Lithium vs AGM Batteries: What's Best For Off-Grid Solar Power Systems? Comparison & Breakdown 

Hello, I have been using 12x 12v 200ah (48v) VARTA lead acid truck batteries for over 10 years and there haven't been any issues with their capacity. In the winter, I run my aircon heat pump 24/7 and use a fireplace to heat my house, and in the summer, I occasionally cool with the heat pump. In addition, I have a large refrigerator, a 50L boiler, lighting, house ventilation, a dishwasher, washing machine, TV, amplifiers, a computer, a laptop, and many other... Power-hungry devices only run when there is plenty of sunshine. It's been almost 11 years since I last paid for electricity, and my average monthly electricity consumption is 250-300kw. I also have a 3kw solar array connected to charger. The batteries cost €1700 and have long since paid for themselves.

I have been running marine agm batteries for 7 years with no fails and need only basic components to do this, no need to monitor basic power MPPT controllers works ,I run 12 batteries witch powers my home lights tv,pellet stove, internet, and charges around 14 Makita batteries 24/7 ,fans , all my kitchen tools like blenders and such for 7 years so far with no real drop in battery life......

I've been running a used 200ah agm for 5 yrs now. Bought it 2 years after being pulled from back up power bank!

Wow .... right to the point! In that regard, best RU-vid video I have ever seen.

Omg thank you! Now I have a clear choice LifePO4 for my off-grid!

Lithium batteries have not been in high production long enough to know if they will reach warranty periods. And models show lead acid batteries if maintained last at least half as long if not more, so considering cost is less than half on average, they are often cheaper over all than lithium. Personally i have been off grid solar for 35 years. I had lead acid batteries which lasted 16 years & were still working at nearly 100% capacity when wild fire took them. They had regularly been used to almost zero capacity thousands of cycles & still lasted 16 years. So i think all the models used by lithium battery companies to disclaim other batteries are a bit fanciful & hold little weight compared to my 16 year experiance.

Last year I replaced my 4x 6v GC2 bank with 4x AGM's. So I deal with the 50% rule. Big deal, been doing that for over a decade. I will not consider lithium because of winter temps. Cheers.

You also have the option of OPVZ gel cells. They can handle thousands of charge-discharge cycles at a 70% DOD. Their projected life is about the same as a Lithium but at a lower cost. Yes, they are big and heavy, but once they are installed there is no reason to move them. CiYi makes some good military quality ones.

Saying LifePO4 battery will last 10-20 years is misleading! The battery chemistry in theory sure, however there is a complicated electronic BMS with hundreds of electronic components that can fail within the battery. The battery electronics are usually under warranty for 1-2 years for most brands. I've owned plenty of electronics that don't last more than 3-6 years. Think of modern LED light bulbs that have 30'000 hour rated LEDs. The LED driver electronics fail far before the LED. That might be the case with some BMS.

great explanation, thank you

Excellent video about batteries details

Pretty good video you’re just forget to mention about the fire risk of lithium iron

The standard convention for SLA is 10 to 15 years and I have been doing off grid batteries for over 26 years now. I still prefer now lithium - but your comment about only lasting 2-3 years is rubbish !

Amp hours is confusing to me. I want to replace my 4 ea 6V agm 400ah batteries with lithium, do I have to match the amp hours?

Lithium batteries go Boom!

I have a 2003 club car ds GAS , thinking about putting in a lithium battery, your recommended,

Very good

Thanks for this

Into 8th year with 105 ahr led acid battery. 300 wts solar in full time living in camper. It's only powered down to cut off 3 times. Paid $375. Cheaper batteries 4 years. Bought lithium battery ALDI $410 18 months ago expecting to use it soon. But still not needed.

Didn't realize how fast 8 years went by on my AGM batteries. They were great, mostly had them in float mode and rarely used it to power up the house, wanted to save it in case of an emergency. Yhea,,,,,, well recently I noticed on inverter power I got about 15 min of run time. That's using 16 125ah bats in 24v mode.. Researched everything but the lifespan. Never got a real time use of my system btw living in florida.

Lithium requires more expensive bms, and lead carbon agm batteries have a very good lifespan.

DOD of a good quality AGM battery is up to 80%. And if well looked after you can expect 10-15 years. So for $800.00 you're getting 320ah and no risk of fire. Size and weight do not matter for home use.

I got a 4d battery at Royal king for $170 and doing good on the camper

Is there a minimum voltage that you can discharge the lithium batteries too? Or can you discharge it to 0 volts?

Bought a Van already built with the AGM. We picked up a Lithium version to replace it. While I have this AGM sitting around I'm thinking about just putting it in my Tacoma back seat to run my Dometic CFX35 full-time charge it via Alternator. Instead of having to swap my Jackery and Goal Zero out every 3-5 days. Anyone doing something similar or think I'd have an issue with this?

When you said "footprint" I figured you were going to talk about the carbon footprint. And than you started measuring lol

thank you

whats the point of agm batteries larger capacity if you cant use it beyond 50%

Thium batteris hurst in flames when overheat , lead acid batteries dont ill use lead acid

I need it to work in the cold so AGM is best. If I lived in a warm place I'd get Li

7 yrs vs price,,,,, bravo for overlooking that...

