Glossary
Cycle life
What is Cycle life?
The number of charge and discharge cycles a battery survives down to a defined remaining capacity — usually to 80 percent of the rated capacity.
What matters about Cycle life in practice?
The figure always applies to a specific depth of discharge. The same battery manages several times as many cycles at 30 percent discharge as at 80 percent — comparisons without this figure are worthless.
In practice, service life is often limited not by the number of cycles but by calendar ageing and operating conditions: permanent partial charge, high temperatures and deep discharges cost more than counting cycles would suggest.
Related terms
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