Victron Energy Lithium Battery 12.8V/50 Ah Smart

Why lithium iron phosphate?

The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) battery is the safest of the standard lithium-iron battery types. The nominal voltage of an LFP cell is 3.2V (lead-acid: 2V/cell). A 12.8V LFP battery therefore consists of 4 cells connected in series, and a 25.6V battery consists of 8 cells connected in series.

Robust

A lead-acid battery will fail prematurely due to sulphation in the following cases:

• If it is operated in an insufficiently charged state for a long period of time (i.e. if the battery is rarely or never fully charged).
• If it is left in a partially charged, or worse, completely discharged state (a yacht or motorhome during winter, for example).

An LFP battery does not need to be fully charged. Its operating life even increases slightly if the battery is only partially charged rather than fully charged. This is a significant advantage of LFP batteries compared to lead-acid batteries.

Further advantages include the wide operating temperature range, excellent cycling behaviour, low internal resistance and high efficiency.

The LFP battery is therefore the best choice for demanding applications.

Efficient

In numerous applications (particularly off-grid solar and/or wind power systems), energy efficiency can be of decisive importance.
The energy efficiency of a charge cycle (discharging from 100% to 0% and recharging to 100%) of an average lead-acid battery is around 80%. The energy efficiency of a charge cycle of an LFP battery, on the other hand, is 92%. The charging process of a lead-acid battery becomes particularly inefficient once the 80% state-of-charge mark has been reached. This results in energy efficiencies of only 50%. For solar systems, this figure is even lower, since energy reserves for several days are required there (the battery operates at a state of charge between 70% and 100%). An LFP battery, by contrast, still achieves an energy efficiency of 90%, even in a shallow state of discharge.

Size and weight

Space savings of up to 70%
Weight savings of up to 70%

Expensive?

LFP batteries are expensive compared to lead-acid batteries. However, in demanding applications, the higher purchase cost will more than pay for itself thanks to the longer operating life, high reliability and excellent energy efficiency.

Bluetooth

Cell voltages, temperature and alarm status can be monitored via Bluetooth.
This is very useful for detecting a (potential) problem such as a cell imbalance.