BATTERY

RATING

WHAT IS BATTERY RATING?

The voltage rating of a battery may be expressed

as open circuit or operating voltage. Open circuit

voltage is the voltage measured across the battery
when there is no load on the battery. Operating voltage
is the voltage measured across the battery when it
is under a load.
The available current from a battery is expressed

as the batterys capacity to provide a certain amount

of current for a certain amount of time and at a certain
temperature. Basically, a capacity rating expresses
how much electrical energy a battery can store.

AMPERE-HOUR
A commonly used capacity rating is the

ampere-hour rating. In the past, this

was the common rating method for
lead-acid batteries. However, these
batteries are now rated otherwise.
Other battery designs are still rated in
ampere-hours or milliamp-hours.
The ampere-hour (AH) rating is the
amount of steady current that a fully
charged battery can supply for 20 hours
at 80F (26.7) without the cells voltage
dropping below a predetermined level.
For example, if a 12-volt battery can be
discharged for 20 hours at a rate of 4.0
amperes before its voltage drops to
10.5 volts, it would be rated at 80 AH
(20 hours x 4 amps = 80 AH). A 100 AH
battery will provide 1 amp for 100
hours, or 100 amps for 1 hour.

WATT-HOUR RATING
Some battery manufacturers rate their batteries in watt-

hours. The watt-hour rating is determined at 0F

(17.7C) because the batterys capacity changes with
temperature. The rating is calculated by multiplying a
batterys AH rating by the batterys voltage. The watt-hour
rating of a battery may be listed in units of kilowatts. If a
battery can deliver 5 AH at 200 volts, it would be rated at 1
kilowatt-hour (5 AH x 200 volts = 1,000 watt-hour or 1
kilowatt-hour).

COLD CRANKING AMPS

The cold cranking amps (CCA)

rating is the common method of

rating most automotive starting
batteries. It is determined by the
load, in amperes, that a battery is
able to deliver for 30 seconds at
0F (17.7C) without its voltage
dropping below a predetermined
level. That voltage level for a 12volt battery is 7.2 volts. The
normal range for passenger car
and light truck batteries is
between 300 and 600 CCA; some
batteries have a rating as high as
1,100 CCA.

CRANKING AMPS
The cranking amps (CA) rating is similar to CCA and is

a measure of the current a battery can deliver at 32F (0C)

for 30 seconds and maintain voltage at a predetermined
level. Again, this level is 1.2 volts per cell (7.2 volts) for a
12-volt battery. This rating is more commonly used in
climates that are not subject to extremely cold weather.
Typically, the CCA rating of a battery is about 20% less
than its CA rating.

RESERVE CAPACITY
The reserve capacity (RC) rating is determined by the

length of time, in minutes, that a fully charged starting

battery at 80F (26.7C) can be discharged at 25 amperes
before battery voltage drops below 10.5 volts. This rating
gives an indication of how long the vehicle can be driven
with the headlights on if the charging system fails. A battery
with a reserve capacity of 120 would be able to deliver 25
amps for 120 minutes before its voltage drops below 10.5
volts.