lights, solar traffic signal, CSP, solar IT, solar Laptop or tablets also a great source of business earnings now and growing.It is also beneficial for new entrepreneurs as the government of many countries allow subsidy or tax reduction. 

Solar businesses are very lucrative irrespective of big or small businesses.Even though you are not a business man but still you can reduce your electric bill by just installing 1KWp-3KWp solar rooftop system or you can involve in government feed in tariff proposal.You can sell your home energy to the locality too.

Feed-In Tariffs are payments to ordinary energy users for the renewable electricity they generate. Feed-In Tariffs (also known as FITs) are the electricity part of what some people call Clean Energy Cashback, a scheme that pays people for creating their own "green electricity".

This is not all you can sell solar related products like charge controllers, batteries or any other solar parts which can bring you multiple opportunities.You can build your own solar firm and can sell your own products and services or you can promote and can get more commissions.

Market Report Shows Record $1.4 Trillion Global, $200 Billion U.S. Revenue for Advanced Energy and Highlights Five Trends Shaping the Future

For 2016, the global advanced energy market surpassed $1.4 trillion in 2016, a 7% increase compared to an updated 2015 total of $1.3 trillion. Advanced energy has grown by nearly a quarter (24%) since Navigant Research began tracking for AEE in 2011, adding $257 billion in revenue over six years, counting only data complete for the entire period. Advanced energy is almost twice the size of the global airline industry, and nearly equal to worldwide apparel revenue.

USA Solar Revenue

This graph illustrates the revenue of the US solar power industry from 2007 to 2017. It is forecast that this industry will generate about 210 million US dollars in revenue in 2017. The industry is estimated to grow by about 7.4 percent from 2016 to 2017.

Solar energy business generally require a heavy initial investment, but a number of grants and tax incentives help solar energy companies to get off the ground. Solar energy offers a range of benefits to business, utility companies and households, including the 100 percent renewable nature of the energy source.

(Hope This Will Help ) (JajaKallahu Khair)

Flow Battery

In off-grid solar technology batteries are the main source of reserved energy after it is been charged by the solar panels.In solar technology there are different types of batteries  available like Lead-acid batteries ,or Lithium-ion batteries or Sodium Nickel Chloride or Flow batteries.In this section we are going to learn  flow batteries.

One of the latest developments in the solar battery storage space are 'flow' batteries (or 'redox flow batteries' if you want to get technical). The fundamental difference between conventional batteries and flow cells is that energy is stored not as the electrode material in conventional batteries but as the electrolyte in flow cells.

A flow battery, or redox flow battery (after reduction–oxidation), is a type of electrochemical cell where chemical energy is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids contained within the system and separated by a membrane. Ion exchange (accompanied by flow of electric current) occurs through the membrane while both liquids circulate in their own respective space. Cell voltage is chemically determined by the Nernst equation and ranges, in practical applications, from 1.0 to 2.2 volts.

A flow battery may be used like a fuel cell (where the spent fuel is extracted and new fuel is added to the system) or like a rechargeable battery(where an electric power source drives regeneration of the fuel). While it has technical advantages over conventional rechargeable, such as potentially separable liquid tanks and near unlimited longevity, current implementations are comparatively less powerful and require more sophisticated electronics.


 Types of flow batteries :

Various types of flow cells (batteries) have been developed,including redox, hybrid and membrane less.

•  Redox
•  Hybrid
•  Membrane-less
•  Organic 
•  Metal Hydride
•  Nano-network
•  Semi-solid 

Flow batteries actually describes a number of similar technologies that all fall under the same umbrella, but this page will predominantly discuss the 'ZCell' Zinc-Bromide batteries manufactured in North America by the Australian company RedFlow.

Discussing the science behind flow batteries can get rather technical, so I'll massively simplify it. A flow battery is mostly made up of a water based liquid (Zinc Bromide) that flows between two tanks. When the battery charges the Zinc is extracted from the liquid and stored separately. When discharging, the Zinc is put back into the liquid. The Zinc 'flows' from the big plastic tank at the bottom of the picture to the electrodes at the top.  Hence the name.

