Lead-acid batteries: Difference between revisions
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Lead-acid batteries are an older technology used mostly as car batteries (gasoline-powered cars, to start the engine). Could they help solve the [[energy storage]] problem? | Lead-acid batteries are an older technology used mostly as car batteries (gasoline-powered cars, to start the engine). Could they help solve the [[energy storage]] problem? | ||
===Viability=== | ===Viability=== __NOTOC__ | ||
{|class="wikitable" | {|class="wikitable" | ||
|[[#Need for lead]] | |[[#Need for lead]] | ||
| Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
|% lead.reserves | |% lead.reserves | ||
}} | }} | ||
But lead ''resources'' are a lot higher than lead ''reserves'', for some reason ( | But lead ''resources'' are a lot higher than lead ''reserves'', for some reason (yes [[Term:mineral reserves|there's a difference]]): | ||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
|other_energy.tfc * storage_timescale * lead_acid.lead / lead_acid.energy_by_mass | |other_energy.tfc * storage_timescale * lead_acid.lead / lead_acid.energy_by_mass | ||
|% lead.resources | |% lead.resources | ||
}} | }} | ||
So from that perspective, lead is in fact abundant enough. | So from that perspective, lead is in fact abundant enough, but the environmental footprint of mining it might be quite high.{{qn}} And we still haven't counted the need for energy storage in [[electric vehicles]]. | ||
==Suitable for electric vehicles?== | ==Suitable for electric vehicles?== | ||
Lead-acid | Lead-acid batteries are ''already'' used in gasoline-powered vehicles, but you'd need to stack a lot more of them to make a fully electric vehicle. This might not be safe.{{rn}} | ||
==Good enough for DIY projects?== | ==Good enough for DIY projects?== | ||
If you have some extra car batteries, may as well use them for a [[rooftop solar]] project. They probably won't store enough energy to power your whole home, but it's better than nothing. Beware of safety issues.{{en}} <!-- TODO: should probably add a new section (and table row) called 'safety' --> | If you have some extra car batteries, may as well use them for a [[rooftop solar]] project. They probably won't store enough energy to power your whole home, but it's better than nothing. Beware of safety issues.{{en}} <!-- TODO: should probably add a new section (and table row) called 'safety' --> | ||
[[Category:Energy storage]] | |||
<!-- TODO: | |||
* refactor this page to the newer considerations format | |||
* compare lead usage for grid storage vs vehicle storage | |||
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Latest revision as of 15:23, 2 September 2023
Lead-acid batteries are an older technology used mostly as car batteries (gasoline-powered cars, to start the engine). Could they help solve the energy storage problem?
Viability
| #Need for lead | Maybe an issue |
| Toxicity | Probably an issue |
| #Suitable for electric vehicles? | Unknown |
| Charge/discharge losses | Inferior to other battery types |
| #Good enough for DIY projects? | Probably |
Need for lead
Lead is usually considered an abundant (cheap) metal - but apparently, not abundant enough to really scale up lead-acid batteries for on-grid energy storage:
Note: This is roughly the amount of on-grid energy consumption that we might need energy storage for. It consists of - for example - lighting, heating, appliances, and other energy used in homes and other buildings. We don't count industrial here, because we can assume (in principle) that most factories could operate during peak sunlight/wind, needing negligable energy storage.
(calculation loading) But lead resources are a lot higher than lead reserves, for some reason (yes there's a difference): (calculation loading) So from that perspective, lead is in fact abundant enough, but the environmental footprint of mining it might be quite high.[QUANTIFICATION needed] And we still haven't counted the need for energy storage in electric vehicles.
Suitable for electric vehicles?
Lead-acid batteries are already used in gasoline-powered vehicles, but you'd need to stack a lot more of them to make a fully electric vehicle. This might not be safe.[RESEARCH needed]
Good enough for DIY projects?
If you have some extra car batteries, may as well use them for a rooftop solar project. They probably won't store enough energy to power your whole home, but it's better than nothing. Beware of safety issues.[ELABORATION needed]