In short, a 12v 12ah battery will last between 12 hours (running a 12-watt DC appliance) to 1 hour (running a 140-watt appliance).
12ah battery is small compared to other 12v batteries like 100ah or 200Ah.
Due to lower Amp-hours capacity, you can't run heavy appliances on it but the question comes what devices can you run on it, and for how long?
So in this blog, I'm gonna share with you what you can run with a 12v 12ah battery and its estimated run time before the battery gets fully drained.
Calculate 12ah battery runtime
Note: use my solar panel size calculator for a battery to recharge your battery in desired hours with solar panels.
Battery depth of discharge DoD is the percentage of the battery that has been discharged relative to the total battery capacity. The recommended depth of discharge limit for lead-acid, AGM, and gel batteries is about 50%. Only lithium (LiFePO4) batteries can be fully discharged to 100%.
How To Use this Calculator
- Enter the battery capacity in amp-hours (Ah): in this case, it'll be 12
- Enter the battery voltage: in this case, it'll be 12
- Select the battery type: Select “Lead-acid” if you’re using a flooded or sealed (AGM or gel) lead acid battery. Select “Lithium (LiFePO4)” if you use a lithium-iron phosphate battery.
- load Connected with inverter?: Are you using an inverter to run the load or is the load connected directly through the battery?
- Enter total load in watts: Enter the total load in watts (e.g 500 for 500 watts of output load)
After entering the information, click “Calculate” button to find out how long will a 12ah battery last
What Does a 12v 12ah Battery Mean?
The battery capacity is measured in Ah but the appliances are measured in watts. So to converter Ah into watts (watts = Ah x volts)
12 * 12 = 144 watts12V 12Ah battery means 144 watts of capacity which you can use to run your small devices like LED bulbs, charging phones, etc...
These small batteries are designed in a way to so they can draw a small amount of power slowly for a longer period of time or in simple words 12ah battery will last 1 hour if you're running a 1A capacity device with it
Video - Explaining Battery Capacity
12ah Battery Backup Time
How long will a 12v 12ah battery last depends on the total output load or what capacity of the electronic device you're running on it?
For example, a 12ah battery is equal to 144 watts which means you can run a 10w capacity appliance on it for 14 hours or a 140W appliance for 1 hour if the battery is a lithium battery
if you have a lead-acid small 12ah battery it means you'll be only able to use only 72 watts because of it discharge limit (50%). 144/2 = 72 watts. The same goes for AGM battery type
But most of the small batteries you'll get will be the lithium-ion battery which means you can fully discharge the battery to 0%
here's a list of appliances connected with a 12ah battery and how long your battery will last while running those appliances
| Appliance | Watts required | Estimated Running time with 12v 12ah battery |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Inch LED TV | 17W | 8.4 hours |
| 32 Inch LED TV | 20W | 7.2 hours |
| 42 Inch LED TV | 58W | 2.4 hours |
| 55 Inch LED TV | 116W | 1.2 hours |
| Air Purifier | 25W | 5.7 hours |
| Aquarium Pump | 20W | 7.2 hours |
| Ceiling Fan | 60W | 2.4 hours |
| DVD Player | 30W | 4.8 hours |
| Electric Shaver | 15W | 9.6 hours |
| LED Light Bulb | 10W | 14 hours |
| Phone Charger | 7W | 20 hours |
| Tablet Computer | 10W | 14 hours |
| Wall Fan | 60W | 2.4 hours |
| WiFi Router | 10W | 14 hours |
Simply divide the Watt capacity of your battery by the appliance wattage required to calculate how many hours will your battery last
Video - Unboxing & Testing 12ah battery
What is Needed To Run Appliances with a 12ah Battery?
As we know that batteries store power in DC (Direct Current) so if You are running DC appliances with your 12ah battery then yes you can directly connect them to the battery but for devices that require AC (alternating current), you'll need a UPS or the inverter.
UPS comes in a builtin inverter but you can separately use an inverter that will convert the DC power into AC
I would recommend using a 12v 150W inverter with a 12ah battery
