I've used my solar batteries many times, including a 200ah lithium battery. In this post, I'll share my experience and provide insight into how long will it take to charge 200ah battery using a solar panel or battery charger.
Easy solution --- Use our 200ah battery charging time calculator with a solar panel, or refer to our 200ah battery charge time calculator with a battery charger for a quick answer.
200ah Battery charge time calculator with solar panels
Note: The estimated charge time of your battery will be given in peak sun hours. To learn more about peak sun hours and how to calculate them, please refer to our in-depth guide. In short,
- 1 peak sun hour is equal to when the intensity of sunlight is 1000 watts per meter square (1kw/m2).
- Use this calculator to find out how many peak sun hours your location receives.
Calculator assumptions
- Battery charge efficiency: lead acid --- 85%, lithium --- 95%
- Charge controller efficiency: PWM --- 80%, MPPT --- 95%
- Solar panel output efficiency during peak sun hour: 80%
Limitations of this calculator
- This calculator does not take into account the absorption stage for lead acid and lithium batteries. The absorption stage usually lasts between 2-3 hours for lead acid batteries and 20-30 minutes for lithium batteries.
What is battery depth of discharge (DoD)? It indicates the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery.
Detailed article: Solar Battery Charge Time Calculator
200ah battery charge time calculator with battery charger
Note: This calculator also doesn't take into account the battery absorption stage.
If you want to find out what size solar panel you need to charge your battery in desired hours, use our solar panel size calculator to find out.
200ah battery charging time --- Manual calculations
Here are two methods to calculate the charging time for a 200Ah battery --- one using solar panels and the other using a battery charger.
method #1: With solar panels
Formula: Solar battery charge time = (Battery Ah × Battery volts × Battery DoD) ÷ (Solar panel size (W) × charge controller efficiency × battery charge efficiency × 0.8)
- Battery charge efficiency: lead acid --- 85%, lithium --- 95%
- Charge controller efficiency: PWM --- 80%, MPPT --- 95%
Let's assume a 12V 200Ah lead acid battery with a 50% depth of discharge, 200-watt solar panels, MPPT charge controller, and want to find out the charging time of 200ah battery.
(200 × 12 × 50%) ÷ (200 × 80% × 85% × 0.8)
1200 ÷ 108.8 = 11 hours
Thus, a 200 watt solar panel will take approximately 11 hours to fully charge a 12V 200Ah lead acid battery from 50% depth of discharge.
method #2: With battery charger
Formula: Battery charge time = (Battery Ah × Battery DoD) ÷ (Charge output amps (A) × battery charge efficiency)
Let's say you have a 12V 200Ah lead acid battery with a 50% depth of discharge and a 30 amp charger. To find out the 200ah battery charge duration, follow these steps:
(200 × 50%) ÷ (30 × 85%)
100 ÷ 25.5 = 3.9 hours
Turns out, a 30 amp (A) charger will take about 4 hours to fully charge a 12v 200ah lead acid battery from 50% depth of discharge.
Here is how long it takes to charge a 200ah lead-acid battery with a different amp charger:
- How long to charge 200ah battery with a 2 Amp charger: 60 hours
- How long to charge 200ah battery with a 4 Amp charger: 30 hours
- How long to charge 200ah battery with a 10 Amp charger: 12 hours
- How long to charge 200ah battery with a 20 Amp charger: 6 hours
- How long to charge 200ah battery with a 40 Amp charger: 3 hours
Related post: Battery Amp Hours To Watts (Ah To Watts) Calculator
Maximum charging current for 200ah battery?
To maintain the health of the battery, it is recommended that they be discharged and charged at a specific percentage of current.
Here is a list of the types of 200ah batteries and their recommended maximum charging rate:
- 200ah lead-acid, AGM, and gel batteries: 50A or 600 watts for 12v battery or 1200 watts for 24v battery.
- 200ah Lithium (LiFePO4) battery: 200A or 2400 watts for 12v battery or 4800 watts for 24v battery.
