Reminds me that it seems strange that most of the consumer products are still Lead Batteries. It seems like for weight/density it is past time to switch to Lithium Ion. It's kind of funny that every other computer battery we use has already switched. Probably just as much a sign about how little innovation is happening in the consumer "UPS" space.
Lithium ion is a bad choice for a UPS. You ideally want your battery at 100% charge all the time so you have full backup capacity when you need it. Lithium ion cells hate this and will quickly lose most of their capacity, rendering the UPS useless.
Lithium iron phosphate cells would hold up much better in a UPS application, but the price is still too high.
For now, Lead is still the most good enough solution for standby backup power.
As far as innovation goes, there's not really any to be had. This problem is already solved: you just can't do any better than a true-sine inverter and a battery that lasts a number of years. The only variable left is price, which is what most consumer products come down to in the end.
Lithium iron phosphate prices have been dropping recently. They are now cheaper than lithium ion. I think they are cheaper even considering the lower density. I think they are cheaper than lead-acid when consider the lead-acid lifespan and usable capacity.
It depends, standby lead acid batteries are really cheap.
Cyclic use lead acid is much more expensive. And also a much better comparison to lithium phosphate because it can also handle cyclic. But these are not what's used in a UPS because of the usecase.
If your target is really backup power for that once a year max power outage, lead acid still rules. I believe this is why it was exempted from RoHS. And the lead can be recycled well.
Lead acid can be recycled "well", but a problem is that it must be recycled, being toxic, a fire hazard, and even possibly a toxic fire hazard when handled wrong. (Sometimes even when handled right.) That seems like a good reason to avoid lead acid batteries in home appliances, personally.
It's depressing to see companies just throw out literal tons of UPS devices when all they need is 10 minutes and a 40 dollar battery, because it's cheaper to buy a new one instead of paying a guy to bring the batteries and install them in all the UPS devices.
Lots of e-waste - but thankfully there's people like in the article that repurposes them into more useful devices!
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[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 36.5 ms ] threadLithium iron phosphate cells would hold up much better in a UPS application, but the price is still too high.
For now, Lead is still the most good enough solution for standby backup power.
As far as innovation goes, there's not really any to be had. This problem is already solved: you just can't do any better than a true-sine inverter and a battery that lasts a number of years. The only variable left is price, which is what most consumer products come down to in the end.
Cyclic use lead acid is much more expensive. And also a much better comparison to lithium phosphate because it can also handle cyclic. But these are not what's used in a UPS because of the usecase.
If your target is really backup power for that once a year max power outage, lead acid still rules. I believe this is why it was exempted from RoHS. And the lead can be recycled well.
Lots of e-waste - but thankfully there's people like in the article that repurposes them into more useful devices!
It's sad because it really is quite easy in most cases