One of the core advantages that flow batteries have over lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries is that they have a 100% depth-of-discharge - which means the entire battery can be discharged in a cycle with no negative effects on the lifespan of the battery. For comparison, lead-acid batteries have a 60% depth-of-discharge, and most lithium-ion batteries have an 80-90% depth-of-discharge.

They can also sit on the shelf forever-and-a-day at zero charge without degrading. Again - most other battery technologies need to be kept at a minimum charge level.

There are a number of other benefits that flow batteries offer:

• They can tolerate extreme weather conditions, up to 50 degrees Celsius.
• The zinc-bromine liquid inside the flow batteries is a natural fire retardant. 
• No chance of a thermal runaway (explosion!) due to the physical separation of the different battery components.
• Cheaper to refurbish due to their simple modular construction. For example, you can restore a 'dead' battery by simply swapping the electrode - for half of the original price of the battery.

A disadvantage of flow batteries is their life cycle compared to some higher-end lithium-ion batteries - they have a lifespan of approximately 4000 cycles at 100% depth-of-discharge, which is less than top quality lithium-ion's 5000-6000 cycles at 80% depth-of-discharge.

They also need to regularly be 100% discharged to 'clean' the electrodes. But, the battery management can be programmed to automatically do this regularly.

Applications

Flow batteries are normally considered for relatively large (1 kWh – 10 MWh) stationary applications. These are for

• Load balancing – where the battery is connected to an electrical grid to store excess electrical power during off-peak hours and release electrical power during peak demand periods. The common problem limiting the use of most flow battery chemistries in this application is their low areal power (operating current density) which translates into a high cost of power.
• Storing energy from renewable sources such as wind or solar for discharge during periods of peak demand.
• Peak shaving, where spikes of demand are met by the battery.
• UPS, where the battery is used if the main power fails to provide an uninterrupted supply.
• Power conversion – because all cells share the same electrolyte/s. Therefore, the electrolyte/s may be charged using a given number of cells and discharged with a different number. Because the voltage of the battery is proportional to the number of cells used the battery can therefore act as a very powerful DC–DC converter. In addition, if the number of cells is continuously changed (on the input and/or output side) power conversion can also be AC/DC, AC/AC, or DC–AC with the frequency limited by that of the switching gear.
• Electric vehicles – Because flow batteries can be rapidly "recharged" by replacing the electrolyte, they can be used for applications where the vehicle needs to take on energy as fast as a combustion engined vehicle. A common problem found with most RFB chemistries in the EV applications is their low energy density which translated into a short driving range. Flow batteries based on highly soluble halates are a notable exception.
• Stand-alone power system – An example of this is in cellphone base stations where no grid power is available. The battery can be used alongside solar or wind power sources to compensate for their fluctuating power levels and alongside a generator to make the most efficient use of it to save fuel. Currently, flow batteries are being used in solar micro grid applications throughout the Caribbean.

Note : Advantages of flow batteries means they might start to seriously compete with lithium-ion batteries to become the de facto battery storage technology in the future - but first, flow battery manufacturers need to get costs down to a level that's more reasonable for mass-market adoption, and iron out some challenges in manufacturing them consistently.

^{Hope This post be helpful to you (JajakAllahu Khair)}

Lithium-ion battery

In off-grid solar technology batteries are the main source of reserved energy after it is been charged by the solar panels.In solar technology there are different types of batteries  available like Lead-acid batteries , or Lithium-ion batteries or Sodium Nickel Chloride or Flow batteries.In this section we are going to learn lithium-ion batteries.


A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery (abbreviated as LIB) is a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging. Li-ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as one electrode material, compared to the metallic lithium used in a non-rechargeable lithium battery. The electrolyte, which allows for ionic movement, and the two electrodes are the constituent components of a lithium-ion battery cell.


For many years, nickel-cadmium had been the only suitable battery for portable equipment from wireless communications to mobile computing. Nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion emerged In the early 1990s, fighting nose-to-nose to gain customer's acceptance. Today, lithium-ion is the fastest growing and most promising battery chemistry.




Lithium-ion (or Li-ion) batteries are the type of batteries you get in your Phone and laptop. They are also the type of battery that is inside the Tesla Powerwall.


