Most people know about solar energy converters or let’s say systems that generate electric current from sunlight. Some even have these systems installed in their homes but don’t know that the durability of the electricity generated through these systems depends on the batteries installed on it. So today, we are going to be looking at these batteries and factors that make these batteries super-efficient.

Firstly, What Is a Solar Battery?

A solar cell or photovoltaic is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric, a device whose electrical characteristics such as current, voltage or resistance vary when it is exposed to light.
In other words, solar batteries convert energy from sunlight (solar energy) and stores the energy through solar panels.

Over the years, as the demand to meet energy needs increases, solar batteries has grown significantly in popularity. With a variety of options to choose from, choosing the right solar battery that meets your energy needs may not be an easy task.

In this article, we will be discussing how solar cells work benefits of using solar batteries, types of solar batteries, and factors to be considered when choosing a solar battery.

How Does Solar Batteries Work?

Solar batteries work by storing converted energy from sunlight. The stored energy on solar cell is generated from solar panels into electricity. Then, Energy stored on solar batteries can be used as backup when there is power outage or on cloudy days.

Benefits Of Solar Batteries.

What are the benefits of solar batteries? Below are some of its benefits.

1. Backup during power outages: Solar batteries come in handy during power outages and can be a lifesaver.
2. Solar batteries reduce energy cost: Using solar energy where electricity bills are high, lowers your electricity bills.
3. Solar batteries reduce your dependence on electricity: Making use of solar batteries reduce reliance on electrical energy.
4. Solar energy is maximized: With solar batteries, no energy is wasted. Energy not used is stored up and used later.
5. Environmentally Friendly: It poses no pollution to the environment. It also reduces total dependence on fossil fuels.

Types Of Solar Batteries.

There are four main types of solar batteries discussed in this article, namely:

1. Lead-acid: This is the oldest solar battery type in history. It has been reputed to be developed from clean energy resources. However, Lead-acid solar batteries come in two different types:

(A) Sealed lead-acid batteries; their design makes them reduce the release of toxic gas into the atmosphere when being charged.

(B) Flooded lead-acid solar batteries resemble the bigger version of a car battery.
ln general, the lifespan of lead-acid solar batteries is short, and their depth of discharge is low compared to the other type of solar batteries but are the cheapest among other options.

2. Lithium-ion: This type of solar batteries is popular among residential homeowners despite being new when compared to the longer history of lead-acid batteries. Lithium-ion solar batteries has been approved over the years. Moreover, it requires less maintenance, has a longer lifespan and are more lightweight and smaller compared to lead-acid batteries. They also have a higher usable capacity.

3. Flow batteries: This type of solar batteries is non-toxic because they are water-based. its depth of discharge is 100% meaning you can use up its entire stored energy. However, its emergence is new in the world of energy solar storage and still on the road of development and improvement on relevant areas.

4. Nickel Cadmium: This type of solar batteries operates at extreme temperature without any complex management system making it popular among commercial scale projects. Nevertheless, they are very toxic in nature thus, making it to be placed under ban in large number of countries.

Factors To Consider When Choosing these Batteries.

Below are factors to consider when choosing solar batteries.

1. Its Capacity: The amount of energy the type of solar battery can store.
2. Its Power Output: How much load it can carry at once.
3. Its Depth of Discharge: The percentage of stored energy that can be used before it can be recharged and the rate the energy stored is being discharged.
4. Its Efficiency: How well does it convert and store its energy? That needs to be considered too.
5. Its Lifespan: How long is the lifespan of the battery? Also consider how many cycles of charges is it expected to endure?
6. The Brand Reputation: Choose from manufacturers with high recommendation, good reputation and good records.
7. Weather: Is the geographical climate of the area you live friendly?
8. Safety: Furthermore. ensure that the solar battery you want to buy meets the certified requirements for installation in homes or businesses.

Summary.
In this article, we discussed what solar batteries are, its types, how it works, its benefits and factors to consider when choosing a solar battery. We hope you find it useful.
Please, kindly drop your comments and contributions in the comment section.

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