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ENGINEERING & ELECTRICAL

Battery Backup Sizer

Bank capacity, Ah & unit count for outage backup

Free · No sign-up · Computed instantly on your device

Backup Requirement

Size a battery bank for the load you want to keep running during an outage.

System voltage
Battery chemistry

Assumes 90% combined inverter + round-trip efficiency and the selected chemistry’s usable depth of discharge. Add headroom for battery ageing (~20% over 5 years) and simultaneous surge loads.

Required battery capacity

4kWh

Delivers 3.2 kWh usable at 90% depth of discharge

Bank capacity

82 Ah

at 48 V system

Battery units

1

× 48 V / 100 Ah (4.8 kWh)

Energy delivered

3.2

kWh to the load

About This Calculator

Battery sizing has one honest formula: the energy your loads need, divided by what the chemistry actually lets you use. This calculator takes your backup load in watts and required backup hours, then returns the gross battery capacity in kWh, the bank size in Ah at your chosen system voltage, and how many standard battery units that means.

The chemistry choice matters more than most buyers realise: lead-acid banks should only be discharged ~50% for acceptable life, while LiFePO₄ safely delivers ~90% — so a lithium bank of half the nameplate capacity can back up the same load. The tool models both, with a 90% combined inverter and round-trip efficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lithium or Lead-Acid for Home Backup in India?
LiFePO₄ wins on lifetime cost for daily-cycling use: 3–5× the cycle life, 90% usable capacity, no maintenance. Lead-acid (tubular) still makes sense for rarely-used backup where upfront cost dominates.
How Much Extra Capacity Should I Add for Battery Ageing?
Plan for ~20% capacity fade over five years of regular cycling. If your backup requirement is inflexible, oversize the bank by that margin on day one.