But, nearly half of all flooded lead acid batteries don’t achieve even half of their expected life. Poor management, no monitoring and a lack of both proactive and reactive maintenance can kill a battery in less than 18 months. This can drastically affect the performance of a battery room.
A deep-cycle lead acid battery should be able to maintain a cycle life of more than 1,000 even at DOD over 50%. Figure: Relationship between battery capacity, depth of discharge and cycle life for a shallow-cycle battery. In addition to the DOD, the charging regime also plays an important part in determining battery lifetime.
To prolong the life of a lead-acid battery, it is essential to follow proper charging and discharging procedures. Overcharging or undercharging can significantly reduce the lifespan of a battery. It is also important to avoid deep discharging the battery as a deep cycle can damage the battery’s plates.
From that point on, it was impossible to imagine industry without the lead battery. Even more than 150 years later, the lead battery is still one of the most important and widely used battery technologies. Lead-acid batteries are known for their long service life.
Lastly, the temperature also plays a significant role in the lifespan of a lead-acid battery. High temperatures can accelerate the aging process of the battery, while low temperatures can reduce the battery’s capacity. Therefore, it is important to store the battery in a cool and dry place.
Lead acid batteries typically have coloumbic efficiencies of 85% and energy efficiencies in the order of 70%. Depending on which one of the above problems is of most concern for a particular application, appropriate modifications to the basic battery configuration improve battery performance.