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		<title><![CDATA[Trojan Batteries- The best for Boats]]></title>
		<link><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/trojan-batteries-the-best-for-boats/]]></link>
		<comments><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/trojan-batteries-the-best-for-boats/#respond]]></comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:42:04 +0000</pubDate>
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			<guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/?p=22]]></guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<p>Trojan batteries- The way forward for domestic boat use</p>
<p>As big believers in using the right battery for the job our range of Trojan batteries are becoming more and more popular for marine and canal boat applications. It seems word gets about within the marine/boating communities and when it comes to Battery power lots of people have different opinions but when it comes to Trojan the message is clear. They do the job for heavy use.</p>
<p>Trojan's range of 6 volt Traction batteries have been around for some time. Tried and tested albeit old fashioned technology seems to prevail when it comes to battery power needed for domestic and heavy boat use. Alpha Batteries is proud to be appointed a Major UK On line Retailer of these batteries. We tend to find loyal Trojan customers over the years will buy nothing else and due to the high quality do not have to buy them often. Bad for us I suppose!<br />
We have also found a large surge in customers enquiring about the product or calling us for advice in which we can 100% recommend the Trojan range. We tend to find customers that have purchased traditional budget or standard Leisure Batteries for Domestic Boat use are now looking for something better, something that lasts. Yes they do cost more initially perhaps but in the long run the savings against having to buy standard leisure batteries every 12-24 months. Science aside (for another day) at the very heart of the Trojan range lies extra thick plates and this is the key. Its all about how low you can discharge the battery and how it copes thereafter. The Trojan range can be safely discharged by 80% and recover without loss of capacity something standard leisure batteries simply can not do. If you repeatedly discharge a standard 12v 110ah battery it will be down to 50ah within a matter of months and you will be left scratching your head as to why the TV won't stay on as long, why the fridge keeps going down or why the heater has gone off. Sound familiar?</p>
<p>As mentioned in our leisure battery post. Leisure batteries are designed for leisure time use (1-2 months). If you live on your boat or use it often you need Traction batteries and Trojan are as good as they get. Please feel free to contact us or see our range here <a href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/brands/trojan-batteries/">Trojan Batteries  .</a></p>
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		<title><![CDATA[Leisure Batteries: Solving Problems]]></title>
		<link><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/leisure-batteries-solving-problems/]]></link>
		<comments><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/leisure-batteries-solving-problems/#respond]]></comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:29:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/?p=16]]></guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<div>Here at alpha batteries we have many years experience relating to technical knowledge with leisure batteries. Managing Director Chris Gabbott has over 40 years battery industry knowledge.Many leisure battery related problems we see people encountering is loss of capacity of their old leisure battery. In this post we shall look into why this happens and what you can do to prevent this happening in the future. We shall make this informative, to the point and helpful.</div>
<div>Firstly lets talk about the history of the leisure battery, how it works and where technology is going in the future. The term ' leisure battery' was first coined during the advent of caravaning during the early 1960's. Battery manufacturers and retailers prior to this would just supply a standard or heavy duty car battery which would cope with the electrical demand of the 1960's caravaner.Some people even used military glass made batteries left over from WW2. As the popularity of caravaning and mobile living increased and advances in electrical appliances grew so did the demand on batteries available at that time. Manufacturers in Britain had to come up with something that would cope with these new demands and be a stand alone product for the leisure application and market. People needed a battery that could cope with electrical demand, be rechargeable, have longevity ,be portable and affordable.</div>
<div>The first leisure battery available came in one size. A 60 AH leisure battery was launched during the early 1970's. This was a relatively small, portable battery that could cope with the needs of the user. Thicker lead plates inside the battery, fibre glass separator and a carry handle was the difference between the new leisure battery and the older car batteries that were being used. Sales of the product were excellent as the product clearly attracted the target market, did the job and was affordable. World advances in electrical appliances for caravans and boats put further demand on the battery and manufacturers had to produce larger batteries in capacity. This has continued right up to today with many 12v batteries being available up to a massive 260AH. One brutal truth is that the technology has not really changed a great deal from those early days. In fact most if not all lead acid batteries still share massive similarities to the first battery made during the 1800's. Bizarre when you think about the demand on batteries today than way back then.</div>
