Sulfation is a common problem in solar battery banks, particularly for lead-acid batteries. Unfortunately, far too few solar battery users understand what sulfation is, much less how to prevent and treat it if it does occur. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about sulfation and its impact on your solar batteries.
What Is Sulfation?
Sulfation occurs when sulfate crystals form and harden on the battery’s lead plates. While some sulfation is a perfectly normal part of battery usage, excessive buildup of these crystals can significantly reduce your battery’s performance and its overall lifespan. Sulfation appears as a buildup of white, crystal-like residue on the battery’s terminals, affecting the battery connections.
What Causes Sulfation?
Sulfation most often occurs when the battery is left in a partially charged or deeply discharged state for a long period of time. When batteries aren’t fully charged, lead sulfate crystals accumulate instead of being converted back into active materials in the charging process. Over time, these crystals will harden and become difficult—if not impossible—to remove. That leads to reduced capacity for your battery, slower charging, and eventually, battery failure. Common causes of sulfation in solar batteries include the following:
- Infrequent recharging
- Improper charge cycles
- Using a faulty charge controller
- Using a charge controller that’s not configured correctly
- Keeping the battery discharged for too long
- Not properly regulating batteries in extreme temperatures
How to Prevent Sulfation
Understanding the common causes listed above is the first step in preventing sulfation in your solar battery bank. Avoiding those common causes will greatly reduce your odds of experiencing sulfation. The first step is to keep your batteries fully charged as often as possible, and recharge them quickly when they’ve been discharged. Use a quality charge controller that’s been properly configured, and perform occasional equalization charging to help break down sulfation crystals. Use monitoring equipment to track voltage, state of charge, and other parts of your batteries’ health to prevent undercharging issues that would lead to sulfation.
Dealing with Sulfation
If sulfation has already occurred in your battery, there are a few things you can do if it’s caught early enough. Start by applying an equalization charge as mentioned above; an equalization cycle can break down softer sulfate crystals and restore battery capacity. A battery desulfator can also help; this device uses a high-frequency pulse to dissolve hardened sulfate, and some charge controllers have these desulfation devices built into them. Unfortunately, severely sulfated batteries will need to be replaced.
If you follow these tips, you can protect your Pytes energy storage products from sulfation and protect their performance while extending their lifespan.