In fact, Tesla simply connect thousands of AA sized Lithium-ion cells together and assemble them into a liquid-cooled battery pack, wrapped in a strong metal enclosure, which in turn is wrapped in their hallmark fancy plastic shield.There are many more companies coming to market with Li-ion battery packs as we speak. This technology has a very good chance of becoming the most popular home battery technology over the next few years.

Electro-Chemistry :


The reactants in the electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion battery are the negative and positive electrodes and the electrolyte providing a conductive medium for lithium ions to move between the electrodes. Electrical energy flows out from or in to the battery when electrons flow through an external circuit during discharge or charge, respectively.







Both electrodes allow lithium ions to move in and out of their structures with a process called insertion or extraction , respectively. During discharge, the (positive) lithium ions move from the negative electrode usually graphite to the positive electrode (forming a lithium compound) through the electrolyte while the electrons flow through the external circuit in the same direction. When the cell is charging,the reverse occurs with the lithium ions and electrons moved back into the negative electrode in a net higher energy state. The following equations exemplify the chemistry.




The full reaction (left: charged, right: discharged) being

During discharge, lithium ions (Li+) carry the current within the battery from the negative to the positive electrode, through the non-aqueous electrolyte and separator diaphragm.During charging, an external electrical power source (the charging circuit) applies an over-voltage (a higher voltage than the battery produces, of the same polarity), forcing a charging current to flow within the battery from the positive to the negative electrode, i.e. in the reverse direction of a discharge current under normal conditions. The lithium ions then migrate from the positive to the negative electrode, where they become embedded in the porous electrode material in a process known as intercalation.




The increasing demand for batteries has led vendors and academics to focus on improving the energy density, operating temperature,safety, durability, charging time, output power, and cost of lithium ion battery technology. The following materials have been used in commercially available cells. Research into other materials continues.

Distinguishing between different types of lithium-ion batteries:

There are two core lithium-ion battery technologies: NMC (Nickle Manganese Cobalt) and LiFePO (Lithium Iron Phosphate)NMC battery technology, with its high energy density, is well suited to electric vehicles, whereas LiFePO technology is better suited to residential storage applications.The Tesla Powerwall 2, as well as the LG Chem RESU, uses NMC technology, and those companies will argue vigorously that NMC is the best bet for your home.Brands such as Simpliphi and DCS use LiFePO technology, and like to point out that LiFePO is inherently safer because it is harder to make them go into thermal runaway, otherwise known as exploding.You may ask why companies would use NMC technology for residential storage.The short answer is - because their factories (like Tesla's Gigafactory) are already cranking out massive amounts of NMC lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, so they figure they may as well use them in a residential battery as well.NMC batteries are also, for now, cheaper to produce than LiFePO batteries. This may factor into why some companies favor NMC technology over LiFePO.

Advantages :

• High energy density - potential for yet higher capacities.

• Does not need prolonged priming when new. One regular charge is all that's needed.

• Relatively low self-discharge - self-discharge is less than half that of nickel-based batteries.

• Low Maintenance - no periodic discharge is needed; there is no memory.

• Specialty cells can provide very high current to applications such as power tools.

Disadvantages : 

• Requires protection circuit to maintain voltage and current within safe limits.

• Subject to aging, even if not in use - storage in a cool place at 40% charge reduces the aging effect.

• Transportation restrictions - shipment of larger quantities may be subject to regulatory control. This restriction does not apply to personal carry-on batteries.

• Expensive to manufacture - about 40 percent higher in cost than nickel-cadmium.

• Not fully mature - metals and chemicals are changing on a continuing basis.

This is mainly due to the fact that lithium-ion batteries can be discharged deeper and have a longer lifetime than lead-acid batteries. They will give you around 4,000 - 6,000 cycles at 80% discharge - so they will have a lifespan of 13-18 years.Their main drawback, at least at the moment, is that they are about 50% more expensive than lead-acid batteries for the same amount of storage. This is expected to change rapidly over the next 5 years, however, as mass-production of lithium-ion batteries (like at Tesla's battery factory, the Gigafactory) significantly reduces the cost of lithium-ion storage.

