For homeowners who live off-grid, preparing for winter is serious business. With solar production at its lowest when temperatures drop, an energy storage system must be able to produce enough power to carry a home through long winter nights and periods of inclement weather.

Many first-generation off-grid systems include lead acid batteries to provide energy storage. What many homeowners don’t anticipate, however, is how frequently they will end up relying on their backup diesel generator as their lead acid batteries age, lose capacity and no longer produce enough energy to power through winter’s extended periods of darkness. This adds additional cost for fuel and maintenance of your generator, fumes, pollution and noise while potentially shortening it’s lifespan as well.

If this sounds familiar, it may be time to consider replacing your lead acid batteries with Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP) batteries — a safe, non-toxic and highly efficient lithium ion alternative.

A common misconception is that lead acid batteries are less expensive than LFP batteries. The reality is that you have to buy double, triple or even quadruple as many lead acid batteries as you do lithium-based batteries to achieve the same usable capacity, and replace lead acid battery banks more frequently during the lifetime of your off-grid system, as often as 2 to 3 times depending on the type of lead acid (AGM, VRLA, Flooded, Gel). Take a look at our Lead Acid Replacement Calculator to run the numbers for yourself.

Beyond upfront pricing, LFP batteries will save you money over the long term as they do not require annual maintenance.