A battery is simply a block of energy. No matter how much energy it stores, it gets depleted.  

Here we are going to explain basic Lead/Acid Battery Good Practice.

A good battery pack is probably the most expensive part of your solar power system. It should be regarded as the most important component. Without the battery energy, you will sit in the dark.

Here we go:Size your battery correctly: Batteries come in all shapes sizes and energy densities. Coupling the same size batteries together in series or parallel gives you more power or greater voltage respectively. An honest installer will advise on the correct combination to use. Do heed his advice!

Cheap battery / Expensive battery: Cheap batteries are just that – cheap. This is where SOLAR POWER gets a bad reputation for not working. A cheap battery is cheap because its composition is barely able to comply with its specifications. Fewer and flimsier Lead Plates and reliance on more acid means the lead plates corrode away to lead sulphate which is useless and downright degrading to the battery performance. It works out to be VERY expensive because it will need replacing very frequently. Don’t fall into this trap!

Expensive batteries are well designed with maximum life to weight to cost ratios. Their innards are better constructed with more of everything – Lead plates with special pockets around them, liquid or gel acid filling and generally much more energy dense. Do make this your first consideration.

Most often the more expensive, the more service life you can expect from your battery - UP TO 8 YEARS.

Battery drain: You can SAFELY draw up to 30% of your battery capacity. 70% MUST remain in the battery, or its decay will be much faster. This is called Depth Of Discharge or DOD. DO consider this in your calculations. MOST sites we see on the internet do not calculate DOD into their instructions. These are misleading to the uninformed.

The more expensive the battery the deeper it can be safely discharged - up to 50% DOD. Do Not exceed this.

Your batteries need maintenance! Even sealed lead acid batteries need to be checked for terminal corrosion, leaks etc and must be kept clean. Unsealed batteries also need additional attention for topping up with battery water.