Hope you enjoyed this post (JajaKallahu Khair)

Why DC Products

The global domination on solar energy is prevailing and manufacturer and consumers are waiting for something that can be more useful than  solar energy it self. DC electrical equipment are getting more popular with solar energy system.Most of the DC products are available worldwide now and they are pretty cheap too in comparison with AC products more or less.DC products are really really cool products when it combine with solar energy.DC products consume lower  power than any AC products about 1/3 of AC products.Even DC air conditioner of 24V consume below 900W where AC air conditioner   consume more than 2000W. 

Let me  give you some demonstration : 

Let check some AC & DC products  : 

DC Bulb : In the house the electrical appliance which mostly used by the consumers is the electrical bulbs.  DC bulbs are way less power consuming then AC bulbs with great light intensity.

DC bulbs are showing 5~10 times more efficiency than AC bulbs and that is amazing . (Alhamdulillah)

DC bulbs have better lifespan and quality.

DC bulbs are electric bill friendly.

DC bulbs have good light intensity.

Bill comparison : Please use this bill calculator Bill Calculator

AC bulbs :  44 BDT/month for  40W 450Lm Incandescent light for daily 8 hours.

DC bulbs :  07 BDT/month for  6W 450Lm LED light for daily 8 hours.

Savings :    37 BDT /per light. (Alhamdulillah)

DC Fan : In the summer the electrical appliance we love to use the most is the electrical fan. But electrical fans are basically two types i) Ceiling Fans  ii) Table Fans.Ceiling fans are more power consuming than the table fans as the weight it rotates irrespective of AC or DC but DC electric fans are way less power consuming  and bill friendly than  AC Fans. Let me give you demonstration.
 

 

In the left picture you can see two ceiling fan data list, the first one is DC and the second one is AC.Both ceiling fan have equal rpm and weight is almost the same but the power consumption is half for the DC with compare to the AC product .The difference of these power consumption is coming from lower voltage in DC products which are like 12V/24V where AC products are 220V. 

Bill Comparison :  Please use this bill calculator Bill Calculator

DC Fan : 40 BDT/month for 38W, 8hours/day 

AC Fan : 81 BDT/month for 75W, 8 hours/day.

DC Rice Cookers : In the kitchen this is very important appliance as this can cook anything, but this is also very power consuming device which can exceed 1000W.In this case DC cooker is just a super device where dc cooker can cook with the same capacity but with lower power consumption.Let me give you a demonstration.

As you can see in the above picture AC Rice cooker with 3.2L of capacity consumes 1000W of electricity where a DC Rice cooker with 4L of capacity consumes 420W of electricity which is amazing. (Alhamdulillah)

Bill Comparison :  Please use this bill calculator Bill Calculator

AC Cooker : 135 BDT/month for 1000W, 1hours/day 

DC Cooker : 56 BDT/month for 420W, 1 hours/day. 

All of the DC products are better in performance as the power rating is lower then the AC and it brings lower electric bill but the problem is these products are designed mostly for batteries  and few cases it comes with AC/DC adapters. The following chart will give you brief idea on both DC/AC product's power consumption with the same efficiency level but you will see AC appliances  eat more power then the DC appliances   and that is why in future AC appliances will be less effective in home applications. In the chart all DC appliances are rated with 12/24/48V and AC are 110~240V.

As the Solar Energy System is a DC power source and with the help of battery storage and DC products one can get rid of  his 80% of monthly bill  easily .As the DC products are less power consuming and solar energy is coming from the sun both way it is almost like free energy and we can be grid-free home utility systems worldwide.So don't wait to install  a solar home system in your house and buy compatible DC products for your system.

Hope This Post help You (jajakallahu Khair )

Hybrid Solar Energy System (Brief)

Diesel ,Solar, Wind Hybrid System

The Concept of Hybrid Solar System is not specific all the time, it varies from system to system . But in most cases hybrid system contains a part which is off-grid or battery storage system and a part or combined parts of other energy sources or it could be grid-tied. 

Let me actually categorized for you .. In a Hybrid Solar System there are basically two parts i) Off-grid /On-grid Solar/Grid-tied  ii) Other Sources of Energy (Wind, hydro,Bio/Generators) 

These systems varies all the time but many hybrid systems are made of off-grid solar systems which are combined with other renewable or diesel generated energy sources.

Hybrid solar systems combines the best from grid-tied and off-grid solar systems. These systems can either be described as off-grid solar with utility backup power, or grid-tied solar with extra battery storage.

