Facts About Lithium Vs. Lead Acid Batteries

Lead, which is the heaviest non-radioactive metal, has been the standard in batteries for decades. Why should you consider a lithium battery conversion? Here are seven features explaining the disparity between lead acid and lithium-ion batteries.

1) Weight: Lithium-ion batteries are one-third the weight of lead acid batteries.

2) Efficiency: Lithium-ion batteries are nearly 100% efficient in both charge and discharge, allowing for the same amp hours both in and out. Lead acid batteries’ inefficiency leads to a loss of 15 amps while charging and rapid discharging drops voltage quickly and reduces the batteries’ capacity.

3) Discharge: Lithium-ion batteries are discharged 100% versus less than 80% for lead acid. Most lead acid batteries do not recommend more than 50% depth of discharge.

4) Cycle Life: Lithium-ion batteries cycle 5000 time or more compared to just 400-500 cycles in lead acid. Cycle life is greatly affected by higher levels of discharge in lead acid, versus only slightly affected in lithium-ion batteries.

5) Voltage: Lithium-ion batteries maintain their voltage throughout the entire discharge cycle. This allows for greater and longer-lasting efficiency of electrical components. Lead acid voltage drops consistently throughout the discharge cycle.

6) Cost: Lithium-ion batteries are higher upfront in cost but the true cost of ownership is far less than lead acid when considering life span and performance.

7) Environmental Impact: Lithium-ion batteries are a much cleaner technology and are safer for the environment.

Though they are used to power the same applications, that is where the similarity between lithium-ion and lead acid batteries ends. Lithium batteries deliver higher-quality performance in a safer, longer-lasting package.