A Detailed Overview of a 12V Solar Battery: price, features, and advantages

Nowadays, there are various options for batteries available in the market, which makes buying batteries a bit tricky. A 12V solar battery is the most commonly available battery across the globe. 

A 12V battery is versatile and a reliable power source for many applications. It is primarily used for commercial purposes. Being one of the top power sources available, these batteries are the most appropriate units for BESS (Battery Energy Storage System). 

If you want to know more about a 12v solar battery, let us dig a bit deeper!

Features of a 12V Solar Battery

These solar batteries are designed to fulfil the duty cycle of a solar array. Notably, solar panels produce solar power during the day, and the power gets stored in batteries; hence, the batteries are not used at that time. 

The charge from the battery is utilised at night. Hence, there is a complete cycle. The 12v solar battery gets charged during the daytime and is utilised as a power source at night. This is the charge and discharge cycle. 

Here are some key features!

• The 12V Lead-acid battery is tubular in shape. 
• These batteries have a leak-proof body and are maintenance-free.
• These are portable devices that can be conveniently carried anywhere.

Specifications of a 12V Solar Battery

Here are some notable specifications of a 12V battery:

• Voltage Per Unit: 12 V
• Nominal Capacity: 150Ah at a 10-hour rate to EOD of 1.8V per cell at 25°C
• Maximum Discharge Current: 1500A (5 sec)
• Recommended Max Charging Current: 45A
• End of discharge voltage: Varies from 10.5V to 10.8V
• Normal Operating Temperature Range: 25°C ± 5°C

The 12V solar battery can provide a continuous current of 15A over an entire discharge period of 10 hours (i.e., 15 Amp x 10 Hours =150 Ah). Usually, the end of discharge voltage of this battery is 10.8V at 25°C.

Price Details of Solar Batteries

For buying a 12V lead-acid battery, you have to pay Rs. 14,499. Contrastingly, the price of a 12V lithium-ion battery in the market is around 2.5 times higher than lead-acid ones. Thus, you have to pay approximately Rs. 36,000 for a 12V lithium-ion battery.

Types of a 12V Solar Battery

There are two major types of 12V solar batteries: Tall Tubular Solar Battery and Lithium-ion Solar Battery. Let us understand them in detail!

Tall Tubular Solar Battery

These solar batteries are also called lead-acid batteries. They are tube-shaped batteries utilised for the solar power duty cycle. Such batteries are popular as they provide uninterrupted power due to their tubular shape.

Lithium-ion Solar Battery

Lithium-ion solar batteries are the next generation of batteries as they are expected to supersede lead-acid batteries. These are superior but quite expensive. This is why they have not yet completely replaced lead-acid batteries. 

Hopefully, when prices experience a sharp downfall due to technological upgradation, lithium-ion will completely replace lead-acid batteries.

Let us learn the differences between Lead-Acid and Lithium-ion solar batteries!

Lead Acid Solar Battery	Lithium-ion Solar Battery
Lead-acid batteries have a chemical reaction	There is no chemical reaction in Lithium-ion batteries; they have an electrochemical reaction
Lead-acid batteries are comparatively not very small in size. They also emit hydrogen while getting charged. And hydrogen is a flammable gas that has to be seized	Lithium-ion batteries are very compact, and their power density is high
Lead-acid batteries have a warranty of 3 to 5 years	On average, these batteries have a warranty of 7 to 8 years
The discharge rate of these batteries is 1200 cycle DOD	The discharge rate of these batteries is 10,000 cycle DOD
These are inexpensive and are widely used	These are very expensive; hence, not very scalable

How to Choose a Solar Battery? 

Here are some factors you must consider while choosing the right solar battery for your solar array.

• Capacity: The capacity of a battery indicates how many kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity it can store. The usable capacity represents how much time the battery can provide electricity for your usage.

• Power Rating: The power rating of a battery represents how much electricity (kW) it can supply for your usage at once. 

• Round Trip Efficiency: It represents how much energy you can use from your solar battery in comparison with the quantum of energy it consumed to store that energy. 

• Working Life: Usually, lithium-ion batteries have a minimum working life of 10 years with regular use. Go for ones with a 70% operating warranty of the original capacity after ten years.

• Cost: The ideal way to compare the prices of different batteries is to consider their cost per kWh. 

Advantages of a 12V Solar Battery

Let us now discuss the advantages of lead-acid 12V solar batteries:

• A 12v solar battery does not need much maintenance. Furthermore, as the capacity expands, the maintenance gets more inexpensive. 

• These batteries have a low self-discharge rate. Hence, they are a cost-effective solution.

• These batteries perform very well as compared to their counterparts with smaller capacities, such as 40 Ah solar batteries.

• Specifically, lead-acid batteries are scalable due to their cheaper price factor.

• These batteries are available with a broad range of specifications and can be used for different applications.

Leading Brands Manufacturing 12V Solar Batteries

Here are the leading brands that manufacture lead acid solar batteries: 

• Exide: Exide Industries Limited is the biggest battery giant in India. It is the largest manufacturer of automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries in the country and the fourth-largest globally. The company is headquartered in Kolkata.

• Luminous: Luminous is a leading manufacturer of inverters and industrial batteries. It was established in 1988 and is headquartered in New Delhi. 

• Amara Raja: Amara Raja is a multinational manufacturer of automotive batteries. It was formed in 1985 and is headquartered in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

• Okaya: Okaya Power is the solitary manufacturer of 100% tubular batteries. Established in 1980, it has a registered office in New Delhi. 

• HBS power system Ltd: It is a research-based manufacturing company with expertise in manufacturing high-efficiency motors and battery systems. It is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• Lento: Lento India is a notable company that manufactures solar inverters and batteries. It is based in New Delhi.

Leading brands that manufacture lithium-ion solar batteries:

• Amara Raja: Tirupati-based Amara Raja is a notable manufacturer of Lithium-ion batteries also.

• Luminous: Schneider Electric is the parent organisation of this Delhi-based company. It manufactures premium quality solar batteries.

• Reliance EV: Reliance EV manufactures li-ion batteries in India. Reliance Industries Limited is one of the most notable players in the EV industry.

• Mahindra EV: Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited is headquartered in Bengaluru. It is now emerging as an EV manufacturing company.

• Hyundai EV: Hyundai Motor Group is a South Korean multinational automobile company. It is launching various small electric vehicles.

• Ola EV: Ola Electric is working to develop its indigenous cell technology to scale up its EV segment. Its manufacturing plant is located in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.

Conclusion

Batteries are essential for an off-grid solar system to serve as an energy store during power cuts. Concerning a 12v solar battery, the lead-acid battery is popularly used over lithium batteries. 

It is because, despite being superior to lead-acid, lithium-ion batteries are not scalable as these are costly. Hence, lead acid has widespread use. Though, it is expected that in the near future, lithium-ion batteries will completely take over the lead acid batteries.

FAQs

Q1. What size of solar panel should be used with a 12v solar battery?

You will require a 3 to 4 watts solar panel to maintain the most commonly used 12V lead-acid batteries.

Q2. How to charge a 12v solar battery via solar panels?

To charge a 12v solar battery with solar panels – First, you need to connect the 12V battery to the charge controller. Next, you have to connect the solar panels with the charge controller. Lastly, place the solar panel directly facing the sun, and it is done!

Q3. How long does it take to charge a 12v solar battery with a solar panel?

If a 12v solar battery is entirely drained out, a solar panel can charge the solar battery usually between five to eight hours. Notably, the total charging differs as per the state of a battery.