• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Special Reports / Lithium-Ion Batteries Offer Energy Storage TCO Savings

Lithium-Ion Batteries Offer Energy Storage TCO Savings

By Robert Lindsay - August 21, 2018

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Our first entry in the four-part Data Center Frontier Special Report Series  that explores the future of lithium-ion batteries and their impact on energy storage, offered a comparison off the capabilities and characteristics of lead acid versus lithium-ion batteries. The series moves on in this post to explore how lithium-ion batteries can lead to energy storage TCO savings. 

Energy storage TCO

Download the Full Report.

Today, for typical UPS applications, the initial capital expense of lithium-ion batteries is only 1.4 times more than lead acid batteries. But lithium-ion batteries will provide a 10-year TCO savings of 10%- 30%. The advantages of lithium-ion batteries include:

Reliability and Availability

The manufacturing methods used to produce lithium-ion batteries vs lead-acid cells results in a much lower failure rate. With a longer lifespan and lower maintenance requirements, the failure of lithium-ion batteries in UPS applications is almost non-existent.

Depending on the chemistry used, lithium-ion batteries can have a lifespan of up to 15 years. This offers a huge savings in replacement costs over lead acid batteries, since lithium-ion batteries don’t have to be replaced every 3-4 years.

Also, lithium-ion batteries typically have a longer cycle life than lead acid batteries. For example, a lead acid battery usually gives you 200 discharge cycles, meaning you can deplete the battery’s energy (watt-hours) to 50% of its rating, and then recharge it back to 100% power a total of 200 times before the battery dies. But lithium batteries provide 500- 7000 discharge cycles (depending on chemistry used) before you have to replace the battery. Additionally, lithium-ion batteries have a lower self-discharge rate, or slow discharge of the battery when not in use, which gives them a longer shelf life.

Lower Weight

Lithium-ion batteries weigh about a third less than lead acid batteries. This saves money on construction costs, since you don’t need to reinforce floors to handle more weight. It also saves money in shipping and transportation, since you can ship the same energy capacity in lithium-ion batteries at a lower cost.

Smaller Footprint

Lithium-ion cabinets are typically one-half the size of lead acid cabinets, providing a 50% savings in floor space for the same amount of energy. This allows you re-design your data center to increase available floor space for IT systems. It can also provide savings in construction costs for new data centers, since you can build smaller rooms to hold lithium-ion cabinets for UPS energy storage purposes.

Equivalent Energy 

Lithium batteries have a higher energy density (Wh/kg, or watt hours per kilogram) and power density (W/kg, or watts per kilogram). This is why lithium batteries offer the same amount of energy as lead acid batteries at a smaller size and lower weight.

Higher Ambient Temperatures

Lithium batteries can operate at temperatures of 86°F (30°C), almost 10 degrees higher than lead acid batteries. This allows you to increase room temperatures in the data center, which reduces energy used for cooling, and lowers cooling costs, and as a result energy storage TCO.  Also, li-ion batteries are less sensitive to temperature changes, and temperature spikes will not shorten the battery’s useful life.

Less Maintenance

Lithium batteries come with a built-in battery management system (BMS), which provides automatic status and fault monitoring, cell balancing, power optimization, and external communications. The BMS makes it easier for facility engineers to monitor a battery’s run-time and health, reducing labor and maintenance costs, and significantly reducing the risk of a surprise battery string failure.

Faster Recharge

Lithium-ion batteries fully recharge in about two hours, while lead acid batteries fully recharge in about 24 hours. The faster recharge time means li-ion batteries are better able to handle multiple outage scenarios. (For example, if you have several outages in a 24-hour period, the lithium battery can recharge faster to provide full UPS ride-through time for each outage.)

Environmental Advantages

Lithium batteries have one-third the carbon footprint of lead acid batteries, and are not as environmentally invasive.

In the coming weeks, the special report series will also cover the following topics:

  • Energy Storage: Lead Acid Versus Lithium-Ion Batteries
  • Additional Data Center Applications for Lithium-Ion Batteries
  • Lithium Iron Phosphate – The Ideal Chemistry for UPS Batteries

Download the full report, “Why Lithium-Ion Batteries are the Future of UPS Energy Storage for Data Centers and Colocation Facilities,” courtesy of Liion, to lean more about the potential of lithium-ion batteries. 

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: energy storage, Liion, Lithium-ion, Lithium-Ion Batteries, special report, UPS Energy Storage

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Robert Lindsay

Robert S. Lindsay is a Seattle-based writer who writes for and about the data center industry. He can be reached at robertlindsay at strategicwordsmith.biz.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance

Mitigate Risk, Improve Performance and Decrease Operating Expenses through Data Center Self-Performance If a vendor conducts the actual work in your data center, then you or your operator aren’t maximizing your current operating resources and are experiencing incremental cost and risk. Chad Giddings of BCS Data Center Operations, explains the importance of your data center provider having a high-degree of self-performance.

White Papers

Microgrids

The State of the Grid: Improving Energy Solutions for Evolving Digital Infrastructure Power Needs

Ensuring the electric grid provides reliable, efficient, and sustainable electricity continues to be a challenge across the entire grid ecosystem. A new special report from Enchanted Rock explains why microgrids are the new highly resilient, carb-neutral backup generation for today’s technology ecosystems.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • Electrical Commissioning Engineer - Los Angeles, CA
  • Data Center Construction Project Manager - Ashburn, VA
  • Critical Power Energy Manager - Data Center Development - Dallas, TX
  • Data Center Facilities Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Dallas, TX

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022