I found this really interesting article by Nigel Calder in a recent Ocean Navigator.
I think we will definitely be getting a couple or 3 of these batteries for power storage on the boat
Being able to recharge batteries quickly and more efficiently is a make or break issue as far as self sufficient energy systems go.
The whole problem of electrical power and technology on boats is one I have been thinking and reading about for some time.
We currently live in a house that relies totally on solar panels and a small backup generator for electrical power. We run a good sized inverter to supply 240 volts for power appliances, while our lights are 12v LED.
A key part of a stand alone power system is the regulator. This is responsible for managing the relationship between the electrical storage (batteries) and the electrical generation (solar power or generator etc).
Our original system used a standard older style regulator that required a voltage input that exactly managed the battery bank voltage, in our case 48v DC.
This is not very efficient. It means that power generated at the panels has to be transferred at a relatively low voltage and high current to the battery bank, and the charging voltage was always limited by the existing battery bank voltage.
We upgraded our system last year, and the new regulator does a much better job. Basically, the new regulator is able to accept wide range of input voltages, and adjust charging voltage and current to the batteries to achieve maximum charging efficiency. In the new system power is transferred from the panels to the regulator at up to 120v DC, which means much more efficient transfer.
Serious power - the regulator is in the middle, the inverter on the left
On a cloudy day we are getting 102v at 6.9A in, and the batteries are getting 55.5v at 12.4A