What is DOD and Cycle Life why it is important
Depth Of Discharge, (DOD)
DOD is one of the concepts that needs to be understood when dealing with deep cycle batteries
Discharge depth refers to how much overall capacity is used before recharging the battery. For example, if you use a quarter of your battery’s capacity, the depth of discharge would be 25%. Batteries don’t discharge fully when you use them. Instead, they have a recommended depth of discharge, IE how much can be used before they should be refilled. Gel batteries should only be run to 50% depth of discharge. Beyond that point, you risk negatively affecting their lifespan. In contrast, lithium batteries can handle deep discharges of 80% or more. This essentially means they feature a higher usable capacity.
Cycle life
When you discharge a battery (use it to power your home), then charge it back up with your municipal power, generator or solar panels, that is referred to as one charge cycle. Cycles are measured the lifespan of batteries not in terms of years, but rather how many cycles they can handle before they expire. Think of it like putting mileage on a car. When you evaluate the condition of a used car, mileage matters a lot more than the year it was produced. Same goes for batteries and the number of times they’ve been cycled.
With the current load shedding in South Africa the number of cycles on the batteries are much higher that they are designed to handle.
Lithium ion batteries have more cycle life than gel batteries and they generally last longer