The battery is the power source of the robot. With the development and maturity of lithium battery technology, Lithium battery replaces lead-acid battery in most application gradually. Basically, 80% of the electronic devices on the market are powered by lithium batteries, including electric vehicles, home energy storage, and RVs.
The two most commonly used lithium batteries today are lithium ion battery and lithium iron phosphate batteries generally. Which is more suitable for you? You can refer to this article <LFP Vs NMC Battery: Complete Comparison Guide>.
What is ELB robot battery?
ELB most compact battery is the 24V 20Ah Robotic Lithium Battery, which provides 20Ah at 24V (over 500Wh), all housed in the case that weighs only 6.4kg basically. Batteries contain their own battery management systems to protect against overvoltage, undervoltage, overcurrent and overheating conditions. It automatically balances cells and modules to maximize energy use.
Types of robot battery
There are usually three types of batteries available on the market. Lead-acid, AGM battery and Lithium batteries.
Ordinary Lead Acid Battery
Lead-acid batteries are one of the most common types of batteries. They are an affordable option with a lower initial cost and can also handle the everyday use of a simple low cost robot. They usually last about 2-3 years and usually require checking your battery to make sure there is enough water in the battery. If you are running low on water, add distilled water to prevent damage to the battery.
AGM Battery
AGM battery stands for Absorbent Glass Mat. Unlike lead-acid wet batteries, these types of batteries are completely sealed. AGM batteries are more expensive than regular lead-acid batteries, but do not require any maintenance. AGM batteries usually last 3-4 years, which is a little longer than normal lead-acid batteries.
Lithium Battery
Compared with lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries can last 10 times longer while being smaller and lighter. As well as supporting 1-2 hours of fast charging time to ensure you get the most out of your adventure.
Some other notable advantages of lithium batteries include:
- Longer Lifespan
- Light weight
- temperature resistance
- 1-2 hours fast charging
- Maintenance free
- Lower cost per cycle
- Safe and & Non-hazardous
For more detail info, please read our article《The reason why we need upgrade the lead acid to lithium?》
Why choose lithium battery for my robots?
With the popularization and maturity of lithium battery technology, lithium battery deserves to be the best robot battery. The following details the reasons why we are updating lead-acid batteries to lithium batteries.
- Environmentally Friendly
- Lightweight And Compact
- High Energy Density
- Low Maintenance
- Long Lifespan
- Low Self-discharge Rate
For more details, please visit article <Benefits Of Lithium Batteries>
How long do the robot battery last?
Obviously, when someone asks me about how long do robot battery last, we should distinguish between lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries, because the lifespan of the two is very different, which is determined by the internal chemistry of the two. Below I talk about the lifespan of lithium and lead acid batteries separately.
Lifespan Of Lead Acid Robot Batteries
The above diagram is the cycle life of Trojan Deep-Cycle Gel Batteries, the lifespan is 500times@80%DOD.That means if you charge/discharge your robot one time per day, your robot battery can last 500/365=1.36years. And if you charge/discharge your robots one time per two day, your battery can last 500/365*2=2.72years.
Lifespan Of Lithium RobotBatteries
The above diagram is the cycle life of ELB Deep Cycle lithium Batteries, the lifespan is more than 6000times@80%DOD.That means if you charge/discharge your robot one time per day, your lithium battery can last 7000/365=16.43years. And if you charge/discharge your robot one time per two day, your robot lithium battery can last 7000/365*2=32.86years.
In summary,
Robot Lead-acid battery can last 1-3years
Robot Lithium battery can last 10-20 years.
How to prolong the lifespan of my robot battery?
We all know, proper maintenance of the lithium battery, and compliance with the principles of battery use, which can greatly extend the life of the lithium battery.
Improper use of the battery will also shorten the life of the battery.
Anyway, here are a few tips to keep in mind to enable your robot lithium battery last longer.
Charging Tips
- Regularly charging. Under normal circumstances, when the battery is too low, there will be a reminder when your robot lithium battery has no electricity. At this time, you need to replenish the battery in time. Although the battery electricity is too low, it will not lead to a direct safety accident, but excessive use will lead to over time. Damage to the battery structure.
(For more details about the lithium battery charging, please check our artricle 《Lithium Battery Charging: The Definitive Guide》)
- Do not overcharge. The inside of the lithium battery cell is also composed of many components. The new battery is fine. If we use it very long time, the components function may decline. So there will have an overcharge safety risk. Generally, Overcharging your robot lithium battery cause damage to it in the long run.
- Use a suitable charger. Do not charge batteries with inappropriate chargers.
Using Tips
Avoid Completely Draining the robot lithium battery
Once the battery indicator shows that the battery is getting low. Proceed straightaway to charge it.
Allowing the battery to completely drain out has an adverse effect on the lifespan of the battery. It could hamper performance.
When the battery is used up, please recharge the battery in time.
Maintenance Tips
The purpose of daily maintenance is to place the lithium battery in a suitable environment, thereby delaying the aging of the battery.
Here is two maintenance tips that we need comply with.
- Protect against moisture.
- And avoid direct sunlight.
Where I can have a custom battery pack for my robot?
ELB succeed to develop 24V 20Ah robot battery, if there are special requirement about dimension, voltage, capacity and charge/discharge current welcome to connect with ELB technical team to provide the custom solutions.
2 Responses
It was most captivating when you shared that an AGM battery commonly lasts 3-4 years. My friend needs a lightweight AGM battery. I should advise him to go for it to ensure proper performance.
That is good things, AGM battery is good also.