Invicta Xero Lithium Battery Review

Whether it’s caravanning, camping, 4-wheel driving or living the grey nomad life, travelling throughout our breathtaking landscapes is a key part of the Aussie dream for many. But no matter how you travel, having the right gear can make or break your adventure. When it comes to keeping the lights on, the wheels rolling and the fridge cold, nothing is more important than having the right auxiliary battery in your system.

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In this blog, we are going to delve into all the key features of Invicta Lithium’s latest battery and see why it could be your next great travel mate.

Invicta Lithium: An Overview

Invicta Lithium Batteries is a brand owned and operated by Sealed Performance Batteries (SPB), and was founded out of a desire to provide a high-quality Lithium-Iron Phosphate solution to the Australian market.

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Australian-owned Sealed Performance Batteries has been operating for over 25 years within the battery industry. The first began distributing energy storage to the automotive industry, but have since expanded their client base to include the likes of mining companies, government agencies, property developers and more.

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Backed by the knowledge and experience of SPB, Invicta Lithium has grown to become a well-known brand in the Australian market. Invicta Lithium strives to provide its customers with the best quality batteries, making independent testing and certification a key component of their design and production process. 

Invicta’s Newest Battery Range: Invicta Xero

Invicta Lithium has just launched the newest addition to its offerings: the Invicta Xero Lithium Battery Range. The inaugural member of the range is the 120Ah Xero Battery, with more capacities to surely follow.

Some of the key features of the 120Ah Xero battery include:

• 120Ah Capacity
• Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Battery
• IEC62619 Certification
• Built-in Bluetooth Monitoring
• IP67 Protective Casing
• Multiple Communication Ports
• 7-Year Full Replacement Warranty
• High-Performance BMS
• 3000+ Cycles (100% DoD)
• Improved Parallel/Series Configurations
• Increased Discharge/Charge Capabilities
• New Rugged Case And Internal Design
• Detachable Mounting Feet
• Aluminium Encased Prismatic Cells

CAN bus Communication - What is it and why is it important?

The Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is a communication protocol within automobiles and other electronic devices to communicate with each other. The CAN bus system is used to create a large, single network that connects multiple control systems together, allowing the connected systems to communicate directly and reliably within the system.

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The addition of CAN bus communication to the Xero range means that these battery units can directly communicate with inverters, monitors and other external devices to share highly accurate data from the battery unit. This means that Xero batteries can directly connect with a monitoring device like the Victron GX Touch 50 without needing an external shunt to do so.

Interconnectable Battery Management Systems (BMS)

An inter-connectable battery management system is something previously only seen with external BMS units connected to batteries i.e. Victron External BMS Lithium Battery. The Xero battery range has managed to achieve this feat in an internal BMS unit, which is a major positive for this battery.

Regular LiFePO4 batteries have included internal BMS units. However, this causes an issue when there are multiple batteries in a bank, the BMS units don’t communicate between each other. This can cause all sorts of headaches when trying to balance the batteries in the unit and can leave you with different values after balancing each battery. 

By connecting the BMS module together, it allows them to communicate with each other. This will in turn reduce the issues that arise from having isolated BMS units, such as one battery being over-discharged while the other is being under-discharged. Avoiding this imbalance in your system will help to maximise the lifespan of your batteries and reduce the frustration of unreliable power.

Having BMS units that communicate with each other also allows for the batteries to be connected in series, which connects multiple batteries together as if they were one battery bank. Connecting batteries in series can also help to increase the voltage output of the battery bank, which is best for applications that require high voltage. Without the communication between the BMS units, there’s no way to balance the batteries in series without using the internal cell balancing.

The BMS in the Xero battery range is a more advanced unit, having successfully integrated CAN bus communication in an internal BMS. Invicta has designed the best of both worlds, bringing the communication benefits usually seen in external BMS units and putting it into an internal BMS unit which negates the need for external load and charge relays.

