Locally assembled, smallest and lightest LiFePO4 battery in North America

Off the grid living is becoming more and more popular, and with it comes an increasing need for portable energy. Vancouver’s own Royer Batteries has created the smallest and lightest Lithium battery – The Micro Smart Heated Battery – that North America has seen, that’s the perfect solution to energy needs, whether for solar off-grid homes, RVs, van-life, or marine usage. Coming with many new advantages in comparison to its old alternative, the lead acid battery, the Canadian assembled Micro Battery uses LiFePO4 chemistry and trumps it in every category while setting the stage for the future for how we store electricity.

 

The lead acid battery has been the traditional choice for off-grid power usage for many years, but throughout it, the battery has had faults that leave users with more stress over their electricity. Though there are different types of lead acid batteries with different strengths, the weaknesses of them all remain the same. Firstly, the lead acid battery can only use 50% (or less) of it’s rated capacity (Ah) for each cycle, leaving less usable power than advertised. For lead acid battery users this means you don’t really get what you think, energy wise – you get half of it. Furthermore, if the lead acid battery isn’t charged on a strict schedule, the lack thereof will begin to damage the battery, before it’s even used all of its power.

 

Cycle life – the number of times a battery can be recharged – is another issue that could be improved when it comes to lead acid batteries. At about 1500 cycles, the lead acid battery will have lost 50% capacity. Though this may still seem like a lot of cycles, it’s important to note that how much usable KWh – Kilowatt-Hour – the battery can deliver is still being reduced each cycle, meaning even before the 50% capacity loss, the lead acid battery will not be able to deliver the same amount of power even halfway into its life cycle. Overall, weighing around 4-6x times more than lithium batteries, the lead acid battery is delivering sub-optimal power, low energy density, and high maintenance needs, without even delivering longevity.

 

With the Micro Battery, you are truly getting what you pay for. With 100% usable capacity or depth of discharge, it overcomes the deficits of the lead acid battery, and in turn revolutionized the way off grid power is stored. The battery does not need to be constantly recharged to maintain it’s life expectancy, nor does it have the same life cycle shortage as its alternative. In comparison to the lead acid battery which loses 50% capacity over 1500 cycles, the Micro Battery comes out on top, losing only 20% capacity over a minimum of 3000 cycles, and up to 5000 in most applications. It also doesn’t lose as much capacity every cycle, ensuring you are getting the optimal amount of electricity out of your battery, every time. Over the life-time, the Micro Battery will output over 10 times the amount of usable power, greatly increasing the amount of energy a user can get out of their battery. Although it cannot be charged in 0 degrees and below, nor discharged in -20 degrees and below, the Micro Battery was designed with a low consumption automatic built-in heater, to face its weaknesses head on.

 

The Micro Battery not only fixes the faults of its alternative but comes with new upgrades, as well. It comes with an app that connects to the battery with Bluetooth, enabling users to not only see if there are issues with their battery, but also better understand their energy usage. This app allows users to be more energy conscious, in addition to understanding how their battery really works. Furthermore, Each battery comes with a 10 year warranty but it can easily last you up to 25 years with relevant energy density still left. The Micro Battery is completely serviceable so parts are interchangeable and exchangeable; if there is an issue out of warranty it can be repaired simply.

 

This battery is likely going to take the market by storm. Even with other lithium-based batteries on the market, those batteries tend to have lower kWh, up to 50% larger, up to 50% heavier, as well as have less features. With the Micro Battery, the cells are square, optimizing space. Meanwhile, weighing in at only 59 pounds, the Micro 12V 310Ah Battery is the perfect solution for mobile applications, such as van-living. Although this battery costs on average 2 times more than its lead acid alternative, over the life-time of the LiFePO4 it will cost 5 times less money per Amp-hour used.

 

 

The Micro battery will truly revolutionize the way off-grid power is used and stored. Tyrone Royer, creator of the Micro Battery from Royer Batteries, reports on how he feels about his battery and its size, saying “I just love hearing ‘No way, you can’t fit that much power in there!’” At 59 pounds 100% capacity that can be cycled up to 10000 times in its lifetime, the Micro is the best new way to store energy.

How to Calculate Energy Per Acre for Solar Panels

The angle at which a solar panel faces the sun determines how much energy it will receive.

The sun provides a huge amount of energy as its rays touch the Earth’s surface. But the quantity of energy that you can harness is another matter. The efficiency of solar cells, their arrangement, and the amount of sunlight they receive all affect their output. Before deciding whether solar panels are a good choice to save you money, determine if you can fully power your home with solar panel electricity.

Step 1

Determine your solar panels’ efficiency rate. The amount of energy that can be taken in and converted into electrical energy per solar panel is its efficiency. For photovoltaic solar cells, efficiency can reach about 19 percent. But for concentrated photovoltaic cell panels or CPV panels, the efficiency can exceed 40 percent. Whether you are creating your own panels or purchasing pre-made panels, determine the efficiency per cell of the panels you plan to install. Keep in mind when choosing what type of panels to use that CPV panels usually require more work to set up, and more land, as they are designed to concentrate sunlight on a specific panel.

Step 2

Size the area for your solar panels. Determine how many panels can fit on your designated area while taking into account the terrain, local construction laws, and other spacing issues. Solar panels come in several types and dimensions but, as an example, 100-200W solar panels usually measure 1 square meter in size.

Step 3

Calculate the energy per acre. On average, 1 square meter of solar panels directly exposed to sunlight will receive about 1-kilowatt hour (kW/h) of energy per hour for the six hours it is exposed to effective sunlight, or 6-kilowatt hours of solar energy a day. One acre is approximately 4,046 square meters, so if you have an acre’s worth of solar cells, then you will receive about 4,046 kilowatt hours of electricity each hour, or 24,276-kilowatt hours a day.

