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Battery Depth of Discharge Calculator

Trade depth of discharge against cycle life and usable energy.

About Battery Depth of Discharge Calculator

Shallower cycling extends cycle life more than proportionally, so lifetime throughput often peaks at a moderate depth of discharge rather than at either extreme. Lifetime energy throughput rather than nominal capacity is what determines the cost per kWh cycled, and therefore the economics of storage.

Formula

Battery Depth of Discharge

Cycle life rises as depth of discharge falls, roughly as (100 ÷ DoD)^0.8

throughput
Total energy the battery will pass in its lifetime, the real value measure

Worked example

With the default values below, Battery Depth of Discharge Calculator returns Usable Energy per Cycle of 8.0000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Nominal capacityminimum 0 kWh
10 kWh
Depth of dischargeaccepts 0–100 %
80 %
Cycle life at full dischargeminimum 1 cycles
3,000 cycles
Cycles per yearminimum 1
300

Results

Usable Energy per Cycle
8.0000 kWh
Expected Cycle Life at That Depth
3,586 cycles
Expected Life
11.95 years
Lifetime Energy Throughput
28,691 kWh
Relative Cost per kWh Cycled
0.03485

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Battery Depth of Discharge
  3. 3Usable Energy per Cycle= 8.0000 kWh
  4. 4Expected Cycle Life at That Depth= 3,586 cycles
  5. 5Expected Life= 11.95 years
  6. 6Lifetime Energy Throughput= 28,691 kWh
  7. 7Relative Cost per kWh Cycled= 0.03485

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 5 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Battery Depth of Discharge calculated?

Cycle life rises as depth of discharge falls, roughly as (100 ÷ DoD)^0.8 Shallower cycling extends cycle life more than proportionally, so lifetime throughput often peaks at a moderate depth of discharge rather than at either extreme.

Why does Battery Depth of Discharge matter?

Lifetime energy throughput rather than nominal capacity is what determines the cost per kWh cycled, and therefore the economics of storage.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Nominal capacity, Depth of discharge, Cycle life at full discharge, Cycles per year. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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