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Batteries

What Size Battery Bank for 100 Amp-Hours a Day? (LiFePO4)

Researched from published standards and manufacturer specifications. Updated .

Quick answer

Using 100 amp-hours a day, a LiFePO4 bank needs about 125Ah of nameplate capacity for one day off grid, 250Ah for two days and 375Ah for three. That is because only about 80 percent of a LiFePO4 battery is usable, so nameplate capacity is always larger than the energy you actually get.

This page answers one question: if your RV uses 100 amp-hours a day, how much LiFePO4 battery do you need to buy? The arithmetic is short. Multiply daily use by the number of days you want to go without charging, then divide by the fraction of the battery you are willing to use.

That last fraction is the part people get wrong. A 100Ah daily load does not need a 100Ah battery. Run the numbers for your own use with the battery bank calculator, and if you have not measured your daily draw yet, build it up load by load with the daily energy budget calculator.

How many amp-hours of LiFePO4 battery for 100Ah a day?

Nameplate capacity is what the label says. Usable capacity is what you get before you are into the part of the discharge curve that shortens the battery's life. These are the sizes for 100Ah a day at 80 percent depth of discharge.

Battery bank size for 100 amp-hours a day, LiFePO4
Days off gridEnergy neededNameplate capacityStored energy at 12V
1 day100 Ah125 Ah1,200 Wh usable
2 days200 Ah250 Ah2,400 Wh usable
3 days300 Ah375 Ah3,600 Wh usable
4 days400 Ah500 Ah4,800 Wh usable

Convention Source: Common planning figure. Individual LiFePO4 manufacturers publish their own usable depth and cycle life.. Depth of discharge is a planning convention rather than a published specification. Battery manufacturers publish cycle life against depth of discharge curves instead of a single usable percentage.

What does that look like in real batteries?

A 250Ah bank for two days off grid is 3 batteries of 100Ah, or 2 of 200Ah. At roughly 25 pounds per 100Ah LiFePO4 battery, that is about 63 pounds.

Batteries wired in parallel add capacity at the same voltage. Keep the interconnect cables identical in length and gauge, or the nearest battery does more of the work and ages faster than the rest.

Would lead-acid be a better choice at this load?

For the same 100Ah daily load over two days, lead-acid needs about 400Ah of nameplate capacity against 250Ah for LiFePO4. Lead-acid is cheaper per nameplate amp-hour and considerably heavier per usable amp-hour, and it will not accept a fast charge the way lithium does. See LiFePO4 vs AGM for RV house batteries and the usable capacity calculator.

How much charging does a bank this size need?

Replacing 100Ah a day means putting back about 1,200 watt-hours. At a 0.75 system derate, that needs roughly 400W of solar at four peak sun hours, or about 291W at five and a half. Size it against your own region with the solar array calculator.

Charging from the tow vehicle is the other option. A DC-DC charger is what makes that safe on a lithium bank, and the DC-DC charger calculator sizes one against your alternator.

LiFePO4 batteries that suit a 100Ah daily load

Frequently asked questions

How many batteries do I need for 100 amp-hours a day?
For two days off grid at 100 amp-hours a day you need about 250 amp-hours of LiFePO4 nameplate capacity, which is 3 batteries of 100Ah each. For a single day between charges you need about 125 amp-hours. The difference between nameplate and usable capacity is why the bank is always larger than the daily figure.
Why can I not just buy a 100Ah battery for a 100Ah daily load?
Because you do not get to use all of a battery's nameplate capacity. Planning LiFePO4 at 80 percent depth of discharge means a 100 amp-hour battery only delivers about 80 amp-hours before you should recharge it. Discharging deeper than that repeatedly shortens the battery's life, and on lead-acid it does so sharply.
How much solar does a 100Ah per day load need?
Replacing 100 amp-hours a day at 12 volts is about 1,200 watt-hours. At four peak sun hours and a 0.75 system derate that needs roughly 400 watts of panel. Peak sun hours vary a great deal by region and season, so check your own figure rather than assuming four.
Does cold weather change the bank size I need?
It changes what the bank can do rather than the arithmetic. Lead-acid loses usable capacity as temperature falls, so a cold bank delivers less than its rating. LiFePO4 holds capacity better but must not be charged below freezing, so a cold-weather lithium bank needs either a low temperature cutoff in the BMS or a self-heating battery. Furnace blower run time also rises in cold weather, which increases the daily load itself.

Lithium safety. A LiFePO4 bank needs a charger with a genuine lithium profile, and that means the converter, the solar controller and any DC-DC charger all have to be set correctly. A stock lead-acid converter will never bring a lithium pack to full. Charging a lithium battery below freezing damages the cells permanently, so the pack needs either a low temperature charge cutoff in its BMS or a self-heating design if you camp in the cold.