Battery types and powering appliances directly

Hi, Could you please tell me in your opinion what is the best battery to use with solar power. Life span and cost are of paramount importance. Also, can you use solar power on very sunny days without charging batteries? Direct to a cooker? I am just learning/starting out to put solar on a caravan/motorhome. Thanks - George.

Hi George,

Standard leisure batteries available from any motoring store are absolutely fine for most purposes on caravans and motorhomes. As long as they are kept well charged they will have a lifespan of at least 5 years - it is batteries that are poorly charged that soon loose their capacity and need replacing.

'Sealed lead acid' or 'AGM' batteries will tolerate being discharged deeper than standard leisure batteries (and also never require topping up with water). But the extra expense is not worth it in most applications.

Cookers consume very large amounts of power - normally several thousand watts. You would need an enormous array of solar panels to power a cooker. It wouldn't really be very practical! In general you are much better storing the power from the panels in batteries rather than trying to use it directly.