I'm probably overthinking this, but...
I'm planning to convert a camper's batteries from lead-acid to lithium. I've read many of the related threads, and haven't seen much discussion of one aspect that comes to my mind. That is, I understand that 12v systems generally have a tolerance for voltage deviation around 10%, i.e. they do fine with about 11-13v. However, I also understand that LiFePO4 batteries have a resting voltage when full around 13.6v and when full and when charging around 14.4v, a full 20% higher than the nominal system voltage. Does this have consequences for connected 12v systems?
My naive assumption is that it depends on the system in question. For example, led lights might glow just a little brighter and burn out just a little quicker, but maybe not enough to notice. However, sensitive electronic devices plugged into USB outlets might have problems if the USB outlet voltage is 20% higher than the 5v +/- 5% standard. Of course there are countless other use cases, some of which involve voltage conversions, some inversions, and some direct usage of battery voltage. So my question is really, are there common use cases that are problematic for using a lithium battery without a regulated 12v output? If so, then what equipment is available for regulating output and what sort of efficiency losses does it suffer?
Note: I'm kind of assuming that the absence of discussion of this issue here and on other web sites suggests that it isn't really an issue in practice. So maybe this is all academic.
I'm planning to convert a camper's batteries from lead-acid to lithium. I've read many of the related threads, and haven't seen much discussion of one aspect that comes to my mind. That is, I understand that 12v systems generally have a tolerance for voltage deviation around 10%, i.e. they do fine with about 11-13v. However, I also understand that LiFePO4 batteries have a resting voltage when full around 13.6v and when full and when charging around 14.4v, a full 20% higher than the nominal system voltage. Does this have consequences for connected 12v systems?
My naive assumption is that it depends on the system in question. For example, led lights might glow just a little brighter and burn out just a little quicker, but maybe not enough to notice. However, sensitive electronic devices plugged into USB outlets might have problems if the USB outlet voltage is 20% higher than the 5v +/- 5% standard. Of course there are countless other use cases, some of which involve voltage conversions, some inversions, and some direct usage of battery voltage. So my question is really, are there common use cases that are problematic for using a lithium battery without a regulated 12v output? If so, then what equipment is available for regulating output and what sort of efficiency losses does it suffer?
Note: I'm kind of assuming that the absence of discussion of this issue here and on other web sites suggests that it isn't really an issue in practice. So maybe this is all academic.