Note: Read the product description to get an accurate value
Related Post: Battery Charge And Discharge Rate Calculator: C-Rating To Amps
How long to charge 200ah battery with solar panels?
Here are various charts that illustrate how many hours to charge a 200ah lead acid or lithium battery using different solar panel sizes with an MPPT charge controller.
12v 200ah lead-acid battery
| Solar Panel Size | How long To Charge 12v 200ah lead acid Battery |
|---|---|
| 100 watts | 18 peak sun hours |
| 200 watts | 9 peak sun hours |
| 300 watts | 6 peak sun hours |
| 400 watts | 4.5 peak sun hours |
| 500 watts | 3.5 peak sun hours |
| 600 watts | 3 peak sun hours |
| 700 watts | 2.5 peak sun hours |
| 800 watts | 2.2 peak sun hours |
| 900 watts | 2 peak sun hours |
| 1000 watts | 1.7 peak sun hours |
Summary
- A 12v 200ah lead acid battery will take anywhere from 2 peak sun hours (using a 1000 watt solar panel) to 20 peak sun hours (using a 100 watt solar panel) to fully charge from a 50% depth of discharge.
12v 200ah lithium (LiFePO4) battery
Here's a chart showing how long does it take to charge 200ah lithium battery with solar different size of solar panels.
| Solar Panel Size | How long To Charge 12v 200ah lithium Battery |
|---|---|
| 100 watts | 33 peak sun hours |
| 200 watts | 16 peak sun hours |
| 300 watts | 11 peak sun hours |
| 400 watts | 8 peak sun hours |
| 500 watts | 7 peak sun hours |
| 600 watts | 5.5 peak sun hours |
| 700 watts | 5 peak sun hours |
| 800 watts | 4 peak sun hours |
| 900 watts | 3.5 peak sun hours |
| 1000 watts | 3 peak sun hours |
summary
- 12v 200ah lithium battery will take anywhere between 3 peak sun hours (using a 1000 watt solar panel) to 10 peak sun hours (using a 300 watt solar panel) to get fully charged from 100% depth of discharge.
24v 200ah lead-acid battery
| Solar Panel Size | How long To Charge 24v 200ah Battery |
|---|---|
| 100 watts | 35 peak sun hours |
| 200 watts | 17.5 peak sun hours |
| 300 watts | 12 peak sun hours |
| 400 watts | 9 peak sun hours |
| 500 watts | 7 peak sun hours |
| 600 watts | 6 peak sun hours |
| 700 watts | 5 peak sun hours |
| 800 watts | 4.5 peak sun hours |
| 900 watts | 4 peak sun hours |
| 1000 watts | 3.5 peak sun hours |
Summary
- 24v 200ah lead-acid battery from 50% Depth of discharge will take anywhere between 18 peak sun hours (using a 200 watt solar panel) to 5 peak sun hours (using 700 watt solar panel) to get fully charged.
48v 200ah lead-acid battery
| Solar Panel Size | How long To Charge 24v 200ah Battery |
|---|---|
| 100 watts | 70 peak sun hours |
| 200 watts | 35 peak sun hours |
| 300 watts | 24 peak sun hours |
| 400 watts | 18 peak sun hours |
| 500 watts | 14 peak sun hours |
| 600 watts | 12 peak sun hours |
| 700 watts | 10 peak sun hours |
| 800 watts | 9 peak sun hours |
| 900 watts | 8 peak sun hours |
| 1000 watts | 7 peak sun hours |
Summary
- 48v 200ah lead-acid battery from 50% Depth of discharge will take anywhere between 14 peak sun hours (using 500 watt solar panel) to 7 peak sun hours (using 1000 watt solar panel) to get fully charged.
Relates posts
- Battery Runtime Calculator: How Long Does Battery Last?
- What Size Solar Panel To Charge 200Ah Battery?
- Charging 200Ah Lithium Battery (Complete Guide)
