Solar Charging Truck Batteries

LMS Highways make eco friendly step forward by installing solar charging truck batteries.

In effort to be more eco conscious, we have begun installing solar charging trickle batteries into our fleet. In our industry we understand we have a high ecological impact. Globally we use more concrete than any substance, bar water. That means concrete accounts for about 8% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) we emit into the atmosphere, this is substantially more than the aviation industry for example, which makes up about 2.5% of emissions.

At LMS Highways we are always trying to lower our eco footprint across all aspects of the business, from our supply chain, waste management, carbon offsetting, electric and hybrid pool cars and most recently by installing solar charging batteries to 50% of our fleet.

Between projects our large trucks are occasionally left stationary for a period of time which may result in drained batteries. In order to avoid this new trickle chargers have been installed, a solar trickle charger is a tool which uses a solar panel to top-up batteries at the same rate as self discharge, this slow process uses a low voltage so the device can be left for an extended period of time.

Some other benefits to a trickle charger are:

Lifetime of approximately 7 years.
Prevents the process of sulfation – sulfation is a common problem for lead acid batteries.
The low current of trickle charge ensures that there is no overheating to the battery.
The Anderson plug connection allows for jump starts.