It is worth noting that although this unit is advanced in its design, it does unfortunately lose a feature common to other LiFePO4 batteries. Where other batteries, such as the Victron External BMS Lithium Battery, offer a two-way channel for the voltage, the Invicta Xero Battery only offers a one-way channel. Therefore, in an overcharge or high cell-voltage situation, it cannot turn the chargers off to allow you to discharge and vice versa, in a low cell-voltage situation, it can’t turn off the discharging to allow you to charge.

This is something to take into consideration before adding the Xero battery to your system if your specific application requires a level of voltage protection.

IEC 62619 Certification

In November 2023, a new provision to the Electrical Installations Standard was released; AS/NZS 3001.2:2022. The new standard was introduced after a recent evaluation of Lithium batteries and the technology surrounding them. AS/NZS 3001.2:2022 places a strong emphasis on safe battery technology and installation techniques.

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A key point of the new standard is 5.4.12.3.1, which pertains mainly to the manufacturing of the batteries, which is where the IEC 62619 Certification comes in:

This point of the AS/NZS 3001.2:2022 standard means that all batteries must now be IEC 62619 certified. The IEC 62619 standard outlines the specific requirements and tests for the safe operation of secondary lithium cells and batteries. Basically, this standard can be used by companies such as TÜV SÜD to test lithium batteries and ensure that they are legally safe for consumers to use.

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So, in short, the Australian & New Zealand Standards now require lithium batteries to be compliant with the IEC 62619 standard, which ensures that the battery is safe to use. This means that the Invicta Xero battery range is completely compliant, and has the certifications to back it up. On top of knowing that the Invicta Xero battery range is compliant, it is also good to know that Invicta’s whole range of batteries are IEC 62619, and have been since before the new standards were introduced - a definite win for Invicta.

Built for the Australian Climate - IP67 Rating

Ingress Protection (IP) ratings were developed by the IEC to grade an enclosure’s resistance to the intrusion of dust and liquids. The IP ratings are used for electrical products internationally to help consumers best understand how to maintain and protect their devices.

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The IP rating consists of two numbers, the first rates the protection against solid objects and the second rates the protection against liquids. This number provides a short-hand indication of the level of protection the electronic equipment has. These number ratings correlate with a full description of the protection provided against the relevant intrusion, as provided below.

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The Xero battery, for example, is housed in an IP67-rated casing. This means that the battery is rated at 6 against solid objects, making it Dust-protected and rated at 7 against liquids, making it Protected against the effects of temporary immersion in water.

So, why is that rating important?

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Having such a strong and high IP rating allows for the Xero batteries to become a choice competitor across various installation markets. The IP67 rating means that not only is this battery a strong choice for 4WD enthusiasts and frequent campers/caravanners, but it is also a perfect battery for marine applications like house/recreation boats. This IP rating also contributes to the IEC 62619 certification for the battery. The dust and water-resistant casing will allow customers to easily install this battery within the new guidelines. 

What Makes it Different to Other Batteries?

In addition to the key features listed above, the Xero range also hides some components that set it apart from the rest. 

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The 120Ah Xero battery features an ON/OFF on the top of the unit itself. This allows you to shut down the system directly at the battery. Doing this will stop the battery from discharging, and will isolate the whole system while the vehicle is not running for long periods of time.

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The 120Ah Xero battery is also equipped with its own in-built feet. These ‘feet’ are floor mourning clips, which makes it much easier to install the battery securely. 

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Physically, this battery unit itself is quite small for its capacity. Compared with other 120Ah battery units, the 308x168x220mm unit is quite compact. This is particularly important in applications such as 4WD and caravans where space is a prized possession.

Conclusion

In summary, the Invicta Xero battery offers all the key features you need to efficiently run your travel power system. The advanced technical design encapsulated by the rugged external casing makes this battery a perfect choice for Australian travel. On top of this, the battery also carries all the key certifications, so you can rest assured that your system will continue to provide you with efficient, safe and reliable power for years to come.

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