SLA batteries: Extra system kind elements and lithium-based successors

The upgraded SLA (sealed lead acid) battery-based UPS (uninterruptable energy provide) now residing in my furnace room has accomplished an excellent job up to now feeding backup energy to my two NASs and my key broadband and LAN gear. However what about different, beefier gadgets in my residence that I additionally would possibly need to hold working if premises energy goes down particularly for a prolonged timespan, equivalent to my chest freezer out within the storage? And what about toting a beefy energy supply together with me on highway journeys in my camper van, to be used in conditions the place I determine to spend substantial time someplace distant from typical sources of electrical energy?

A few months in the past, I discovered my reply, not less than for now: the Phase2 Vitality PowerSource 660Wh 1800-Watt Energy Station, which I picked up on sale for $149.99 plus tax at Meh:

The sold-new mannequin quantity is P2E660PSS, and listed below are some specs courtesy of Meh’s discussion board:

• Offers 1800 watts of peak output energy (1440 watts steady) to run most family home equipment
• Options an instant-on UPS for uninterrupted energy
• Permits daisy-chaining of limitless further batteries for prolonged system run instances
• Features a built-in photo voltaic controller with Anderson connector for connecting photo voltaic panels
• Outfitted with an LCD energy show for fast energy and output standing
• Designed with built-in handles for straightforward transport
• 660 Wh battery capability (12V, 55Ah)
• Outputs: 4 AC, twin USB, one 12V DC (“cigarette lighter adapter”)
• Dimensions: 19.9″L x 12.8″W x 8.9″H
• Energy supply: ‎Photo voltaic powered, Battery Powered

Seems it’s a clone of the Duracell PowerSource 660 1800 Peak Watt Gasless Generator and Transportable Energy Station, mannequin DR660PSS, which (consider it or not) initially offered for $699.99:

(The “gasless” terminology you generally see related to these models doesn’t reference an absence of gasoline emissions; as an alternative, it refers to the truth that in contrast to legacy AC mills, these aren’t powered by pure gasoline, propane, diesel and and/or customary gasoline gasoline sources.)

So why the substantial {discount} to $149.99? For one factor, Phase2 Vitality seemingly not exists, contemplating the corporate’s DOA web site. Duracell doesn’t promote its model of the product any extra, both. If I needed to guess, based mostly on my analysis, I’d wager that each are non-public label retail variations of a design generally sourced initially from Battery-Biz, however I digress…

A number of the cause for the value discount could come from bulk coupled with the price of alternative batteries. One key spec lacking from the above bullet listing is the P2E660PSS’s weight: 58.33 lbs. Granted, there are “built-in handles”, however except you’re a weightlifter, “simple transport” continues to be a stretch. And as this evaluation notes, “the OEM battery, which is Chinese language, could be very arduous to search out, and should you can it’s actually costly.”

A number of the cause could come from the combined suggestions. Granted, the buyer opinions on Finest Purchase’s and Amazon’s web sites had been almost all four- and five-star in nature. However on-line opinions from educated lovers, equivalent to this one, had been much less sanguine:

That stated, the reviewer admits that the product continues to be a great worth for what it prices, even at its unique $699.99 price ticket. And admittedly, his web site is titled “Powered Transportable Photo voltaic,” so he proportionally centered extra on the product’s inefficient PWM cost controller circuitry than somebody not interested by photo voltaic recharging would possibly (he additionally “dinged” it for its modified sine wave inverter, which is each much less output-efficient than the costlier pure sine wave inverter various and whose output could trigger issues with notably choosy AC gadgets). I plan to debate photo voltaic charging each normally and particularly because it pertains to my specific system in a deliberate upcoming follow-on weblog put up.

That each one stated, the probably largest cause for the discount-and-demise is that this complete SLA battery-based product class is within the means of being obsoleted by lithium battery-based moveable energy successors equivalent to these from longstanding corporations equivalent to Anker, Bluetti, EcoFlow, and Jackery, plus an rising variety of China-based low-priced opponents. Latest Meh sale examples embody this 500W one from Phase2 Vitality (who I collect is outwardly dumping its remaining closeout product stock) for $149 refurbished or $199 new:

or this 1200W Energizer-branded one, full with a separate 200W photo voltaic cell, for $599.99:

Why? SLA batteries are cumbersome, heavy, and have a restricted shelf life (one thing I not too long ago skilled firsthand) together with restricted recharge cycle counts forward of their inevitable demise. On the latter level, the Powered Transportable Photo voltaic evaluation highlights the 250-cycle lifetime spec for Duracell’s PowerSource 660, which can signify an enchancment vs the SLA norm. The product’s inner battery is variously reported as being an AGM (absorbed glass mat) variant (I haven’t taken my system aside but to substantiate), which if true would ship enhancements in metrics equivalent to deep cycle tolerance, charging speeds, recharge cycles, temperature and vibration tolerance, and so forth. versus typical SLAs, albeit at an incremental-price tradeoff.

