If you own an RV, then you’ll need an external power source to keep things powered when the engine isn’t running.
Solar panels are a great option for this, but you also need an adequate battery to store any excess solar power.
A lithium battery is usually the best battery for this job.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best lithium-ion batteries for RV solar power you can get online.
Keep reading if you’re interested in finding out more.
Why You Should Consider a Lithium-Ion Battery for Your RV
Lithium-ion batteries offer considerably more advantages over battery types like AGM batteries. Let’s go over some of the key differences.
Lithium batteries have a considerably longer lifespan than AGM batteries and will last up to three times as long in most situations.
Lithium batteries are also able to charge and discharge incredibly efficiently, up to almost 100% in both cases.
They also don’t suffer from voltage sag, meaning a lithium battery at 20% charge will produce the same volts as a lithium battery at 100% charge.
Lithium batteries are also much smaller than other types of batteries, which makes them far easier to store and use aboard an RV.
So, there’s no reason to not use a lithium battery in your RV!
Best Lithium-Ion Batteries for RV Solar Power
Today, we’ll be taking a look at five of the best batteries to buy if you’re looking for good solar power storage for your RV, as well as giving you our top pick and providing you with the answers to some frequently asked questions about lithium-ion batteries.
Let’s go ahead and get started!
1. Renogy Lithium-Iron Phosphate Battery
- 【Premium BMS Circuit】 Incredibly advanced BMS provides over 20 protections designed to allow a peak current of 150A to pass through, deliver up to 1C charging and 1.3C discharging during an emergency. 50% more heat dissipation area will maximize the safety of your off-grid use.
- 【The Ultimate Quality】 The next-level pouch cells surpass severe high temperature and puncture tests to avoid fire or explosion. The battery cell not only passes the UL1642 but also offers over ten years of lifespan with more than 4000 cycles (80% DOD).
- 【Activation Switch】With the activation switch cable, now for the first time, you can turn on or off multiple batteries in parallel to ensure the safety of installation and use.
- 【Auto-balancing Function】Easily connect multiple batteries in parallel (up to 8) with the auto-balancing function, improving the average charging efficiency for your batteries in the long term.
- 【Enhanced Ways to Monitor】You can connect the battery monitor directly via CAT cable without purchasing an additional coulometer. You can also use the BT-2 Bluetooth & DC HOME app to monitor multiple battery states in real time.
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This lithium-iron battery from Renogy should probably be one of your first choices if you’re serious about RV solar power storage.
What sets this battery apart from other batteries is that it’s a “smart” battery.
This means it comes with a battery management system that can help protect the battery from becoming damaged if it’s exposed to abnormal storage conditions.
Not only that, but it helps to manage the battery’s charging and discharging processes, and it’s even available with a small monitoring screen that you can connect to the battery through a built-in RJ45 communication port.
The monitoring screen lets you view your charge and discharge readings in real-time.
At just under 12 kilos, Renogy’s battery is also fairly lightweight as far as these types of batteries go.
It also comes with integrated handles to help make moving it around easier.
This battery is also designed to be durable and long-lasting and will probably last you for at least 3,000 cycles.
However, all of these features come at a price, namely the actual price itself.
Features like the smart monitoring system cause the cost to climb.
2. SHUNBIN 12V Lithium-Ion Battery
- 12V 100ah lifepo4 battery ×1set with Quick charger
- Service life: more than 2000 cycles
- Charging temperature : 0~45 ℃ Discharge temperature : -20 ~ 60 ℃ Storage temperature : -20 ~ 45 ℃
- Application: electric machine, xenon lamp / searchlight, inverter, handheld devices, wireless communication equipment, monitoring equipment, power equipment, medical instruments, relief equipment, emergency lighting /LED lamps, traffic signs, portable small household appliances, electric tools, automotive and industrial equipment reserve power supply Safety Precaution
- with BMS protection board build-in
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Like the Renogy battery we just mentioned, this battery from SHUNBIN also contains a built-in battery management system protection board, which frankly you should expect from any decent battery.
It also comes with an integrated digital voltage display.
The downside of the SHUNBIN battery over the Renogy battery is that the SHUNBIN battery is much larger and bulkier.
It still comes with attached handles for moving it around, but the SHUNBIN battery weighs about twice as much as the Renogy battery.
Also, the SHUNBIN battery can’t handle high temperatures nearly as well as the Renogy battery can.
However, the SHUNBIN battery is considerably less expensive than the Renogy battery by over $200, which is a considerable difference.
It also comes with a 3-year warranty, and it’s a pretty decent pick overall if you want a capable battery that you don’t plan on moving around often.
3. Go Battery Military Deep Cycle Battery
- GO BATTERY - The World's Smallest, Lightest, Most Powerful Batteries, Longest Life 12V Batteries - 1350+ Usable Watts of Power
- Designed to Military Specs, and now available for you. Comes with AC Wall Charger to charge anywhere, anytime
- 45 watt 3.0 Quick Charge USB Port, 12V DC Car Cigarette Lighter Charge Port, 28-pounds, size of child’s lunch box
- Deep Cycle 100% Depth of Discharge and over 4000 - 10,000 Cycle Life Days, 10 years of daily use. Stack in Series or Parallel to make larger Banks 12v, 24V, 36V, 48V
- Perfect Battery for Solar Systems, Golf Cart, RV Recreational Vehicles, EV Electric Vehicles, Vans, Campers, Camping, Marine, Boats, Overland, Emergency Power, Lights, UPS, Backup, Off Grid Applications, and any Mobile Need where you might want, MOBILE. Car RV Jump Start, 12v Direct Battery Charge. Charge over 100 Cell Phones, Cameras, Computers, Lights. Or power larger needs with an Inverter TV, Refrigerator, Emergency Backup, Solar Ready, Mobile Applications
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
If you want a tough, long-lasting battery, this offering from Go Battery may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Like any decent battery, the Go Battery contains a built-in battery management system that protects your battery from common causes of failure like over-discharge and short-circuiting caused by overcharging.
