1. WHEN trying to find out lithium battery factory was founded, you can inquire about how long they have been in business, how long they have been serving the lithium battery industry, and whether they have supplied batteries to major OEM customers. You can also ask if they offer a combination of battery types, such as liquid-rich lead-acid, AGM, AGV Battery, and lithium-ion batteries. If the supplier is an emerging company, just starting out in the new energy space, or has not yet supplied batteries to OEMs, you may want to consider further.
Are you interested in learning more about lifepo4 battery energy storage system supplier? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
In contrast, well-established and experienced companies are familiar with the lithium battery industry, and they manufacture and sell a diverse range of lithium battery products. These companies typically have a deep understanding of the issues that can affect battery performance and life, and have incorporated solutions to these issues into their products.
2. HOW long have you been working in lithium ion technology? Again, if the answer is only a few years, then the company probably has a lot to learn.
3. WHAT kind of customer support do you offer? Make sure the company has customer support hotlines in the U.S. and Europe staffed by real people who can answer questions and help your technicians solve problems. Ask if 24/7 support is available and if the staff includes a representative responsible for lithium-ion products. Many newcomers to the market simply do not have the infrastructure to provide this level of service.
4. HOW do you support the distributors who sell your products? You don’t want to lose contact with a vendor simply after selling a product. To avoid endless phone calls and long wait times, you should look for manufacturers that maintain systematic communication with their dealers. Ask if the manufacturer has a network of authorized dealers through which it trains dealers to sell its products and provides them with the information and materials they need.
5. HOW do you ensure the quality and certification of your batteries? It takes a lot of time to find a reliable Lithium Battery Supplier in a vast network. Whether you are an engineer or have customization needs, high quality lithium batteries with full certification are essential. Ask the supplier what type of cells they use, there are three types of cells: steel casing cylindrical, soft pack aluminum-plastic film and square aluminum casing.
Ask if they are ISO:9001 certified and if they are licensed according to the requirements of your local market.
6. WHAT makes your batteries different from others in terms of design and engineers? Look for products with UL1973 certificationand at least an IP67 rating. This helps protect the battery from vibration, water and dust damage and can extend its life. Make sure the battery is recessed and modular and expandable.
Ask how the design of the battery moves the harmful heat it generates away from the battery. Most Lithium Battery Supplier accomplish this with inexpensive components called heat sinks because they are easy to make and add.
But heat sinks shouldn’t be the only method of heat management. Well-made batteries reduce the amount of heat generated and are designed to cool naturally. This requires more engineering expertise, but it can improve efficiency, increase safety and extend battery life.
7. WHAT safety features are built into your batteries? Look for batteries that use lithium iron phosphate, one of the most stable lithium-ion battery chemistries. Make sure your Lithium Battery Supplier is using a good BMS. lithium iron phosphate batteries have a BMS protection board that can instantly and accurately grasp the status of the battery. During the charging and discharging process, it collects the terminal voltage, temperature, charging and discharging current and total voltage of each battery in the battery pack in real time, so as to prevent the battery from overcharging or over-discharging. This in turn improves the efficiency and service life of the entire lithium battery.
Stocking batteries based on pricing alone is a big mistake that could affect your profits. Be sure to compare manufacturers’ experience, support services and products. Investing a little time in your decision making can pay big dividends in sales, service and customer satisfaction.
Because of the growing number of performance rating schemes and/or ways to value your buying decision in the market today, it has become difficult to make a decision that doesn’t come with some form of buyer’s remorse at a later date. The following are some of the more obvious things to watch out for when buying:
Some companies have invented their own rating system by recognizing that the process of comparing deep-cycle batteries should be simplified. An American-based manufacturer of batteries invented a new labelling system incorporating the “Lifetime Energy Unit” (LEU). This was their attempt to help a buyer determine the lifetime performance and value of any given battery in the market. Simply stated, and in the words of the SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA. Manufacturer, “Lifetime Energy Units " signifies the kilowatt-hours of energy a battery delivers over its lifetime. The bigger the number, the total work the battery can perform. Before introducing LEUs, accurately determining battery performance and value required complex calculations. Engineers compute the true worth of a battery as the total energy it contains, measured in kilowatt-hours (KWH). To derive a number for KWH, they build a curve that profiles the relationship between runtime and the number of cycles. The area under the curve is the total energy the battery delivers over its lifetime. When amp-hours are multiplied by battery voltage, the result is the battery's capacity in watt-hours. The next step - comparing a battery's value - is also simplified. By dividing the LEU by the battery's price, the prospective purchaser obtains a value figure (energy units per dollar) that ensures an apples-to-apples comparison between competing products.”
Discover ultimately rejects this position. As with the variations in determining Reserve Capacity and Cranking Amps mentioned earlier, this is NOT a recognized Battery Council International (BCI) method for rating or comparing batteries as suggested by the manufacturer. The manufacturer leaves out the exact method of determining LEUs, for an exact comparison to be done, which was their stated purpose for establishing the rating. This creates a situation where two suppliers could use two sets of methodologies to determine their respective LEUs, making reasonable comparisons impossible. This implies that the LEU idea or concept is simply a marketing tool with no real scientific basis for engineers, as the manufacturer suggests.
