AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat)
Lead, which is the heaviest non-radioactive metal, has been the standard in batteries for decades. This well-known battery technology has been used in Off-Grid living to date. In the battery’s internal construction, there is a fine fibreglass mat between each of the internal plates.
This mat absorbs the acid in the battery, so there is no liquid acid leakage even if the battery is damaged. This provides several advantages such as a maintenance-free design, and no gassing off. Expected lifetime at a daily 30% DoD is between 5–8 years.
Lead Carbon
• Combines supercapacitor and lead-acid battery technology
• Faster charging than lead-acid batteries
• Fully sealed, no maintenance required
• 98% Recyclable
• Lifespan is 7000 cycles at 30% DoD = 20 years life expectancy
• Allows for greater depth of discharge (up to 80%)
• Superior resistance against partial states of charge – a chemical reaction called “sulfation” which occurs during charging cycles and is the principal reason for failure in ordinary lead-acid batteries
Days of Autonomy
The system autonomy is the number of days the battery bank will last if the sun doesn’t shine. The size of the battery bank must be able to power your home during consecutive days of rain or high cloud cover. If you have not explicitly requested otherwise, your AGM and Lead Carbon system would be designed with three days autonomy.