As one of the necessary water and electricity for RV travel and life, although RVs are equipped with batteries with a certain capacity reserve when they leave the factory, they are generally equipped with 1-2 batteries as standard to store electricity, usually 100Ah-200Ah, which can basically meet the needs of simple electrical appliances such as lighting and rice cookers in RVs. It can only be said that it is barely enough. If you want to use it a little more “willful”, many riders will generally “expand” the battery after picking up a new car.
At present, RVs are generally equipped with lead batteries or gel batteries when they leave the factory, but their shortcomings are also obvious, so many car users will upgrade and choose to use lithium-iron phosphate batteries when modifying the circuit.
Lead-acid battery
As a traditional energy storage device, lead-acid batteries are relatively mainstream at present, and RV manufacturers are more willing to use them. Its advantages and disadvantages are also more obvious:
Advantages:
Lead-acid batteries are favored by RV companies for their high safety, low price, and stable battery performance. They have become the first choice for mainstream RV companies and are currently equipped more in RVs.
Disadvantages:
The biggest shortcoming of lead-acid batteries lies in their heavy weight. Take a 100Ah lead-acid battery as an example, its weight is about 30kg, and that of 200Ah is about 60kg, which is relatively bulky.
Here is an example, suppose you want to install a large 1000Ah battery in your RV and want to get rid of the dependence on external power supply. A 1000Ah lead-acid battery weighs about 300kg, which is not too light for a self-propelled or towed RV, and will affect the safety and fuel consumption of the RV.
How long can a 1000Ah lead-acid battery last in a RV? The power of a 12V1000Ah battery: 12V*1000Ah=12kWh. The low-power rice cooker is about 800w, the TV is 250w, and the electric stove is 800-2000w. With lighting, boiling water, etc., it can be used for about 2 days at most.
It is recommended to choose different 12V lithium batteries depending on the application.
lithium battery
With the development of the new energy industry, the research and development and use of lithium batteries have made great progress, and many RV modifications have also begun to use lithium batteries. At present, the mainstream lithium batteries in the market include lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries. RVs use more lithium iron phosphate batteries because they are safer and more stable.
Advantages:
Compared with lead-acid batteries, iron-lithium batteries have obvious advantages in terms of charging and discharging efficiency, storage capacity, volume and weight. The iron-lithium battery of the same specification is basically only half of the volume of the lead-acid battery, and the volume is only about one-third. Lithium batteries have higher charging and discharging efficiency and longer service life.
Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage of lithium batteries is the price. The price of lithium batteries is almost twice or even more than that of lead batteries, and the cost is higher; but because the advantages of lithium batteries are more obvious, more and more car users choose to install lithium batteries to store electricity.
Features of RV Lithium Batteries
- High weight-to-energy ratio and volume-to-energy ratio;
- High voltage. The voltage of a single lithium battery cell is 3.6V, which is equal to the series voltage of three nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries;
- Self-discharge rate is low that the lithium battery can be stored for a long time, which is an outstanding advantage of the battery;
- No memory effect. Lithium batteries do not have the so-called recall effect of nickel-cadmium batteries, so lithium batteries do not need to be discharged before charging;
- Long cycle life. Under normal working conditions, the number of charge and discharge cycles of lithium batteries can reach more than 3000 times.
- It can be charged quickly. Generally, the charging current of a lithium battery can be 0.5 to 1C, so that the charging time can be shortened to 1 to 2 hours;
- Can be used in parallel;
- Since the battery does not contain heavy metal elements such as cadmium, lead, mercury, etc., it has no pollution to the environment and is currently a very advanced green battery;
- The cost is relatively high. Lithium batteries are more expensive compared to other rechargeable batteries.
Summary
After Npp Power comparison, lead-acid batteries are low in cost but more bulky, while lithium batteries are expensive and less safe, but they have obvious advantages. With the current progress and development of battery technology, after increasing battery density and stability, Lithium Batteries will definitely be the future development trend.