Step 4

Multiply the energy you receive by the efficiency of your solar panels to discover how much usable electricity you can yield. If your solar panels are 19 percent efficient and you receive 24,276 kilowatt hours a day of solar energy, then you will receive about 4,612-kilowatt hours of usable electricity through solar energy.

Step 5

Subtract your maximum potential energy needs from the amount of energy being produced. You can find out how much energy you use by looking at a past electric bill or calling up the company that services your electricity directly. But for a general idea, the average American family uses about 920-kilowatt hours of electricity per month. So if you produced approximately 4,612-kilowatt hours of usable electricity per day, you would produce enough energy in a day to run four average households for a month.

References

The Advantages & Disadvantages of Grid Connected (Grid-tie) Systems

Photovoltaic cells are the main ingredient of all photovoltaic solar energy systems, turning sunlight directly into electricity. Since the first silicon photovoltaic cells were discovered in the 1950s, technological developments have improved performance and transformed solar energy capabilities. An increasingly viable and popular renewable energy source, grid-connected photovoltaic systems grabbed a 75 percent share of U.S. installations in 2009, up from 31 percent in 2001.

Grid Connected Basic Facts

General household electrical systems and appliances need alternating current power.

Being grid-connected means that a solar photovoltaic system is linked directly to the available electrical grid or utility lines. A connected system comprises a photovoltaic panel or set of panels that directly convert sunlight into electricity. The size of the system dictates how independent from the grid it’s possible to be. Grid-connected systems need inverters to convert direct current into alternating current usable electricity. The inverter connects to the main electrical supply with a meter showing the number of generated kilowatt hours. Excess electricity can be sold back to the grid.

Constant Reliable Power

Grid-connected photovoltaic systems guarantee a home always has access to power, even if the solar energy fails or is insufficient. The system’s inverter connects to a battery bank that can store energy to be used in a power failure. An advantage of grid-connected systems is that they are not dependent on the sun shining. Off-grid photovoltaic energy is only intermittent but grid-connected systems ensure that any additional electricity needed is automatically delivered by the grid.

Financial Benefits Of Grid Connected Systems

More than 35 states now have “net metering” legislation, meaning that householders benefit from selling excess energy back to the grid at normal retail prices. The Department of Energy notes that this puts people in Hawaii and New York at a great advantage because of the high retail electric rates. State and federal incentives include sales tax exemptions on the systems themselves, property tax exemptions, and personal state income tax credits.

As well to lower energy bills, grid-connected solar systems can add overall value to properties too. A federal study of California homes revealed that a 3,100-kilowatt hour system increases the home’s value by an average of $17,000.

Disadvantages Of Being Grid Connected

Installing solar systems near existing utility power lines means that photovoltaic generated electricity costs more than that supplied by conventional methods. At its cheapest, solar energy is estimated to be 25 cents per kilowatt hour — generally between double and quadruple the cost of utility-supplied electricity. Initial costs are high so in practice installing a grid-connected solar system is like paying your electricity bill up front, years in advance.

The permits and legal requirements for installing grid-connected systems can be costly, complex, and time-consuming. While national standards are beginning to be adopted, many regional agencies have different legislative procedures so the best starting point is the local city or county building department.

References & Resources

What Are the Best Solar Panels for Low Light?

The standard formula for rating solar panels looks at the amount of power the unit produces in full sunlight at 77 degrees Fahrenheit. However, many homeowners in northern latitudes might only reach that optimal standard for solar collection a few days per year. Suppose you live in an area where sunlight is weakened by such factors as inclement weather and the earth’s tilt, yet wish to take as full advantage of solar power as possible. In that case, you need solar panels that are optimized for better efficiency under substandard conditions.

Monocrystalline Panels

Of the three basic solar panel types–monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous–monocrystalline is the most efficient in collecting solar energy and therefore somewhat more effective in regions with low sunlight. As the name suggests, they are made from a single large silicon crystal cut from an ingot. Polycrystalline panels use many small crystals to form the collection surface, while amorphous, or thin film, solar panels consist of silicon particles applied to the surface of large plates. Monocrystalline panels, while more efficient, are only slightly so. They are also the most expensive of the three types.

Hybrid Panels

Some manufacturers, including industry leader Sanyo technologies, have combined monocrystalline and amorphous thin film to produce a hybrid panel that Sanyo has dubbed Heterojunction with an Intrinsic Thin Layer (HIT). According to Sanyo’s marketing literature, these hybrid panels “boast high conversion efficiency ranging from 15.3 to 16.4, excellent temperature characteristics, and considerable output under diffuse and low light conditions.” Sanyo’s 190-watt photovoltaic (PV) module has earned a 17.4 percent efficiency rating, well above the industry average of 12 percent.

High-Powered Panels

Industry experts consider solar panels with a collection capacity of greater than 100 watts to be high-powered. The wattage of a panel describes the amount of power the panel can produce in full sunlight at 77 F. The selection of high-powered panels compatible with the typical household 12-volt system dwindles as the wattage soars upward because the highest powered panels are designed for grid-tie systems rather than stand-alone systems, which deposit the power in a battery storage bank. You must also keep in mind that two panels with lower wattage will add up to the same collection capacity and be less expensive. In the case of solar panels, bigger does not automatically equate to better.

More Options

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Efficiency & Renewable Energy Program (EERE), established to develop innovations in the solar panel field, is working to optimize solar collector efficiency. One example is an experiment using a MicroDish composed of a concentration of Spectrolab solar cells–ultra-high-efficiency cells–in which EERE tested the use of mirrors designed to multiply the sun’s power. This application is intended “to substantially increase the viability of PV for cost-competitive applications.”

 

Detail of pattern of solar panels

Image Credit: Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images

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