LEUs – as a way of helping buyers make an informed decision – would work very well if the buyer was given some additional pieces of data (data that IS available from other manufacturers and that could be used to make meaningful comparisons):
For more information, please visit what is c&i energy.
In addition to the problems listed above for making good performance comparisons amongst different batteries, using the LEU marketing tool to make a serious value comparison is equally flawed. The value comparison requires more detail. Some, but certainly not all, of the issues to be examined and required in determining value are:
If these data were known, the buyer could then determine the true energy units per dollar or lifetime energy value as suggested by the manufacturer who introduced the LEU calculation.
What to consider when buying a deep-cycle battery
It is our opinion that to determine the actual best “bang for your buck” for batteries in cycling applications, you should gather the following information and perform the following calculations:
Information gathering before buying? Determine the amount of energy the battery will deliver in its life using test procedures recognized by worldwide manufacturers and published in the BCI technical manual. This information should be available from all manufacturers and should include the following:
NOTE: Different types of batteries use test procedures that allow different end-of-life criteria. For example, an electric vehicle or standard deep-cycle product would be considered at its end of life when it could not deliver 50% of its rated capacity. At the same time, a golf cart battery would not be determined to be at its end of life until it could produce at least 1.75 volts per cell during 40 minutes of discharge at 75 amperes.
Determine the number of times the battery will be serviced in its lifetime, as the manufacturer recommends. It is important to use the manufacturer's recommended service schedule. For time/cost analysis, we recommend you use an average of 10 minutes per service per battery.
Determine the average per hour/minute labour costs in your organization. This number varies by region and industry - should not include anything but direct labour costs. You can safely use a figure of $18.00 - $25.00 per hour ($.30 - $.42 per minute) (2003 dollars) without benefits etc. One transit authority stated that their direct labour cost associated with maintaining batteries in each transit bus was $180.00 per year; another stated it was as high as $550 per battery. We suggest using $22.00 as an average hourly cost ($.367 per minute).
Cost of service materials over the life of the battery, such as; distilled or specially treated water - using a per cell fluid usage by volume of 20% on an average cell volume of 2.35l/80oz and a 75% consumption efficiency or between $.02-$.04 per oz. Battery fluid volumes are as low as 5l/169oz and as high as 16l/540oz; cleaning and neutralizing agents at 1oz per battery or $.25 per battery per service; special clothing; repair and replacement of battery boxes and trays and more.
Cost Per Battery
Calculating Cost to Own
Estimate the cost of materials used when servicing the battery as the manufacturer recommends. For comparison, it is reasonable to use just $1.70 each time for distilled water, cleaning and neutralizing agents and ignore the other variable costs. Multiply this amount by the years the manufacturer says the battery will last in the application. Multiply the result by the number of times the manufacturer says the battery should be serviced per year to achieve the published life expectancy. Our experience shows that most manufacturers will recommend your service flooded batteries at least once a month.
Two of the “World's” leading manufacturers and sellers of Flooded, GEL and AGM Deep-cycle batteries state the following on their websites: “Flooded batteries need water. More importantly, watering must be done at the right time and in the right amount or the battery’s performance and longevity suffers. Water should always be added after fully charging the battery. Before charging, there should be enough water to cover the plates.” This would suggest that the world’s leading manufacturers of flooded deep-cycle batteries recommend that service is required, particularly as the battery ages, BEFORE and AFTER every charge/discharge cycle. In some cases, they suggest that failing to do so will void the warranty. If you cycle the battery two times per week, the battery will last approximately three years following the manufacturer's recommended service procedures. This means your per battery service material costs will be at least $1.70 x 12 services per year x 3 years = $61.20. If you serve as the manufacturers suggest, it will be as much as $1.70 x 104 services per year x 3 years = $530.40. Our experience shows that for a battery to last three years when being cycled two times per week, it needs to be serviced at least once every four cycles or bi-monthly. $1.70 x 3 years x 26 services = $132.60 per battery. Every user of deep-cycle batteries is familiar with dried “rotten egg” smelling batteries, the result of NOT maintaining a proper service schedule over the battery's life.
NOTE: when asked, more than 80% of equipment managers could not produce or describe a “battery service schedule” - for equipment under their supervision that uses cycling batteries.
In our opinion, if you were to match a quality flooded battery against a Discover Semi Traction EV Dry Cell AGM or GEL battery of the same size and AH rating for use in the same application, you would find the total cost of ownership to be higher for the flooded battery option. Discover Semi Traction EV Dry Cell AGM or GEL batteries require less service, and as a result, with proper charging methods, Discover batteries will out-value flooded batteries. It is more likely that the standards of service for the flooded batteries will not be met in the real world. Therefore, it will not meet the manufacturer's required levels to achieve maximum life.
Additionally, when considering flooded versus Dry Cell AGM or GEL, one must also consider other inconveniences and/or costs associated with servicing, working with or having sensitive equipment around flooded batteries. These would include, but are not limited to:
We feel the more competitive and demanding the channel (jobber/installer/large user/rental equipment), the more compelling and feasible the switch to Discover Semi Traction EV Dry Cell AGM or GEL batteries becomes. The larger the bank of batteries used, the more important costs associated with service and the more compelling and feasible the switch to Discover batteries becomes.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of lifepo4 battery energy storage system suplier. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.