I'm worried because my inverter doesn't support BMS communication (like CAN or RS485), and I read somewhere that this could shorten the lifespan of my lithium batteries from 10 years to 5. I heard that when the inverter and battery communicate, the battery can tell the inverter to stop charging or discharging right when it hits certain levels. Without this communication, I might not know if the battery is actually full or near empty, which could lead to overcharging or over-discharging. Is my concern valid?
2 Answers
You don't have to worry too much! Even without BMS communication, you can still set your charge controller to specific voltages—like 13.6V for float—so it operates in a safe range. It won't be as precise as with communication, but if you monitor your battery's voltage, you can avoid overcharging and over-discharging. It’s definitely better with communication, but you can manage without it as long as you pay attention to those voltages.
The lack of communication is not ideal, but it's not the end of the world! Many people use batteries that don't communicate with their inverters, and they get by just fine using voltage levels to gauge battery health. Sure, you'd get better performance with BMS, but as long as you set your voltage limits correctly, it shouldn't drastically harm your battery’s lifespan.