Why Lithium Usually Wins on Cost Per Cycle
A lead-acid or AGM bank you can only draw down to 50% without shortening its life; lithium you can draw to near-empty repeatedly.
The sticker price isn’t the real comparison. Cost per usable cycle is. A lead-acid or AGM bank you can only draw down to 50% without shortening its life; lithium you can draw to near-empty repeatedly.
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The sticker price isn’t the real comparison. Cost per usable cycle is. A lead-acid or AGM bank you can only draw down to 50% without shortening its life; lithium you can draw to near-empty repeatedly. Combined with 4–10x the cycle life, the effective cost per usable amp-hour over the battery’s life is usually lower for lithium even though the upfront price is higher — the breakeven point is typically somewhere in year two or three of regular use.
A lead-acid or AGM bank you can only draw down to 50% without shortening its life; lithium you can draw to near-empty repeatedly.
A rig that sits in storage most of the year, sees light use, or where upfront cost matters more than long-term efficiency — AGM remains a reasonable, lower-cost choice.
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