If a flooded lead-acid battery bank is used in a hybrid setup mostly as an anchor to keep the solar shed from blowing away in high winds, how long would it be expected to last under proper care? I'm assuming what would be involved is an automatic watering system and at least monthly SG checks, and a float charge maintained while the AC power sloshes back and forth between the PV system and the grid.
The Surrettes are rated at 3300 cycles to 50% depth of discharge and the promo material makes noises about a 15-year lifetime. If the batteries only get cycled down to 50% DOD, say, 5-10 times a year due to the usual power outages we get out here in the backwoods, is that lifespan a realistic one?
And yes, I do realize that this is a dumb investment, a pad-mounted genset would make much better economic sense, etc. etc. Believe me, I've read enough (and been disappointed enough) about our mostly hundred-year old battery technology to acknowledge Sunking's well-articulated points on that score. Call it a deluded guy's expensive hobby, or the fever dreams of a peak-oil nut job, or both, but I do plan to go ahead with the hybrid system anyhow.
The Surrettes are rated at 3300 cycles to 50% depth of discharge and the promo material makes noises about a 15-year lifetime. If the batteries only get cycled down to 50% DOD, say, 5-10 times a year due to the usual power outages we get out here in the backwoods, is that lifespan a realistic one?
And yes, I do realize that this is a dumb investment, a pad-mounted genset would make much better economic sense, etc. etc. Believe me, I've read enough (and been disappointed enough) about our mostly hundred-year old battery technology to acknowledge Sunking's well-articulated points on that score. Call it a deluded guy's expensive hobby, or the fever dreams of a peak-oil nut job, or both, but I do plan to go ahead with the hybrid system anyhow.
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