What if we told you don’t need to splash out on a fancy Tesla Powerwall or large industrial scale battery to get more power for a single application?

That’s right, all you need to do is build your own battery bank! A battery bank isn’t some type of NAB branch full of SSB Drycells. 

It is a series of two or more batteries connected to one application. For example, if you have a solar power system, you can connect them to several batteries to get more energy for longer periods of time. Different types of banks are made depending on your needs and to cut maintenance costs.

Here's how to connect batteries for increased capacity...

Series 

So, this basically adds the Voltage of the batteries but maintains the same Amp Hours . So for example, if you’re using two 6V batteries, at 10 Ah each, it will become a 12V series, but stay at 10 Ah.

To do this you need to use jumper cables to connect the Negative (-) terminal of Battery No 1, to the Positive (+) terminal of Battery No 2, shown in the image below.    

Series

Make sure your batteries have the same voltage and capacity rating, otherwise it will cause damage such as charging problems and shortened life.

 

Parallel

This is more or less the opposite to what connecting via a series does. This will increase your current but maintain voltage. So, if you’re using two 6V batteries, at 10Ah each, you’ll still only have a 6V output, at 20Ah. A heavy-duty cable may be required for this as the higher amperage may burn out a regular cable.

To do this, you need to use two jumper cables, one to connect both positive terminals, and a one to connect the negative terminals. Shown in the image below.

Parallel

 

You are able to connect your load to one of the batteries but connecting to the positive at one end of the battery pack, and the negative at the other end of the pack is the preferred way.

Series, Parallel? Why not both?

It is possible to connect using both a series and a parallel. By joining two parallels together to form a series, you can double both your voltage and your output. You’ll need a minimum of four batteries to do this.

Series and Parallel

Basically, one pack of batteries that are connected via series is joined in parallel with another pack of batteries connected via series. As a result, the overall output voltage of series packs remains the same. But charge storage capacity is increased.

Technically, you can connect as many batteries as you want, but it can get messy and confusing. It’s best to keep in mind what your application requires and use batteries of the same capabilities. It is also important that you avoid mixing battery sizes

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. Make sure you stay keep coming back for more blog content including, battery tips, advice, and updates. 

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