Thor Forums

[Chance]

Doesn't it come down to what you need from batteries? Different jobs require different tools. Cost is certainly a factor but eventually the greater overall benefit may surpass the added expense.

With lead-acid battery limitations we can't have electric cars that can travel 200 miles between charges, iPads that we'd want to use, or battery-powered hand tools regardless of how much we'd save. On the other hand the added weight of lead-acid batteries may not be a significant disadvantage in some applications like electric fork trucks. In that case the extra weight is often needed anyway.

For RV use lead-acid still seems cheaper than lithium but it's getting closer when number of cycles and greater depth of discharge are considered. And if an owner needs lots of energy to run an air conditioner overnight at a location where a generator can't be run, then lithium may be the only practical solution regardless of cost.

From a cost standpoint, I personally think a large lithium battery bank will be easier to justify initially if the cost of an expensive generator can be eliminated. The cost of a diesel generator for a Class B motorhome can already buy significant capacity of lithium battery. And depending on owners' needs, 10 kW-hours of battery capacity may add more value than a generator that may rarely get used. It would be for me.