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What is a battery storage system?
In recent years more and more people have been using alternative energy systems and this is not surprising at all. Energy suppliers demand increasingly higher prices for the energy they provide and if one decides to work with an energy supplier, one is often bound to this contract for years. Many people prefer to take care of their own energy. However, this will not happen automatically. To be sure of a constant energy you will need a battery storage system . This is also one of the biggest costs with alternative energy systems, but these costs are recovered over the years if you use your own produced energy.
A battery storage system is no more than a number of batteries that are connected to each other in a certain way, so that they function as a whole and can guarantee energy supply. If you use solar energy or wind energy, for example, you will also need energy on dark days or windless days. A battery storage system ensures that you can also use your energy on these days.
Which batteries are best suited for my battery storage system?
Let us consider the principle of a battery storage system. The energy that you get from the sun (with solar panels) or the wind (with wind turbines) can be used immediately. However, if you use an alternative energy system , it is the intention that you can always count on energy. That is why you need a system that stores this energy and releases it at regular intervals. This storage and release of energy can be done by means of batteries. The batteries will therefore be constantly charged and discharged.
In principle, lead-acid batteries are best used for this, but those that do not give up when they are deeply discharged and recharged. Although the first storage systems often used car batteries, these are not at all suitable for this. After all, these batteries are designed in such a way that they generate an energy boost for a few seconds and then have to be recharged immediately.
Batteries that are much better suited for battery storage systems are full of traction batteries such as those found in for example fork lifts, aerial platforms or agricultural machinery. These can be discharged deeper, up to 80%, and generally have a longer lifespan. These types of batteries are also referred to as deep cycle batteries. This name refers to the fact that they can be deeply and much discharged and recharged.
How can I limit the costs for my battery storage system?
The biggest cost of a battery storage system is the purchase of the batteries. Powerful batteries such as full traction batteries are not cheap.
You can purchase these batteries new, but then you will lose a lot of money.
You can also buy these batteries second-hand. These batteries are a lot cheaper and still work fine. You can buy these batteries for almost half of the new price at special battery companies.
Another possibility is to look for discarded batteries yourself and to overhaul them yourself. This is the cheapest solution. It is not at all difficult to find damaged or old lead-acid batteries. Many industrial companies are happy to share their old batteries. You can buy these for a low price and some companies even give them away for free.
Many people are afraid to overhaul batteries themselves because they think they need extra material for this or because such a revision process is complicated. Nothing could be further from the truth. Overhauling batteries is not difficult at all. If you are a bit handy and have basic basic knowledge about how batteries work, you can do this yourself.
You can find more information about overhauling old batteries in our sections: ” Lead Acid Battery Reconditioning ” and ” Forklift Battery Reconditioning “. If you follow the steps that we describe in these sections, you can easily overhaul batteries yourself. Overhauling batteries is a perfect way to get the most out of your battery storage system for alternative energy supply!
Do you want to extend the life of your storage system?
You can do much more to extend the life of your storage system batteries. We cover this and many other ways to guarantee the life of your various batteries in our Battery Reconditioning Program.
In this program you will also learn how to bring your batteries back to life. It goes without saying that you can save a lot with this.
You can even put together a completely new storage system with used batteries that you can obtain for free or at a bargain price. You can check here to know how you can best tackle this .
