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The performance characteristics of lead acid deep cycle batteries through voltages and round-trip energy efficiency for solar power application.


J. A. Amusan
O. Igbudu

Abstract

The performance characteristics of lead acid deep cycle batteries through charge/discharge voltages, charge/discharge ratio and round – trip energy efficiency were studied by using two solar panels (model: 80 W, SF 125 x 35V/ 4 Amps), one solar panel (model: 45 W, STP 045 - 12/Rb), 2000 VA inverter, 2 Gaston Sealed Rechargeable Deep cycle batteries (12V / 200 Amp-hr), 2 GA Lead Valve Regulated batteries (12V/100 Amp-hr), a digital multimeter, two light bulbs (100 W) and a digital thermometer. The study shows that the i - v characteristics of the two different batteries were non-ohmic. The Gaston deep cycle battery when discharged has a nominal voltage of 1.69V. The Gaston battery when charged has a nominal voltage of 1.94V and a maximum voltage of 2.04V. The GA lead acid battery when charged has a nominal voltage of 1.94V and a maximum voltage of 2.08V. When discharged, a GA battery has a nominal voltage of 1.80V and a minimum voltage of 1.68V. The ratio of charge/discharge for both Gaston and GA batteries is 1:1. The round-trip energy efficiency for the GA battery is 79.2% while that of Gaston battery is 84.3%. This result shows that a Gaston battery is 5.1% more efficient than the GA battery. The lowered nominal voltage and higher round-trip energy efficiency of Gaston battery favour its comparative usage for solar power generations and other uses.

Key words: Nominal Voltage, Battery, Deep cycle, Ambient temperature, Electrochemistry.


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eISSN: 1118-1931
print ISSN: 1118-1931