Grid_Tied Solar

Hybrid System also can be two renewable systems combination  where controllers controls battery charging from different  sources and later from inverters we get the AC output.

Wind,Solar Hybrid System

Hybrid Solar System Types : 

• Off -Grid Solar + On-Grid Solar (Grid-Tied)
• Off-grid Solar + Diesel Generator
• On-Grid Solar (Grid-Tied)+ Diesel Generator
• Off-grid Solar +Other Renewable (Wind, Hydro,Bio) 
• Off-grid Solar + Diesel Generator+ On-grid
• Off-grid Solar +Other Renewable (Wind, Hydro,Bio)  +Grid-Tied
• Off-grid Solar +Other Renewable (Wind, Hydro,Bio) +Diesel Generator +Grid-Tied
• Off-grid Solar +Other Renewable (Wind, Hydro,Bio) +Diesel Generator +Grid-Tied+Solar Thermal

 Advantages of Hybrid Systems :

• Save off-peak energy cost 
• Make Grid-free energy system 
• Create business opportunities with the government or local
• Save from load-shedding/black-our problems
• Highly advanced energy system 
• Help to improve individual home/business status
• Can eradicate financial issues by installing smart. 
• Better use of environmental resources  with conventional sources.

 Disadvantages of Hybrid Systems :

•  High initial Cost for set up a Hybrid System.
•  Very complex system for maintenance.
•  High observation is needed & monitoring is important.
•  Need more place to install. 

 Hope You Like this Post (jajakallahu khair)
 

Lead Acid Batteries @ Detailed...

In solar technology or building solar off-grid systems this lead acid batteries  are most known batteries because of its low price but effective performance.This is much practical way of storing sun energy.This is the same type of battery you used in car batteries.

This is ideal for home system where shed is available because heat drastically reduce the lifespan of these batteries.

Construction : Please Follow this link: Lead Acid Batteries

Electrochemistry : 

In the discharged state of a lead acid battery both the positive and the negative terminals become lead(II) sulfate (PbSO
4), and the electrolyte become more water by loosing the dissolved acids.The discharge process is driven by the conduction of the electrons from negative terminals to positive terminals.In the fully charged state, the negative plate consists of lead, and the positive plate lead dioxide, with the electrolyte of concentrated sulfuric acid.Overcharging with high charging voltages generates oxygen and hydrogen gas by electrolysis of water, which is lost to the cell. The design of some types of lead-acid battery allow the electrolyte level to be inspected and topped up with any water that has been lost.

Negative Plate Reaction : 

Pb(s) + HSO−
4(aq) → PbSO
4(s) + H+(aq) + 2e⁻

^{Positive Plate Reaction :}  

^{PbO
2(s) + HSO−
4(aq) + 3H+(aq) + 2e− → PbSO
4(s) + 2H
2O(l)}

^{Total  reaction :} 

^{Pb(s) + PbO
2(s) + 2H
2SO
4(aq) → 2PbSO
4(s) + 2H
2O(l)}

Types of Lead-acid Battery :

• Deep-Cycle Lead Acid Batteries.
• Flooded Lead Acid Batteries 
• VRLA Lead Acid Batteries 
• AGM Lead Acid Batteries 
• Gel Lead Acid Batteries 

Deep-Cycle Battery : Almost every battery used in Solar System are Deep-Cycle Batteries, this is one kind of lead-acid batteries designed to discharge high in capacity almost 45%~75%. In simple language deep-cycle battery is highly dis-chargeable batteries than other batteries i.e you can drain out much energy without harming their lifespan.The best lifespan vs cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 45% discharge. There is an indirect correlation between the depth of discharge (DOD) of the battery, and the number of charge and discharge cycles it can perform.

This deep-cycle batteries basically two types :  i)  Flooded Type ii) VRLA Type

Flooded Lead-acid batteries : The term "flooded" is used because this type of battery contains a quantity of electrolyte fluid so that the plates are completely submerged. The electrolyte level should be above the tops of plates which serves as a reservoir to make sure that water loss during charging does not lower the level below the plate tops and cause damage. Flooded batteries will decompose some water from the electrolyte during charging, so regular maintenance of flooded batteries requires inspection of electrolyte level and addition of water. Major modes of failure of deep-cycle batteries are loss of the active material due to shedding of the plates, and corrosion of the internal grid that supports active material. The capacity of a deep cycle battery is usually limited by electrolyte capacity and not by the plate mass, to improve life expectancy.


