Sorry for the delay in responses lately. The last 5 days have been a not-so-fun blur. It seems like it lasted a month, and I still do not have power at my house. Why do you think I have been stressing and going after helping people be power-grid independent in their motor coaches? The answer is simple…I wish I was myself!
1) Are Li batteries as fragile in extreme heat and cold conditions as the AGM’s ?
2) Ben mentioned charge sources. Do either of You think that solar will ever be a viable supplemental source for coach’s and Li. ?
My responses to Rocky’s questions:
1) Lithium Iron Phosphate is only fragile in the following sense. They do not like to be charged or discharged in below freezing temps. The way to fix that is seal off and insulate where they are located. In extreme situations, there are thermal blanket installations which would take care of the issue. They have an extreme tolerance for heat. The operating range is 4 degrees F up to 175 degrees F.
Lifeline operating temp range is -40F to 160F according to the battery manual.
The optimum operating temperature for the lead-acid battery is 25*C (77*F). Elevated temperature reduces longevity. As a guideline, every 8°C (15°F) rise in temperature cuts the battery life in half. A VRLA, which would last for 10 years at 25°C (77°F), would only be good for 5 years if operated at 33°C (92°F), to quote Battery University website.
I do not remember what the operating temp range of the oxide-type lithium batteries like those of Volta. If Jack is on the forum, maybe he has the answer to that one.
2) I love solar. We have been installing solar on coaches now for 20 years. Now that most refrigerators are so efficient, being half the load they used to be, LED lighting being a 1/5th the lighting load, combined with the efficient AC’s we are using now on production coaches, I see solar making a larger and larger difference in self-sustainability, and further reduced gen run time. Unless you want to be able to add a pretty good area of portable panels up and connnect to the bus, we are not at the point of complete self-sustaining yet, but it is improving. The efficiency of solar panels is about 25 percent now. I see that going up in the near future.
I remember in the days of LP refrigerators and water heaters. In those times, solar would easily take care of the lighting loads on coaches, making true cord-free living possible. Then came all electric coaches, and the cord-free era got reduced to maybe overnight and generator use the rest of the time. We are getting back now to the “good ol’ days” of extended cord-free being possible. Just my thoughts.
Ben Cummings
U.S.A. Luxury Coaches, LLC
4501-B Ulmerton Rd
Clearwater, FL 33762
USALuxurycoach.com
813-830-8619 (cell)
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