With the various solar batteries available in the market. You can get solar batteries of different size. The solar batteries varies from small, medium and large. The size of the batteries determine the capacity, and the voltage.
In this article, we will look at the different sizes of solar batteries and how the size affect the functionality of this batteries. By the end of the article, you will be able to know what size of solar batteries you need for your home solar PV system.
What are the dimensions of a solar battery?
Solar batteries come in small, medium and large batteries. The size of the battery will determine the price, capacity and the voltage of the battery. You can also estimate how long your solar battery can hold power based on the size.
A 12V solar battery with a capacity of 200aH comes in 20.75 inches x 8.11 inches x 9.65 inches. This lithium-ion solar battery has 6 cells.
The table below indicates the different sizes of solar batteries from Dakota with their respective Voltage, capacity and dimensions.
| Solar battery | Dimension s(inches) |
| 12V 7Ah | 5.94” x 2.55” x 3.74” |
| 12V 10Ah | 5.94” x 2.55” x 3.78” |
| 12V 18Ah | 5.94″x 3.95″x 3.78″ |
| 12V 23Ah | 7.12” x 3.03” x 6.57” |
| 12V 54Ah | 7.12” x 3.03” x 6.57” |
| 12V 100Ah | 12.99”x 6.77”x 8.66” |
As seen from the table above, the higher the capacity of the battery , the larger the dimension and also the more the price. This means large batteries can hold power for long.
Batteries with large capacity will take longer to charge fully. This is dependent on the size of solar panel. So how do you size a solar panel battery?
How do you size a solar panel battery?
Although the solar panel and the solar battery are not the same size, the amount of power needed to power your home is used to calculate the sizes of each.
The sizing of the solar panel is determined by the load of the in kilowatts per hour to power your home.
Once you know the power needed you can therefore decide what size of solar battery you need. You will also use this data to decide the number of solar panels you need.
How to calculate battery storage capacity?
Knowing the capacity of your solar battery can help prevent unexpected blackout
- To calculate the capacity of the solar battery you need to know the load requirement per day.
- You will then have to know the type of battery you are using.
- Incase you want to know the amount of energy tour solar battery can hold for three days without charging the battery. Multiply the total daily load by 3.
Battery Capacity = Total daily load power requirements (Wh) × 3
Conclusion
The size of your solar batteries will determine how long your solar batteries can hold power. For example large batteries with a large capacity will last longer than a battery with less capacity.
Large solar batteries will also cost more than smaller solar batteries.
Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as a Solar Electrical Engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.
