If you’re considering adding a solar battery bank to your solar power system, it’s important to choose the right battery. This means more than choosing between different brands; you’ll also need to decide which chemical composition you want your battery to have. If that sounds intimidating, you’re not alone. There are several different types of battery compositions out there, and understanding them all can be difficult. This blog will provide more information on AGM batteries and their pros and cons so that you can make a more informed decision.
What Are They?
AGM batteries are a type of lead-acid battery that are commonly used in cars. However, they’ve more recently started being used in solar power systems to provide solar energy storage. AGM stands for absorbed glass mat, which refers to a key physical feature within the battery—namely, a glass mat that plays a key role in the chemical reactions within the battery.
How Do They Work?
AGM batteries and other lead-acid battery varieties are a part of the “recombinant” battery family. This phrase means that they work by breaking apart and recombining oxygen and hydrogen molecules. To release energy for use, they break apart those molecules; to store power, they recombine the oxygen and hydrogen cells, which is where the term “recombinant” comes from.
Rather than digging into the technical details of how the glass mat functions within these chemical reactions, suffice it to say that the absorbed glass mat allows for more power to be packed into the battery housing than can be achieved with other lead-acid batteries.
How Do They Compare to Lead-Acid?
As stated above, AGM batteries are a type of lead-acid battery, so you might be wondering how this specific variety compares to other lead-acid batteries. One of the key differences is in the level of maintenance that they require. Standard lead-acid batteries are flooded, which means you’ll have to check water levels regularly and deal with expelled gases from time to time. This is not a concern with AGM batteries; they’re a low-maintenance alternative to standard lead-acid batteries. Plus, as mentioned above, they can house more power than their cousins. The amount of energy an AGM battery can provide increases further if you opt for a model that provides a higher depth of discharge; these are known as deep cycle batteries.
If you’re looking for a reliable and low-maintenance battery that can store more power for your home, an AGM deep cycle battery is an excellent choice to consider for your solar power system.
