Lecture 11 - Battery Storage Part 2: Alan P. Morrison October 12, 2015

Other battery types Life-cycle costing
Lecture 11 - Battery Storage Part 2
Alan P. Morrison
October 12, 2015
Alan P. Morrison
Lecture 11 - Battery Storage Part 2 1 / 22
Table of contents
1 Other battery types
2 Life-cycle costing
Alan P. Morrison
Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)
Commonly used as rechargeable batteries for consumer

devices.
Suitable for PV systems in cold climates.
Nominal cell voltage: 1.2 V.
Numerous advantages over Lead-acid:
▶ can be overcharged without causing difficulty.
▶ can be fully discharged (no need to oversize battery).
▶ more rugged and have excellent low-temperature
performance (can even be frozen without damage).
▶ have low internal resistance.
▶ can be charged at a much higher rate.
Alan P. Morrison
Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd)
Advantages, continued...:
▶ maintain a uniform voltage during discharge.
▶ have a longer life.
▶ have low maintenance requirements.
▶ have low discharge rate when not in use.
They also have significant disadvantages:
▶ they are typically 2 - 3 times more expensive for the same
capacity. (May have cheaper life-cycle cost though).
▶ have lower charge storage efficiencies (∼60 - 70%).
▶ suffer memory effect if not deep discharged - should be
fully discharged.
Alan P. Morrison
Nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH)
Nominal cell voltage: 1.2 V

Can be used in any orientation.
Higher energy efficiency (∼ 80 - 90%) than NiCd.
Maximum power is lower than NiCd.
Memory effect is less.
Less tolerant of voltage reversal.
Very high cost → not likely to find widespread use in PV
Rapidly replacing NiCd in consumer portable applications.
Alan P. Morrison
Rechargeable alkaline manganese (RAM)
Nominal cell voltage: 1.5 V.

Sealed battery containing no heavy metals → low
environmental concern.
Only available as small batteries.
Have a high internal resistance.
Short cycle life for deep cycling.
May suit special applications in PV e.g. emergency
lighting, where shallow cycling is acceptable.
Alan P. Morrison
Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer
Most promising replacement for Lead-acid batteries.

Area of intense research.
3.6 V nominal cell voltage.
Sealed battery with safety vent.
Metallic lithium is highly reactive - can explode or lead to
fire.
Need to protect against overcharge, over-discharge,
over-current, short-circuit and high temperatures.
Best power density to weight ratio.
Alan P. Morrison
Problems with Lithium Ion Batteries
Alan P. Morrison
Alan P. Morrison
Alan P. Morrison
Redox-flow batteries
Use reversible reactions in liquid electrolytes.
Ion-selective membrane is used to control ion transfer
between separate solutions of the active materials.
Electrolytes are stored externally in tanks (no
self-discharge).
Vanadium and Zinc-Bromine batteries are being
developed.
Have a high cycle life, high energy density and can be fully
discharged.
Very high efficiency: Coloumbic (97%); Voltage (92%);
Energy (87%).
Require lots of maintenance.
Suffer contamination of active materials in harsh
environments.
Alan P. Morrison
Redox-flow Battery
Alan P. Morrison
Supercapacitors
Use an ion conducting membrane between electrodes

rather than dielectric.
Have long cycle life.
Low internal resistance.
Suitable for power applications.
State-of-charge directly related to voltage.
Have high self-discharge → unsuitable for long/medium
term storage.
May find applications where peak power demand is high
e.g. pump starting.
Alan P. Morrison
Supercapacitor
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost
Life-cycle cost of an item is the total cost of acquiring,

owning and operating an item over its lifetime.
It includes the initial capital purchase cost, maintenance
cost, consumables, spare parts, replacement costs etc...
To compare the true cost of ownership of two similar items
it is convenient to refer all costs to the time of acquisition.
Value of money over time is affected by the inﬂation
rate, i, and the discount rate, d.
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost
If the cost of an item were C0 at the time an investment

were made then after n years if the inflation rate was
100i% per year will be:
C(n) = C0 (1 + i)n
Similarly in N0 was invested at 100d% per year the after n

years the investment will be worth:
N (n) = N0 (1 + d)n
N.B. inflation and discount rates fluctuate (sometimes

wildly).
Alan P. Morrison
Present Worth Factor and Present Worth
If C0 = N0 then the ratio of C(n) to N (n) is a

dimensionless number, P r, the present worth factor.
( )
1+i n
Pr =
1+d
The present worth of an item is defined as the amount of

money that would need to be invested at the present time
with a return of 100d% in order to be able to purchase the
item at a future time, assuming an inflation rate of 100i%.
For the item to be purchased n years later, the present
worth is:
P W = P rC0
Alan P. Morrison
Present Worth of recurring expenses
Recurring expenses can be broken down into a series of

individual expenses at later times by summing the present
worth of each of the series.
For example, to calculate the money that must be
invested at present at an annual interest rate of 100d%
and inflation of 100i% in order to purchase fuel for n
years, assuming the year's supply of fuel is purchased at
the start of each year:
( ) ( )
1+i 1+i 2
P W = C0 + C0 + C0 +
1+d 1+d
( ) ( )
1+i 3 1 + i n−1
C0 + . . . + C0
1+d 1+d
Alan P. Morrison