<div>Over the years and right up to date the main problem some people encounter with leisure batteries after a period of time is loss of capacity. What is is this and why does it happen?</div>
<div>All batteries have a finite lifespan governed by the conditions it is run in. Modern affordable leisure batteries are designed to by used then recharged at 50% of the batteries capacity or 11.9 volts from being fully charged (12.6 above). This will ensure longevity and keep the battery up in its nominated capacity. The loss of capacity occurs when the battery is discharged too low or fully flattened then recharged. Over a period of time the battery looses its active material and drains quickly under load. What may be strange to some people is that this is not a fault with the battery, it has simply been misused. Always keep a check on the amount you are discharging your battery. Check the voltage or purchase purpose made battery monitors which switch the battery off once it is discharged by 50%.</div>
<div>When looking for a leisure battery try and be realistic in what you expect your chosen battery to do. All our products come with information on line in regards to capacity, how many recharges it can do and at what depth of discharge. Most leisure battery users with Caravans, boats etc will simply need a standard 300 cycle leisure battery which is affordable, will last and will cope with the seasonal use of the battery. The term 'leisure battery' is indeed for that purpose, Leisure time use. People who live on boats, caravans and motor homes will need to look for batteries with higher capacity, more recharge cycles and lower depths of discharge normally found in our AGM, Traction and 6v Mono bloc batteries. These batteries offer the user a product which is designed to be used regularly and discharged at higher rates.</div>
<div>We offer a huge range of leisure batteries for all people and we are always here to help, Please see our for range of <a href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/leisure-batteries/">leisure batteries</a>.</div>
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		<title><![CDATA[The Bigger Picture: Wind Turbines]]></title>
		<link><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/the-bigger-picture-wind-turbines/]]></link>
		<comments><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/the-bigger-picture-wind-turbines/#respond]]></comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jul 2012 17:49:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://alphabatteries.refinedinternet.co.uk/blog/?p=9]]></guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<p>At Alpha Batteries we sell a number of small scale wind turbines such as a 600 Watt 24v Wind Turbine used to charge and maintain leisure and car batteries in a domestic and commercial setting, but how does this translate in a global setting?</p>
<p><strong>What Issues Affect Output of Wind Turbines?</strong></p>
<p>Wind energy will undoubtedly be the cleanest form of making power from renewable sources. There’s no pollution, no fossil fuel burning, and unless something extremely dramatic occurs, you do not run out of any wind. However, it isn’t like you could erect wind turbines anyplace and they’ll begin generating power. There will be a lot of factors which could make a huge impact upon the quantity of energy generated out of wind.</p>
<p><strong>Wind</strong></p>
<p>Them being wind turbines, their output initially depends upon the wind. The force and speed of the wind could be deciding issues. The more wind force and speed you possess, the larger the quantity of power the wind turbines will generate. Various areas possess various wind speeds. You could collect the obtainable wind dynamics information and utilize a model such as Webull Distribution to calculate how efficient the wind of a specific area will be.</p>
<p><strong>Height</strong></p>
<p>Locations of high altitudes possess more wind because of a variety of environmental issues. Besides, within higher locations there’s less obstruction from the surrounding buildings, trees and hills. As a matter of fact the height will be so vital that the alternative energy engineers and scientists are attempting to utilize kites (because of the heights they could reach easily) to tap wind power.</p>
<p><strong>Rotor</strong></p>
<p>The quantity of energy made by a wind turbine will be proportional to the size of a rotor utilized, as every additional factor has been taken within consideration. A larger rotor will generate more power. Though it might be priced more, within the long run, as you’re getting a wind turbine erected, choose as big a rotor as probable.</p>
<p><strong>Is It Probable To Convert To Full Wind Power?</strong></p>
<p>With every bit of the chatter of being green, the question was thrown out on several occasions if there’ll be a period we could utilize nothing except renewable energy in order to power the world. A smaller island inside Denmark is attempting to answer that with a “yes” as it powers up each day using nothing except wind power.</p>
<p>This Danish island is the perfect scene as the wind never ceases to blow. The North Sea provides the ideal chance of capitalizing upon the winds which come off the sea and for them to utilize wind power as their main power source. In fact, wind power they’re utilizing is their sole power source.</p>
<p>Samso Island possesses around 4,000 individuals who live upon this island and they possess a direct stake into how well the project works. These residents include those who have ownership in shares within many of the windmills being utilized to power this island. That being said, they do not care about the windmill noises as the blades whip around to develop electricity.</p>
<p>Naysayers argue that it’s good on this island, yet how would it work within a city? The naysayers need only to know that the “island” is larger than Manhattan in New York. It provides hope that sometime in the future, irrespective of the size or location, that a whole United States city could utilize some type of renewable energy to obtain their power. To have the ability to erase the whole carbon footprint could really be a reality.</p>
