The lifecycle trap of lead-acid
Lead-acid battery banks are cheap to buy and expensive to keep. They lose capacity steadily, need replacing every few years, and often fail without much warning — usually during the outage you needed them for.
Signs yours is past its prime
Shorter runtime than it used to give, frequent cell replacements, swollen or warm batteries, and a UPS that trips or alarms more than it did. If you’re topping up or swapping cells regularly, the “cheap” option is quietly costing you.
If you've replaced batteries more than once in the last few years, the running cost may already exceed a modern system.
LFP vs lead-acid
Lithium iron-phosphate (LFP) costs more up front but lasts far more cycles, holds capacity longer, and needs less maintenance — so the cost per usable year is often lower. It’s also safer and takes less space.
When lead-acid still fits
For some low-cycle, cost-sensitive backup duties, lead-acid is still a sensible choice — and we’ll say so. We recommend the chemistry that fits, not the one with the best margin.
What to do next
Bring us your replacement history and we’ll tell you during the assessment whether your setup is due for a rethink.