Online battery sizing calculator designed for off-­grid renewable energy systems

Trojan Battery Co., the world’s leading manufacturer of deep-­cycle batteries, has developed an automated battery sizing calculator to accurately size a battery bank for renewable energy applications. The battery sizing calculator can be found at www.batterysizingcalculator.com

Trojan’s battery sizing calculator is designed to simplify the task of properly sizing a battery bank for off-­grid renewable energy systems. A battery bank is a vital component of a system, so careful attention must be paid to battery sizing to ensure maximum battery performance and longevity. Three factors must be considered when sizing battery banks for renewable energy systems: 1) the electrical power required, or load, of a particular application, 2) the maximum depth of discharge (DOD) the battery will be allowed to go down to and 3) the autonomy desired, or the number of days the battery will be used to power the loads.

“Failing to properly design the system to meet specific load requirements, leads to improper sizing of the batteries which can reduce the life of the battery bank. Therefore, it is important to optimize systems to meet the load requirements of a customer’s particular application requirements,” said Kalyan Jana, technical product manager at Trojan Battery. “Not fully understanding the system’s load profile for both the real energy demands and the duty cycle can have a dramatic impact on system performance. It also can potentially cause the system to lose power or require a replacement battery bank sooner than necessary. Trojan developed its battery sizing calculator to simplify this process and make it more convenient for our customers to determine their battery needs.”