Auxiliary Batteries for Remote Power Systems

Batteries for remote storage can range from tiny AAA electronics batteries weighing less than an ounce to large glass matrix battery banks weighing hundreds of pounds.

A common size of battery used to compare remote power systems is a 125 amp-hour, 12 volt, deep cycle glass matrix battery. Amp-hour is short for ampere-hour and is abbreviated in a variety of ways including, Ah, ahr, Ahr.

150 ahr capacity recommended battery
 

It is similar to a normal SUV battery and can function as the battery for a car, truck or SUV. The important difference is that it is designed to be deeply discharged many times without damage. A normal vehicle battery will be damaged if it is deeply discharged only a few times.

Here are the reasons this is a good battery to use for comparing various systems:

• This size battery is about the maximum that one person can move around. It weighs about 60 pounds.
• A good 40 watt solar panel will charge this battery to full capacity in a couple of sunny days and maintain a charge on it indefinetely.
• A vehicle power system or small generator will charge it in a few hours if it is hooked up correctly.
• A bank of these can be used to completely power a small cabin or RV. (For larger systems usually lower voltage batteries are used in series.)
• This is a battery and will last for years, even if being deeply disharged often.
• This size battery is very flexible and can be set in parallel to add capacity to a system.