Successor gadgets are usually based mostly on LiFePO₄ (lithium iron phosphate) battery expertise. How’s this translate when it comes to comparative product specs? Take, for instance, the Bluetti AC18O, which I randomly chosen from a Google search outcomes listing based mostly on its similar-sounding 1800-W AC output (though be aware that for the Duracell and Phase2 Vitality gadgets, that is the peak spec with 1440 W because the continuous-output counterpart, whereas the Bluetti AC180 specs 1800 W steady and 2700 W peak):

The Bluetti 180’s weight—35.3 lbs—is sort of half that of its SLA precursors, though it’s a tad bit bigger volume-wise: 13.39” x 9.72” x 12.48” (a few of which, in equity, is taken up by its increased 11-total output rely; 4 pure sine wave AC, one USB-C, 4 USB-A, one 12V DC, and an built-in wi-fi charging pad). The interior battery capability is 1,152 Wh. It touts 3,500+ recharge cycles to 80% unique capability, recharges to 80% in 45 minutes with a 1,440-W AC enter, and gives a 5-year guarantee (versus 2 years on the Duracell, and Phase2 Vitality’s not round, in fact …paradoxically, I’d found the corporate’s DOA web site once I went on-line to register it for prolonged guarantee protection functions).

So, what are the tradeoffs? Upfront value is one large one. The Bluetti 180 is at present promoting (as I sort these phrases on July 14) for $999 on the producer’s web site, though Amazon at present has it listed for $450 much less ($549) as a pre-Prime Days promotion. Plenty of that worth differential comes from the fee variance between comparatively the brand new LiFePO₄ and mature SLA battery applied sciences. That stated, in fact, a LiFePO₄-based energy station will final fairly a bit longer than its legacy SLA-based precursor, due to the numerous variance in recharge-cycle capabilities, however the upfront sticker shock issue can’t be dismissed, both.

One different key distinction between SLA and LiFePO₄ (and different lithium-based applied sciences, for that matter) includes their various instantaneous-power responses (one thing that I additionally not too long ago skilled firsthand). As “narfcake” famous within the Meh discussion board dialogue on the Phase2 Vitality PowerSource 660Wh 1800-Watt Energy Station:

The caveat is that LiFePO4 is often simply rated for its output – anticipate a 50Ah battery to max out at 50A output. AGM/SLA are able to outputting a lot increased currents (with diminished runtime), therefore tiny 8Ah batteries in a UPS having the ability to crank out 1200+ watts, which is 100+ amps.

Such instantaneous-spike assist can be useful, for instance, with fridge and freezer compressor motors or some other system with higher-than-nominal startup energy wants.

In closing, whereas we’re evaluating totally different battery applied sciences, a number of phrases on LiFePO₄ versus the opposite lithium-based approaches I’ve already alluded to are in all probability so as. The listing of options begins, I suppose, with the disposable (non-rechargeable) lithium steel cells used, for instance, in my Blink safety cameras. However provided that the functions we’re masking in this put up all basically depend on batteries’ recharging capabilities, the first options are lithium-ion (Li-ion) and lithium polymer, extra precisely acknowledged as lithium-ion polymer (Li-Po), a Li-ion by-product which makes use of a semisolid (gel) polymer electrolyte as an alternative of a liquid electrolyte.

Plenty of on-line sources exist, with various emphases, accuracies and vested pursuits together with breadth and depth of element, in striving to examine these three rechargeable lithium-based applied sciences. LiFePO₄ batteries are usually understood to have the best cycle counts, for instance, translating into lengthy life, and are additionally comparatively immune from thermal runaway and overheating. However they’re the most costly of the approaches on a cost-per-capacity foundation, probably partly as a result of they’re the least mature of the three. Li-Po seemingly has the best cost density and will also be molded into a wide range of versatile kind elements, however is susceptible to swelling together with fireplace and the like, subsequently requiring cautious dealing with each whereas in use and in storage. And Li-ion, maybe probably the most mature of the three approaches, is in lots of respects an middleman step between the opposite two from varied analysis elements’ views.

That each one stated, as I’ve talked about earlier than, I’m not an influence engineer, so my understanding of those analysis elements (and the way every expertise stacks up in opposition to them, each now and as they additional mature sooner or later) could also be incomplete in comparison with the data base of not less than a few of you. As all the time, subsequently, please hold forth together with your ideas within the feedback!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Imaginative and prescient Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the corporate’s on-line publication.

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