Let ( )
1+i
x=
1+d
( )
P W = C0 1 + x + x2 + . . . + xn−1
Note that:
∑ ∞
1
= 1 + x + x2 + x3 + . . . = xi
1−x
i=0
Cumulative present worth factor defined as:
∑ ∞ ∑ ∞
1 1
P a = P W /C0 = − xi = − xn xi
1−x 1−x
i=n i=0
Alan P. Morrison

Can be simplified to:
1 − xn
Pa = (1)
1−x
This assumes that first purchase occurs at beginning when

item (fuel) is at its present value.
Item (fuel) is then purchased annually with last purchase
one year before system lifetime has expired.
If the recurring expense doesn't begin until the end of the
first year e.g. maintenance cost, and if the last purchase
occurs at the end of the useful life of the system then:
P a1 = x + x2 + x3 + . . . + xn
Hence:
( )
P a1 = x 1 + x + x2 + . . . + xn−1 = xP a (2)
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost (LCC)
Once the P W is known for all cost categories relating to

the purchase, maintenance and operation of an item, the
Life-cycle cost (LCC) is defined as the sum of the P W s of
all the components.
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Example
Example
Compare the life-cycle cost of a highway construction warning sign
that is PV powered vs. a petrol generator powered. The system
requires 24-hour per day operation with minimal downtime. The
load is 2 kWh per day with a 20-year lifetime. The PV system
required is a 500 W PV array costing e4 per watt, e900 for storage
batteries that need replacing every 5 years and a e300 charge
controller. System maintenance costs e100 per year. The alternative
petrol generator is 500 W and can be purchased for e250. The
generator fuel cost is e550 annually. The maintenance cost is e1500
annually for oil changes and servicing. The generator needs to be
replaced every 5 years. Assume the inflation rate is 3% and the
discount rate is 10%.
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Solution
For the PV system we need P r for 5, 10 and 15 years. The

same applies for the generator. For the PV system, P a1 is used
for maintenance costs and P a is used for generator fuel and
maintenance costs. For the given inflation and discount
figures, x=0.9364, P a=11.50 and P a1 =10.77.
Alan P. Morrison
Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Solution
Table: Comparison of LCC for PV system and generator system for

road sign
PV System Generator System
Component Initial Cost PW Component Initial Cost Annual Cost PW
Array e2000 e2000 Generator e250 e250
Controller e300 e300
Batteries e900 e900 Fuel e550 e6,325
Battery 5yr e900 e648 Gen 5yr e250 e180
Annual Mainte- e100 e1,077 Annual Mainte- e1,500 e17,250
nance nance
LCC e5,727 LCC e24,228
Alan P. Morrison

Lecture 11 - Battery Storage Part 2: Alan P. Morrison October 12, 2015

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Other battery types Life-cycle costing

Lecture 11 - Battery Storage Part 2

October 12, 2015

1 Other battery types

Commonly used as rechargeable batteries for consumer

Nominal cell voltage: 1.2 V

Rechargeable alkaline manganese (RAM)

Nominal cell voltage: 1.5 V.

Lithium-ion and Lithium Polymer

Most promising replacement for Lead-acid batteries.

Problems with Lithium Ion Batteries

Problems with Lithium Ion Batteries

Problems with Lithium Ion Batteries

Use an ion conducting membrane between electrodes

Life-cycle cost of an item is the total cost of acquiring,

If the cost of an item were C0 at the time an investment

Similarly in N0 was invested at 100d% per year the after n

N.B. inflation and discount rates fluctuate (sometimes

Present Worth Factor and Present Worth

If C0 = N0 then the ratio of C(n) to N (n) is a

The present worth of an item is defined as the amount of

Present Worth of recurring expenses

Recurring expenses can be broken down into a series of

Present Worth of recurring expenses

Cumulative present worth factor defined as:

Present Worth of recurring expenses

This assumes that first purchase occurs at beginning when

Life-cycle cost (LCC)

Once the P W is known for all cost categories relating to

Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Example

Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Solution

For the PV system we need P r for 5, 10 and 15 years. The

Life-cycle cost (LCC) - Solution

Table: Comparison of LCC for PV system and generator system for

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