Batteries for cold weather?

[Guesty]

Hi, I plan on moving up to alaska, and I’m currently converting a short bus into a home. I was wondering about what batteries would be good for the cold weather up there, along with some of the battery systems you guys may have made to go with it. Thank you guys for any help!

[Albatross]

While Li-Ion tech like the LiFePO4 has significant weight savings which would mean it costs less up there, the chemistry tends to suffer like lead-based chemistries do; even though they still maintain something like 70% of their charge capacity in cold weather, attempting to charge them at temperatures below freezing will cause lithium plating, and essentially destroy the battery.

If you can guarantee that the battery will be kept from freezing, then I might attempt a LiFePO4 battery up there; otherwise, I would go with a cheaper lead-based (PbSO4 or AGM) tech.

[john61ct]

LTO apparently, but still...

Best to design portable sub-packs, just warm them up before charging

[HamSkoolie]

Nothing wrong with lithium in cold weather areas. Just ensure that you maintain a proper environment for them. If they're inside the bus keep it warm and they'll be fine. If they're outside the bus build them into a very well insulated and sealed up storage bay and then pipe interior heat into and out of that bay. And AC when the temps are high if that's a possible scenario.
Do that and your lithium batteries will be fine. DO NOT do it with ANY lead/acid technology though some will say that AGM is okay (I wouldn't).


My 10.24 kWh lithium bank (two batteries) arrives tomorrow....WHOOOO HOOOOOO