Everything you need to know about solar gel batteries

Introduction

Solar gel batteries are the application in solar photovoltaic power generation. Currently, there are four types of them, which are lead-acid maintenance-free batteries, ordinary lead-acid batteries, gel batteries, and alkaline nickel-cadmium batteries. The solar batteries that are currently widely used in China are mainly: solar lead-acid maintenance-free batteries and solar gel batteries.

The solar batteries that are currently widely used in China are mainly: lead-acid maintenance-free batteries and gel batteries. These two types of batteries are good for reliable solar power because of their inherent characteristics and lighter pollution to the environment. System, especially unattended workstations. The solar gel battery is an outstanding improvement compared with the old ones. 

What are solar gel batteries?

The main component of the colloidal electrolyte is a functional compound with a particle size close to nanometers, which has good rheology and is easy to implement in the preparation and filing of lead-acid batteries. After the liquid electrolyte enters the battery or is charged for several hours, it will gradually turn into gel. A variety of gel are added to the gel to help prevent gelation before filling the battery, and help prevent sulfation of the plate after the battery is filled, reduce the corrosion of the grid, and improve the reaction utilization rate of the active material of the electrode plate. Under the same volume, when the electrolyte capacity and the heat capacity increases, it prevents the heat thermal. The electrolyte concentration is low, which is weak for corrosion of the electrode plate. The concentration is uniform, and there is no electrolyte layering phenomenon.

Excellent characteristics of solar gel batteries

1. It can significantly extend the service life of the battery. According to relevant literature, battery life can be prolonged by 2-3 times.

2. The self-discharge performance of the gel lead-acid batteries have been significantly improved, storage time of the battery can be extended by more than 2 times.

3. The anti-vulcanization performance of gel lead-acid batteries is very obvious in the case of severe power shortages.

4. The gel lead-acid battery has a strong recovery ability under severe discharge conditions.

5. The gel lead-acid battery has strong resistance to overcharging. The capacity has been tested repeatedly for two lead-acid batteries (a gel lead-acid battery and a valve-regulated sealed lead-acid battery). The decline is slower, and the valve-regulated sealed lead-acid battery consumes too much water, and its capacity drops significantly.

6. The post-discharge performance of gel lead-acid batteries has been significantly improved.

How long is the life of the solar gel batteries?

The life span of the solar gel batteries mainly depends on the application environment and charging conditions of the battery.

For the application environment, if the ambient temperature is high, generally speaking, based on 25 degrees, every 10 degrees increase will reduce the life span by half. Regarding the charging conditions, if you often undercharge and charge less than discharged, then it will be broken down quickly. The charging capacity in a single cycle should be 1.2 times the discharge capacity and the depth of discharge, such as each time, if 30% of the battery’s actual capacity is discharged, it can be cycled for more than 1500 times, which is about 4 years, but if it is 80% each time, it will only be more than a year, and if it is 100%, it will be about 1 year. At the same time, do not believe that the unconditional promise of the applicable life span of some manufacturers is unscientific. The actual life is just this algorithm.

Precautions for battery discharge management

It is of great importance to learn how to maintain your batteries if you want to prolong the life of your batteries, so here are some tips for you.

1. Do not use any organic solvents to clean the battery;

2. Do not open or disassemble the safety valve, otherwise, it will affect the performance of the battery;

3. Be careful not to block the vent of the safety valve, so as not to cause the battery to explode;

4. When equalizing charging/recharging, it is recommended that the initial current be set within O.125C10A;

5. The battery should be used within the temperature range of 20℃～30℃, avoid overcharging the battery;

6. Be sure to control the battery voltage within the recommended range to avoid unnecessary losses;

7. If the power conditions are poor and the battery needs to be discharged frequently, it is recommended to set the recharging current to O.15～O.18C10A;

8. The vertical orientation of the battery can be used upright or lying down, but it cannot be used upside down;

9. It is strictly forbidden to use the battery in a closed container;

When using and maintaining the battery, please use insulated tools, and no metal tools can be placed on the battery;

In addition, it is necessary to avoid overcharge and over-discharge of the battery. Overcharge may vaporize the electrolyte in the battery, affect battery life, and even cause malfunctions. Over-discharge of the battery will cause premature battery failure which may damage the load.

Conclusion

Solar gel batteries are improvement of ordinary lead-acid battery with liquid electrolyte. It replaces gel acid electrolyte with colloidal electrolyte, which is better than ordinary batteries in terms of safety, storage capacity, discharge performance, and service life. The gel lead-acid battery is close to the sealed work and loses little water. Therefore, the main failure of the electric bicycle battery is the water loss mechanism, and the gel battery can obtain very good results.