<p>The one aspect holding most of the projects back includes the financing aspect. They could be very expensive to get going, yet due to islands such as Samso, improvements continuously are being made and over a period of time, costs will decrease. We only have to keep plugging away and at some point, the world will get used to a greener method of thinking.</p>
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		<title><![CDATA[The Bigger Picture: Solar Panels]]></title>
		<link><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/the-bigger-picture-solar-panels/]]></link>
		<comments><![CDATA[http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/the-bigger-picture-solar-panels/#respond]]></comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:02:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
			<guid isPermaLink="false"><![CDATA[http://alphabatteries:8888/blog/?p=5]]></guid>
			<description><![CDATA[<p>At Alpha Batteries we sell a range of <a title="solar panels" href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/buy-online/solar-panels/cat_76.html">solar panels</a> for trickle charging and maintaining car and leisure batteries in a domestic and commercial setting, such as this <a href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/buy-online/solar-panels/45-watt-polycrystalline-solar-panel/prod_290.html">45 Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panel</a> but what other developments are going on in the industry?</p>
<p>You have possibly viewed calculators that had solar cells – devices which never require batteries and within a few instances, do not possess an off button. So long as there is an adequate amount of light, they’ll seem to last forever. You might additionally have viewed bigger <a title="solar panels" href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/buy-online/solar-panels/cat_76.html">solar panels</a>, maybe upon buoys, call boxes, emergency road signs and within parking lots in order to power the lights.</p>
<p>Though the larger solar panels are not as typical as those solar-powered calculators, they are obtainable and easy to notice if you understand where you to search. As a matter of fact, photovoltaics – once utilized nearly exclusively within space, providing power to satellites’ electrical systems since 1958 – are being utilized more within less exotic methods. This <a title="solar panel" href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/buy-online/solar-panels/cat_76.html">solar panel</a> technology continuously pops up within newer devices frequently, from electric car charging stations to sunglasses.</p>
<p>The expectation of a “solar revolution” has been around for years – the thought of one day using free electricity powered by the sun. It’s a seductive promise, due to on a sunny, bright day, the sun’s rays emit around 1,000 watts of energy a sq. meter of the earth’s surface. If it was possible to collect every bit of that energy, we might easily power our offices and homes for free using <a title="solar panel" href="http://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/buy-online/solar-panels/cat_76.html">solar panel</a> technology.</p>
<p><strong>Developments within Solar Panels Cell Technology</strong></p>
<p>Problems with cost-effectiveness spurred countless research efforts targeted at fine-tuning and developing newer methods of making solar power growingly competitive with conventional energy resources.</p>
<p>For instance, single-crystal silicon is not the sole material utilized within PV cells. Polycrystalline silicon will be utilized within an attempt to slash manufacturing expenses, though resulting cells are not as effective as single crystal silicon. The second-generational solar cell technology will consist of what is referred to as the thin-film solar cells. As they additionally usually sacrifice a bit of efficiency, they are cheaper and simpler to make – and become more effective all the time. The thin-film solar cells could be created from various materials, involving amorphous silicon (that possesses no crystalline structure), cadmium telluride, copper indium diselenide, and gallium arsenide.</p>
<p>An additional plan for raising effectiveness is to utilize more than one layer of various materials with differing band gaps. Keep in mind that depending upon a substance, photons of various energies will be absorbed. Therefore, by stacking the higher band gap material upon the surface in order to absorb higher-energy photons (permitting low-energy photons to become absorbed by the low band gap material underneath), higher efficiencies may result. These types of cells, referred to as multi-junction cells, could possess more than a single electric field.</p>
<p>The concentrating photovoltaic technology will be an additional promising industry of development. Rather than merely converting and collecting a part of whatever sunlight happens to shine and become converted within electricity, the concentrating PV systems utilize the addition of the optical equipment such as mirrors and lenses to concentrate larger quantities of solar energy into highly effective solar cells. Though the systems are usually more expensive to produce, they possess numerous benefits over traditional solar panel setups as well as encourage further development and research efforts.</p>
<p>All of these various versions of the solar cell technology have businesses imagining products and applications which run the gamut, from everyday things such as PV-powered laptop cases, clothes and curtains to space-based power stations and solar powered planes. Not even the tiny universe of nanoparticles is left out, and researchers are exploring the probability for organically made solar cells.</p>
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