In recent years, with the development of the world economy, the demand for electricity has increased year by year.

Oil and natural gas are the most traditional power generation modes in the world, but this has also caused huge environmental pollution and a shortage of non-renewable energy. Many countries encourage the use of new energy batteries to reduce the use of non-renewable energy.

Starting from 2022, the cost of petroleum will also gradually increase, which also lead to an increase in electricity bills in many countries, and new energy batteries will become the most ideal way of power supply.

Many people have also begun to consider building a solar system to achieve self-generated electricity and reduce expensive electricity bills, so how to choose the right battery for your home?

1. What types of energy storage batteries in the market?

When it comes to household batteries, we have to mention traditional lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries (lithium batteries can be divided into lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium/NCM).

The lead-acid battery is the earliest traditional battery in the market, and the design life is 800-1000 times (different technologies will also lead to different life)

While with the high demand of the market for long-life batteries, the lithium battery has become a  hot trend, and its lifespan and performance far exceed that of lead-acid batteries.

 Let’s take a comparison between them

Compared to Lead-acid batteries:

1)The Battery Density:

The Lifepo4 Batteries have more than 3 to 4 times more energy density than a lead-acid battery. So in the same volume, the lifepo4 battery will be smaller and lighter than lead-acid batteries.

2)The ability for charge and discharge:

Based on the same model, a Lifepo4 battery can be an 80%-100% depth of discharge, while a Lead-acid battery only considers for 30% depth of discharge for long life,lifepo4 battery can help you enjoy more power at a limited time. 

3)Battery cycle life:

longer lasting: Lifepo4 battery cycle life is more than 8000 cycles while lead-acid batteries only 800-1000 cycles

Lifepo4 batteries are maintenance-free - no watering, equalizing, or cleaning corroded terminals.

4)Control system:

Lifepo4 battery Built-in smart BMS(Battery management system)to protect the battery damaged by some uncontrollable environmental or usage factors(Like: under temperature/over temperature, over the circuit, etc)also with smart monitoring function which would be more accurate, while lead-acid battery without it.

Compared to NCM(LiNiCoMnO2) battery:

1)Cycle life:

NCM battery with 1500~2000 cycles, while lithium iron phosphate is two times.

2)Working performance

The lithium iron phosphate battery has good fast charging characteristics. Under the condition of 3C rate charging, it can charge 55% in 15 minutes, and the capacity exceeds 95% in 30 minutes.

3)Operating temperature

lLifepo4 is a Wider operating temperature range - that offers more options for the installation location.

The parameter between them

Take MeritSun 48V Powerwall Battery as an example: Their lithium battery uses Lithium Iron Phosphate,battery cycle life is up to 8000 times, with the intelligent function of LCD and LED display for easy monitoring of the Battery system.

1. How to choose the right solar system battery? Replace an old system battery or Build a new system

1. Replace an existing old battery system.

If you wanna keep the existing system, and just replace your old system battery/lithium or lead-acid battery, you need to make sure that:

1)System operating dc voltage

Make sure the inverter dc voltage should be matched the battery.Normally the regular storage system is 12V,24V,36V, and 48V, also with some high voltage battery up to 100V

2)The communication compatible ability:

If you use a Lead-acid battery, just need to set the suitable charge and cut off voltage well for the battery in your inverter.

While if you use Lithium Battery, you will need to check the battery BMS protocol and the inverter you use

MeritSun engineer team claims that the battery works well with Victron, Deye, Schneider, Outback, Lux power, Growatt, SMA, Goodwe, Voltronic, MPP solar, etc.

Details information refer to MeritSun Page:https://www.meritsunpower.com/announce-meritsun-batteries-has-been-compatible-with-deye-since-2020

2. How to build a new system?

The main solar kit is from the battery, PV, and inverter:

1)Choose the right Battery kilowatt hours(kwh) for your house:

The battery capacity is according to the house equipment power and backup hours to calculate.

For example, if the total house equipment will be used at night time is 5kw and you wanna back up 2h, then 5kw*2h=10kwh battery.

2)Inverter power &AC output power:

The Inverter power is according to the house's total equipment total load power to calculate. As an example: if the system total load power is 7kw, also consider the inverter power will be 1.2-1.5 times of load power so, the inverter configuration would be 7kw*1.2/1.5=8.4kw~10.5kw for inverter power.

It should be noted that the North American and Caribbean market needs a split phase(120V/240V AC output), while the EU/Africa/Asia are most required a single phase at 240V AC output

3)The PV size:

PV is according to the system's daily consumption and sunshine hours to the configuration  

3. How to choose a home lithium battery?

1)Battery Size:

Make sure that the battery kwh you use and the available house space are.

For example, North America mainly required large lithium battery banks from 20kwh to 100kwh, considering the single battery weight, quantity, and wall safety condition.

The small system can be used for the Wall mounted/Powerwall, while the large system can be use for rack battery/15kwh Powerwall or stackable battery to save space and more safety.

Here is an example:

2) Protection Degree:

The higher Battery IPs are also highly required in many countries like Puerto Rico, Australia and some projects, etc.

A higher IP can better avoid battery damage due to the influence of the external environment, such as dust, rain, etc.

3)Scalability:

The difference in technology and component will also affect the battery's parallel connection ability.

MeritSun 24V and 48V batteries are supported by up to 16pcs in parallel connection, the single pack is up to 240kwh.

All in all, when considering the battery solution, we need to make sure the right dc voltage, battery size,home space and installation environment to choose

It can’t be denied that there have a good demand for the Lead-acid battery due to the favorable cost of short-term investment.

While considering the long terms investment, and taking the cost, function, performance, battery life, charge/discharge performance, etc, the lithium battery would be an ideal solution for long time use.

Meritsun is the leading supplier of Lithium batteries in China, mainly focus on serving the premium and reliable batteries, welcome to contact now and pick the right storage battery for your home to enjoy green and free energy!

By Grace zhu

MeriTech Power Limited

export-8@meritsunpower.com

MeritSun was founded in 1999, we have 23 years of professional experience in energy and integrated solution services. We have 100+ R&D teams, 1368 employees 48 fully automatic production lines, and a 150,000 square meters factory, become the industry pioneer in battery suppliers through effective management.