Research - Part 2

I learned from Part 1 of my research that I need to generate and store 788 watt hours of electricity to power my current computer setup for four hours. Part 2 of my research concerns how to store that electricity. The answer: batteries. Big batteries.

Batteries most commonly used in solar setups are either "Flood Lead Acid" or "Sealed AGM" batteries. Because I'm living in an apartment (ie. no garage, hardwood floors) and am not around much during the week, Sealed AGM batteries are the way to go. Because they are sealed, they won't spill acid which could eat through my floor and drip on my downstairs neighbor. They also don't require much maintenance. They just sit there and do what they are supposed to do.

A battery's storage capacity is measured in "amp hours". To figure out how many amp hours I need to power my setup, I follow this formula.

Watt hours / Battery volts = Amp hours

In my case this means....

788 watt hours / 12 volts = 65.6 Amp hours

The batteries we're talking about are 12V DC batteries...much like a car battery. If you've ever picked up a car battery you know it's heavy. I don't like carrying car batteries. And I certainly don't want to pay to ship these things. So I found the closest battery distributor to my apartment ( Interstate Batteries ) and checked out their inventory. 

There are plenty of AGMs to choose from. Which one depends on how many I can stand to carry to my apartment. It also depends on how much time I've got to fill them up. Remember I want to collect electricity during the week to use on the weekend. That means I've got five days to fill up 65.6 Amp hours.

How I'll fill up the batteries will of course have some influence on exactly the batteries I purchase. I live in an apartment. There's a chance my landlord would let me place a big solar panel on the roof...but that's doubtful. So my solar panel choices are limited...meaning I'm limited on how fast I can collect solar energy....let's hope Research - Part 3 will hold the answers on the solar panels I need thus helping me decide on batteries.