DOD and solar batteries

DOD, or depth of discharge, is one of the concepts that needs to be understood when dealing with solar batteries. Solar batteries, also known as deep cycle batteries, use solar panels to store energy from the sun. They are commonly used to store energy for standalone solar and wind and other renewable energy systems.

Like any other battery, they also suffer from wear and tear over time. It is important to know which factors affect the batteries ability to perform better and last longer. This is when you should know what DOD or depth of discharge does for solar batteries aside from how it affects the ability of solar batteries to charge and discharge.

What does dod mean?

DOD is the amount or degree of depletion of a battery. This means that if the battery is drained fully, the depth of discharge is 100%. On the other hand, if the battery is fully charged, the DOD is 0%. DOD has a connection to the cycle life of batteries. Cycle life is the number of discharge cycles that a battery is able to support before it reaches 80% of its capacity. Cycle life is one of the two factors that affect battery degradation, the other one being the maximum depth of discharge.

Why does DOD matter to solar batteries?

Because DOD and the cycle life of batteries are closely linked, it is important to know that the more you fully discharge your battery, the more chances that it will degrade quickly. Similarly, the more discharge cycles that a battery undergoes, the faster it will degrade. Therefore, the maximum DOD for the cycle life of a battery matters in its overall value. It is highly advisably to keep the maximum DOD for your battery at the allowable depth which is 80% to maintain the life of your deep cycle batteries.