Can agm battery be repaired

If Lead Acid batteries can only be discharged 50%, why do we still have to calculate with 2,400W which is it’s 100% capacity while designing a solar array to charge it? Why not 1,200W?

Hi.....please if I have three 12.8v 100AH lithium....and have em connected in series to have 300AH...how will I charge em...like how many amp charger should I use ...remember the battery each has BMS inside

Price point. My 4x100ah are about 5 years old. Can't keep my small refrigerator on all night. They work fine still for lights, pumps and music. ? Should I make the switch and isolate my ac needs come from a separate battery bank. I can add lipo little by little if more is required as my agms die?

I bought a 12V 200ah AGM battery about 15 months ago, I have a 60A MPPT CC and 2 160W 12V panels. Every day the panels charge the battery and at night for approx 9 hours I power three 5M LED light strings, battery starts of at approx 12.8V and after 9 hours use the voltage is 12.4V......or at least that's what WAS the case for 14 months. Last week I noticed that the battery voltage was 12.1V at the end of the night, now I can't use the lights for 9 hours; after about 5 or 6 hours the voltage has already dropped to 11.5V, although when I switch the LEDs off the battery voltage jumps to 12.6V......seems my Chinese made AGM battery is nearing the end after a mere 14 months!!!!!!!! Anyone have any suggestions?

What about the issue of easily igniting into fire, which of the 2 is more prone to ignite?

how many lithium battery of 48v 100ah do I need if I have 18 solar panel 550w?

My question is don’t AGM outperform lead acid? And can’t you use the AGM better for solar and doesn’t it also allow you to drain it further and doesn’t it charge faster than let acid?

How about the charging speed isn't agm 10c meaning needs 10 hours to discharge?

how come amg does better in the cold?

Well, the "absolute lowest DOD" of the AGM is not 100Ah. Looking at cycle life charts for that battery I'm sure that even frequent 70% Discharge still gets you that same 4 or 5 years of battery life out of that AGM. Look, I have "Lithium" or LiFePO4 batteries so, I know all the pluses - but to claim that 50% DOD is the absolute minimum is just not correct and you shouldn't be stating that it is - to do so makes your entire presentation suspect for lack of honesty.

Thank you. Yes it has been very helpful. I am running 100w solar panel on a 200 ah agm battery. I want to replace this with a lithium battery. Do they come with higher ah's than 200? I want to run a maxi fan and wall fan at night as well as a fridge. Thanks in advance.

One thing you didn't mention, You replace the lead acid battery for free before the warranty expires. Been doing it for decades. Use the warranty. Save your money.

So why don’t laptop batteries stop working good after a year maybe 2

the uptalk is out of control guys

How safe is a lithium battery in a conversion trailer.fire risk is my main question

Will zero-degree temperature damage a Lithium Battery?

If all the hype is true about lithium batteries how come my cellphone battery only lasts 2 years?

132lbs defeated you?

AGM battery get damage faster in my country.Imagin 200Ah cannot run a 160watt load for 24hrs.

You are a bit confused, but it's ok

Here's the deal breaker. Which ones Safer?

Don’t the lithium batteries explode?

NO DUDE..IT IS THE SAFETY ......LITHIUM BLOWS UP.

So in Africa where it it hot most times, i think i should buy Lithium.

Just subbed one thing is missing i think is that in 5 years the battery of the acid will be much cheaper than todays prices

What a load of crap omg. You shouldn’t use the top 20% of a lithium battery. The batteries are usually the same size. Ten years for a AGM. You’re keeping them in a room, the weight doesn’t matter. The cost bs. You can also buy used 1 yr old ups 200 amp hour agms for $75. 5000 wh lithiums are $2000!!!

Lead acid is not suitable for off grid storage. The cost per watt is higher over the lifetime and they only produce 1/5 their "rated" capacity.

Bsr

lithium batteries are becoming fire hazards ?????

Once you've actually witnessed a fire department try to extinguish a lithium battery fire you'd think twice about using them in your rv. The RV fire i witnessed took out a 30 foot class c rv in minutes. The batteries had just been installed the solar was charging them. The owner had left with snother RVer to have breakfast. The fire started in the battery box which is in the steps of the entry. The rv was totally engulfed in flames in under 3.minutes. by the time the fire fighters got there the RV had burned completely down to the frame. That experience was enough for me to know im not doing lithium batteries anytime soon. Besides my rig was designed for lead acid batteries. Keep it simple.

That’s a dumb question

Which one might catch fire??? Ev car fires are horrific, are these the same. ? Old person with no tech knowledge asking😅

Lol, Why buy sealed AGM, buy the ones u can replenish with Acid and Water, Obviously you don't know anything about Deep Cycle Car or Truck Batteries...Also, Lithium can not work on extreme Cold and Hot Weather....c'mon man next time make a video that is "TRUE and Un BIASED.....For Example, I had a 2003 Mercedes E500, yup the battery lasted longer than the car...

This video is shocking

So can i change a lythium ad -30 agm lead carbon can charge no problem