It comes with a small digital volt display, and it also comes with an integrated 12-volt outlet which is a feature that most of these batteries don’t have.
And at a little under 14 kilos, this battery isn’t too hefty either.
The great thing about lithium-ion batteries is that on average they are 50% lighter than a lead-acid battery of the same capacity, yet lithium-iron batteries will last eight to ten times longer than a comparable lead-acid battery.
If stored right, the Go Battery will be able to last you for up to 10 or even 20 years!
During this time, it will be capable of between 4,000 to 10,000 charging cycles, which is by far the greatest longevity of any battery on this list.
And on top of all of this, the Scream Power is considerably less expensive than either the Renogy battery or the SHUNBIN battery.
4. Orient Lithium-Iron LiFePO4 Battery
- @ >8000 Cycles;suitable for solar, wheel chair, camping car, E-bike, scooter, or other back up power storage etc...
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
If you’re looking for the most compact battery design available, you could do a lot worse than this lithium-iron battery from Orient.
Weighing in at only 8 kilos and coming in a slim shape, this is a battery that’s super easy to use either on its own or with multiple batteries together in a sequence.
Despite its small size, it’s still about as powerful as you’d expect from an RV battery.
Unlike the other batteries we’ve mentioned so far, however, Orient’s battery doesn’t have any kind of protection from a battery management system or even any kind of display showing you the charge or voltage levels.
It’s about as basic as a battery gets, but that’s kind of the point.
Despite its simplicity, this is a pretty durable battery, capable of lasting you over 8,000 charging cycles.
Also, each battery cell is tested individually by the manufacturer before the batteries are shipped out, to ensure that everything is working correctly.
Overall, this is the best battery for you if you’re after compactness and simplicity.
5. RUIXU Lithium-Iron Phosphate Battery Pack
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Finally, we have a lithium-ion battery pack manufactured by RUIXU.
As the name implies, this is not a singular battery but a pack of four separate cells that can be connected to make one battery.
Aside from the individual cells, the manufacturer also provides you with the means to connect them all.
The benefit of this is that you can choose to use the individual cells for different things that don’t need as much power if you want.
Because the individual cells can come apart, this can potentially make it easier to transport and store this battery.
It’s not the most long-lasting of the batteries on this list, however, being capable of around only 2,000 charging cycles.
Nonetheless, this still means that you’ll be able to get a fair amount of use out of this battery pack.
Weighing in at a combined total of 15 kilos, this battery pack is a little on the heavier side, but not so heavy as to make it very hard to transport.
Our #1 Pick For RV Solar Power
If we had to pick one battery to be our favorite, it would probably be the lithium-ion phosphate battery from Renogy.
Even though this battery is on the expensive side, it’s still less costly than some other batteries on this list.
And for your money, you get a ton of great features and solid durability, wrapped up in a relatively compact design.
In our opinion, if you’re serious about having a reliable battery in your RV for storing solar energy, this battery from Renogy is worth investing in.
- 【Premium BMS Circuit】 Incredibly advanced BMS provides over 20 protections designed to allow a peak current of 150A to pass through, deliver up to 1C charging and 1.3C discharging during an emergency. 50% more heat dissipation area will maximize the safety of your off-grid use.
- 【The Ultimate Quality】 The next-level pouch cells surpass severe high temperature and puncture tests to avoid fire or explosion. The battery cell not only passes the UL1642 but also offers over ten years of lifespan with more than 4000 cycles (80% DOD).
- 【Activation Switch】With the activation switch cable, now for the first time, you can turn on or off multiple batteries in parallel to ensure the safety of installation and use.
- 【Auto-balancing Function】Easily connect multiple batteries in parallel (up to 8) with the auto-balancing function, improving the average charging efficiency for your batteries in the long term.
- 【Enhanced Ways to Monitor】You can connect the battery monitor directly via CAT cable without purchasing an additional coulometer. You can also use the BT-2 Bluetooth & DC HOME app to monitor multiple battery states in real time.
Last update on 2023-05-18 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
FAQs
Here, we’ll address a few commonly asked questions about lithium batteries for use in RVs.
1. Are Lithium-Ion Batteries Better For RVs?
Lithium batteries are better for RVs.
As we mentioned above, lithium batteries are smaller, longer-lasting, and more efficient than other types of batteries, and they’re excellent not just for RVs but for many other applications as well.
They’re also better at being charged by solar energy than other battery types, which is a fairly substantial bonus.
2. How Long Do lithium Batteries Last?
This can depend on how you store your batteries and what your charging habits are like.
It also depends on the battery itself, but typically lithium batteries last for a few thousand charging cycles, which will most likely be a few years’ worths of use.
Follow whatever instructions the manufacturer provides for storage and usage and you’ll almost certainly have a battery that will easily last you as long as you need.
3. Are lithium RV Batteries Worth The Cost?
Lithium batteries can sometimes get a bit costly compared to other batteries, but the cost is worth it.
Lithium batteries are better than other batteries in most ways, and because they last for a long time, you’ll inevitably end up saving money that you otherwise would be spending on replacement batteries.
Final Thoughts & Closing Points
If you take your RV out frequently, then having a dependable battery is important.
When it comes to what’s the most dependable, you really can’t go wrong with any kind of lithium battery.
The batteries listed about are some of the best lithium-ion batteries you can get for RV solar power, so pick whichever one you prefer and feel confident about it!
Disclaimer
Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission.
Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases.
The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.
