Here are some questions you may have about our products. Have a read through and we hope that we will answer most of your concerns. However, if there are any other questions you have then please get in touch directly.
Do I require solar to load shift?
No solar is not a requirement, the minimum hardware you need would be:
- An inverter/charger (Like Victron Multi/Quatro)
- A battery or batteries (depending on usage)
- A means of control to schedule charging and display the current status of the battery such as CCGX / Gerbo if using Victron hardware
The great thing with these batteries is that you can use solar or mains power. By using cheaper power that is off-peak or free solar, you can save money on your energy bills.
Do the 48100 batteries require venting?
Unlike lead acid batteries, our LiFePO4 batteries do not need venting. They will not release gasses under normal operation even during typical cold or warm weather. There is however a safety valve which will release internal pressure if they reach an abnormal condition. This is a useful safety mechanism but is not for regular use.
What type of cells are they?
The cells are Prismatic Grade A EVE LF105 LiFePO4.
Can I use the EVE48100 batteries in low temperatures?
The normal operating temperatures we recommend are between 11 to 44oC. Use indoors in the UK would fall within this range. It is possible to use the batteries in low temperatures, but it is important to abide by the charge and discharge rate at lower temperatures than 10oc or higher than 45oc, to preserve the service life. You can find more information on the data sheet we provide with the battery. All our Batteries come with the charge limit enabled, this means that the BMS in each battery will limit the charge current to 20A so the battery should never accept more than 20Amp charge even if more is available, that also means that the extended operating temperature is 0 – 44 oC with no communication connections needed to the charger or inverter. Essentially a stand alone self managed Battery that will work with any inverter that is capable of operation without communication.
Can I connect the 48100 batteries in parallel?
Yes, you can connect the batteries in parallel as long as the connection DC cables are of adequate cross section. If using RS485 Communication for point-to-point connection, then you can connect a maximum of 15 individual batteries in parallel.
Can I connect these batteries in series?
No, we do not recommend series connection for these batteries. However parallel use is fine.
What Does Grade A mean ?
Grade A basically means that the cells are guaranteed to hold the stated capacity and has passed the quality control with flying colours, this is important as sometimes cheaper variants could be the cells that did not make the Grade A status and typically those cells can have a capacity of 90% and below. Also cell matching is important in batteries that are in series ( inside the battery to give the 48V ) as these must be balanced as close as possible for internal resistance. This is why we have the batteries made by the manufacturer EVE.
High Frequency / Low Frequency inverters, What’s the difference ?
High frequency inverters tend to be smaller and lighter, this is because they use smaller and lighter transformers which run at a higher frequency. High frequency inverters tend to have more electronic components inside, these are suited to solar inverters. Another good point is HF inverters tend to have a higher conversion efficiency.
Low frequency inverters tend to have a large transformer’s which can handle larger surges (like motor starts and such), larger transformers are needed for lower frequency inverters to give the required output. Low frequency inverters tend to handle peak power and power spikes better. The larger transformers mean more weight, also power factor is usually lower on LF inverters which means a lower output wattage.
Design Life 10 Years ?
Our EVE 48100 Batteries have been designed with a 10 year life span, this means that if the batteries are charged/discharged and stored within specification they should provide a 10 – 15 year working life. If charged once a day for 10 years that would be 3600 cycles, 15 years would be 5400 cycles which is absolutely possible.