A valve-regulated lead-acid battery (VRLA battery) : This is also called sealed lead-acid (SLA). Due to their construction, the Gel and Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) types of VRLA can be mounted in any orientation, and do not require constant maintenance. The term "maintenance free" is a misnomer as VRLA batteries still require cleaning and regular functional testing. They are widely used in large portable electrical devices, off-grid power systems and similar roles, where large amounts of storage are needed at a lower cost than other low-maintenance technologies like lithium-ion.

AGM (Absorbent glass mat) : This is one type of VRLA battery. AGM batteries differ from flooded lead acid batteries in that the electrolyte is held in the glass mats, as opposed to freely flooding the plates.The plates in an AGM battery may be any shape. Some are flat, others are bent or rolled. AGM batteries, AGM batteries presents better self discharging characteristics than conventional batteries in different range of temperatures.Very thin glass fibers are woven into a mat to increase surface area enough to hold sufficient electrolyte on the cells for their lifetime. The fibers that compose the fine glass mat do not absorb nor are they affected by the acidic electrolyte. These mats are wrung out 2–5% after being soaked in acids, prior to manufacture completion and sealing.As with lead-acid batteries to maximize the life of AGM battery is important to follow charging specifications and a voltage regulated charger is recommended. and also there is a correlation between the depth of discharge (DOD) and the Cycle life of the battery with differences between 500 and 1300 cycles depending on deep of discharge.

Gel battery : A modern gel battery (also known as a "gel cell") is a VRLA battery with a gelified electrolyte; the sulfuric acid is mixed with fumed silica, which makes the resulting mass gel-like and immobile. Unlike a flooded wet-cell lead-acid battery, these batteries do not need to be kept upright. Gel batteries reduce the electrolyte evaporation, spillage (and subsequent corrosion problems) common to the wet-cell battery, and boast greater resistance to shock and vibration. Chemically they are almost the same as wet (non-sealed) batteries except that the antimony in the lead plates is replaced by calcium, and gas recombination can take place.This sealed, non-spill feature made it possible to make very small VRLA batteries (1 –12 Amp hr. range) that fit into the growing portable electronics market. A large market for inexpensive smaller sealed lead acid batteries was generated quickly. Portable TV, light for news cameras, children's toy riding cars, emergency lighting, and UPS systems for computer back-up, to name a few, were powered with small sealed VRLA batteries.

Advantages of Lead Acid Batteries :

• Low cost compared to other batteries like Lithium-Ion.
• Robust,Reliable and Tolerant to abuse.
• Tolerant to overcharging.
• Low internal impedance.
• Can deliver very high currents.
• Can be left on trickle or float charge for prolonged periods.
• Wide range of sizes and capacities available.
• Many suppliers world wide.
• The world's most recycled product. 

Disadvantages of Lead Acid Batteries :

• They take up a lot of space, and many of them emit hydrogen gas. Hence the need for a battery-shed.
• They have a low cycle life (1000-3000 cycles), which means that, depending on how many time a day you charge and discharge them, they will only last  2-8 years tops.
• They generally have a depth of discharge of around 60%. This means that you can only use 60% of their capacity - otherwise you cripple their lifespan.
• Their performance figures are quoted at around 20 ºC ambient - meaning that if your battery shed gets hotter than this  their performance and lifespan will degrade.
• Sulphation may occur if a battery is stored for prolonged periods in a completely discharged state or very low state of charge, or if it is never fully charged.
• Contain hazardous materials  like lead, so not very environment friendly.
• Danger of overheating during charging, not suitable for fast charging.

Note : The Lead Acid batteries are worldly renown batteries, they are high is use due to their lower in cost & availability but still  better performance but this technology is getting outdated because of new coming like Lithium Ion or flow batteries or Ni-Cd Batteries which are higher in cost, so it depends on ones budget to determine how they will go. 

Hope You Like this post (JajakAllahu khair)



Other Posts : 

• Flow Batteries 
• Lithium-ion Batteries