The LiFePO4 (LFP) Battery: An Essential Guide

LiFePO4 is the latest lithium-ion battery chemistry. It’s the smartest choice to choose lithium batteries to power data servers, off-grid systems, solar systems, and more. There are no limits when you choose a LiFePO4 battery. If you’re on a mission to go ice fishing, a LiFePO4 battery can be discharged at freezing temperatures. While they may drain slower, traditional lead-acid batteries are too heavy and unreliable to power modern technology. Because some older battery chemistries can be unstable and unsafe, the LiFePO4 battery is the best battery to buy in almost every aspect.

Being compact and lightweight, LiFePO4 batteries have proven themselves to be the best. These batteries are the safest, most eco-friendly, and longest-lasting lithium-ion batteries on the market. Proven thermal stability makes the LiFePO4 at little to no risk of thermal runaway, which means there is no chance of  a fire or related accident.

You may still have questions like, “What is different about this battery?” or, “Where should I use this battery?” Don’t worry. We have the answers for you. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down some of your frequently asked questions.

What LiFePO4 Batteries Offer That Other Batteries Don’t

We keep calling this battery LiFePO4, but what does that mean? LiFePO4 is short for Lithium Iron Phosphate. A lithium-ion battery is a direct current battery. A 12-volt battery for example is typically composed of four prismatic battery cells. Lithium ions move from the negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging. So not only is this a safe, long-lasting battery, it also ranks high in energy and power density.

Thanks to modern design and more advanced technology, the latest lithium-ion batteries are sleek and modern-looking. The batteries at BigBattery.com are either metallic silver or black. Typically, the large industrial batteries are black. Shaped like a box, most have a power button with a digital screen and may come with wheels. The proper cables come with each battery as well.

Lead-acid batteries comes in FLA, AGM, and GEL, but here we will focus on a standard flooded 12V battery in the table below. Here is a comparison of the key features between a LiFePO4 battery and a lead-acid battery.

In the table above, you can see that this LiFePO4 battery has more to offer compared to a standard FLA battery. The LiFePO4 battery is more powerful in a smaller, lighter form factor. It is always more powerful, lighter, and durable than a lead-acid battery. We’ll discuss some safety later on in this article.

Energy

Energy is an important factor to consider when choosing a battery. A battery with a higher energy density will be lighter than a similar capacity battery with a lower energy density. The energy density of a battery is the battery’s capacity divided by the weight of the battery or by the volume. The kWh capacity is a battery’s energy. The table above shows that the LifePO4 battery has more volumetric energy density than a typical lead-acid battery.

Power Density

The power density of a battery is related to its energy density. The ability of the battery to discharge quickly is also factored into a battery’s power density.

Capacity

Battery capacity is a measure of the charge stored by the battery. The capacity is determined by the mass of active material contained in the battery. The actual storage performance is different under certain conditions i.e., extreme heat or cold, or age and use. In the table above, you’ll see the “Ah” abbreviation for Amp hours. Ah and kWh are the most common measurements of capacity in a battery. Ah is defined as the number of hours a battery can provide a current equal to the discharge rate.

An accurate approach to determining a battery’s capacity would be the formula Ah capacity x V(t) over the charging cycle. Using the battery in the table above as an example (which is based on the Owl Max 2), we can take a 12V battery with a capacity of 228Ah battery and figure the energy storage. 228Ah x 13.16V = 3 kWh. KWh is a great way to measure battery capacity because it displays usable energy more accuratly. However, because of the large impact of charging rates or temperatures, battery manufacturers provide additional information about the variation of battery capacity.

Applications of the LFP Battery

There are numerous applications of the LiFePO4 battery. It is a versatile battery because the battery is designed in a small, light compartment and can withstand extreme conditions. Some applications of the LiFePO4 battery are as follows: