What are C1, C5, C10, C100 batteries?

To indicate the capacity of each battery model, battery manufacturers use nomenclatures such as C1, C5, C10 and C100, which follow the Ah (ampere-hour) specification. For example, C5 is used exclusively in batteries for use in vehicles and automobiles for starting, so we must discard them immediately for use in solar systems. For a photovoltaic system, batteries are used whose capacity values ​​are given by the nomenclature C10 or C100.

In the kits already made in our WccSolar store, as well as in each personalized solar kit that we manufacture tailored to each client, we always take into account the C10 value to size the batteries so that their size is optimal and capacity is never lacking.
In addition to the C10 value, we then include an additional 2 days of storage capacity in the calculations for safety reasons if it is not possible for the solar panels to receive the necessary power on some days in a rainy day or bad weather conditions.

Lithium batteries currently on the market can reach C1, which means they can be charged and discharged within 1 hour without affecting their service life.
For example, you can use a 2,4kW lithium battery to discharge a 2,4kW electronic device for 1 hour without reducing its lifespan.
On the contrary, if you use the C10 battery to discharge in one hour, you will see a considerable reduction.
The correct method of use is to install 200 Ah C10 for 10 hours of discharge (200 Ah / 10 = 20 Ah)
20A x 12v = 240w (12v system)
20A x 24v = 480w (24v system)
20A x 48v = 960w (48v system)
The higher the system voltage, the more power it can discharge, so it is recommended to install a 48v system.
Because high-quality batteries are also connected to the C5 port, they are doubled at the time of discharge.

Example: a client contacts WccSolar and after performing the calculations we see that he needs 100Ah of daily battery consumption, after dividing his daily Watt consumption of his electrical appliances by the 12V voltage of the solar installation: 1200w / 12 = 100Ah. Then we apply the 2 days of safety margin and it will give us the necessary final battery capacity of 200Ah. So at WccSolar we would size 2 units of 100Ah or a 250ah C100 solar battery (200Ah C10).

An erroneous calculation that other companies use and that will be detrimental to the proper functioning of the client's solar installation is to base it on the C100 capacity. With which the installations will always be short of battery since the C100 will be taken as the value: 250Ah, when in reality for daily use it will only be possible to extract 200Ah from the battery. So in an incorrect sizing they would only use 2 batteries: 250Ah + 250Ah = 500Ah C100. Which in reality in C10 represent only 400Ah, which would mean that the client's solar installation would be short of batteries since it would lack more than 100Ah of battery. Because of this, that client will always have problems due to a low safety margin and the batteries draining quickly.