LiFeP04, your complete system cost

[daletournier]

Hi, theres several threads running regarding LiFepo4.

More and more people are going this way for good reasons and I assume they will keep gaining more and more acceptance.

Cost is often disscussed as a deterent . It would be good to hear from those that have done the conversion to LiFepo4 regarding their costs.

What is your complete system , not including generators and solar. Lets talk batteries ,BMS , regulators and anything else specific to Lifepo4. It would be great to know the real costs of individual setups if they are willing to tell.

Please lets not turn into a better a debate of for and against. Lets just keep it factual, just numbers and what you have.

Cheers Dale.

[44'cruisingcat]

$2800 for 400 amp hours.

[sailorboy1]

wow, double wow (becuse wow ws too short)

[44'cruisingcat]

EV works in West Aus have 100 ah CALB cells for $160 Aus. 100 ah Winston cells for $180.

https://www.evworks.com.au/battery-systems/

[mbartosch]

€2600 for 400 Ah @12V (Winston 100 Ah cells)
€300 for BMS, buses, contactors
€200 for various installation material

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

$2800 for 400 amp hours.

My 400Ah CALB bank costs are very similar to this. Ours was about $3000.

[john61ct]

Between $4 and $9 per AH, 20-hour rated capacity.

At the lower end, got lucky with a 3000AH secondhand batch of CALBs, and that setup was without a "system BMS".

[Otia]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

$2800 for 400 amp hours.

400 Ah available at 80% = 320 Ah avail
Lead Acid = 50% available only (before need to recharge) => 200 Ah avail
So to compare costs : 2800$ * 200/320 = 1750$

Life expectancy is twice as much: 1750/2 ignoring the cost of money over time
=> 875$

I paid 1000$ for a 420 Ah lead acid bank last year in sxm.
So LiFepo4 is not bad at all, though the initial investment is high.

There are other benefits:
- much faster charging to full capacity
- much better C rating, meaning they can supply high currents without degradation of Ah capacity as Lead Acid do. If you intend to run A/C or a Water Maker off an inverter then LiFepo4 have a big advantage here.
- less weight

[john61ct]

Oops, never mind

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by Otia

400 Ah available at 80% = 320 Ah avail
Lead Acid = 50% available only (before need to recharge) => 200 Ah avail
So to compare costs : 2800$ * 200/320 = 1750$

Life expectancy is twice as much: 1750/2 ignoring the cost of money over time
=> 875$

I paid 1000$ for a 420 Ah lead acid bank last year in sxm.
So LiFepo4 is not bad at all, though the initial investment is high.

There are other benefits:
- much faster charging to full capacity
- much better C rating, meaning they can supply high currents without degradation of Ah capacity as Lead Acid do. If you intend to run A/C or a Water Maker off an inverter then LiFepo4 have a big advantage here.
- less weight

Yup.. We paid about $3000 for a total system (including BMS, contactors, ect) down here in Grenada.

A 660Ah bank of FLA down here in Grenada was going to run me about $1700 once all the costs were factored. Hell I don't even care about the extra life. I was happy to pay extra for the other benefits.

[CatNewBee]

4800€ for 4x1000Ah winston cells, 1000€ for BMS, programming software, display, Victron 1000A shunt, Victron BMV, propper cabling, fuses, bus bars and mechanical parts for mounting roughly, includes the wiring for the 5000W inverter and 100A solar controller. All prices inclusive 19% VAT., 12V system, 15kWh storage capacity.

Total system price 15000€ includes 1650Wp solar, stainless steel work, Victron Quattro 5000W, Victron 150/100 smart solar controller, interfaces for programming, fancy induction cooktop, convection oven and 220V wiring material, fuses etc.

All material bought online, many pats from other countries. They ship world wide.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

4800€ for 4x1000Ah winston cells, 1000€ for BMS

Source links please, sorry if you already provided elsewhere.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Source links please, sorry if you already provided elsewhere.

For the cells:

https://www.ev-power.eu/Winston-40Ah...l-product.html

for the BMS: (quote, order by e-mail)

http://www.rec-bms.com/ABMS.html

The solenoids I have found in Amazon US, the Victron stuff and wiring, circuit breakers over Amazon Germany from various local suppliers. The copper bars I found on eBay from a metal selling company in Germany.

[alansmith]

Catnew, really enjoyed your write ups about your install. Thanks for your generous nature. Is there anything you wish you had done differently now that you have some time on the system?

[CatNewBee]

No, not yet, ewerything works as expected and I am really impressed by the power you can draw. I had in my RV a AGM bank 200Ah and a 1500W inverter for the hair dryer and coffee machine, you can watch the batteries dropping voltage after 10..15 minutes of usage below 12V under load.

With the LFP bank (5 times the capacity) you can run a hair dryer or a dyson heater blower all day long without a Voltage drop below 13V.

it is simply not comparable to FLA, you can really discharge with 1C if you like (it is a load of 12kW). Same size FLA would allow you maybe 3 to 4 kW load for a while, than the battery will get hot.