The House Bank Is the Core of Boat Power
On a sailing yacht or motor cruiser, the battery that matters day to day is the house bank. It feeds navigation electronics, lighting, refrigeration, fresh water pumps and, through an inverter, the small AC appliances crews bring aboard. Engine starting sits on its own battery and its own duty cycle, and the two should be specified separately. A marine battery purchase therefore starts from the house load sheet, with the engine circuit handled by the product class designed for that job. Because the bank cycles daily and recharges between uses, its chemistry and its charge sources shape every other choice on board, from cable sizes to the settings the crew is allowed to change.
Load Sheet for a Day Afloat
The following sheet is an illustrative day at anchor, which an owner or boat builder adjusts to the equipment actually fitted:
| Load | Power | Hours per day | Energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chartplotter and instruments | 30 W | 8 h | 240 Wh |
| VHF and navigation lights | 30 W | 6 h | 180 Wh |
| Refrigeration | 60 W | 10 h | 600 Wh |
| Fresh water pump | 60 W | 0.5 h | 30 Wh |
| Cabin lighting | 40 W | 4 h | 160 Wh |
| Inverter loads, small AC appliances | 150 W | 2 h | 300 Wh |
The illustrative total is about 1.5 kWh per day, with the refrigerator as the single largest item. Crews that add an inverter microwave or a dive compressor change the picture completely, and the bank and the cabling must follow.
Choosing the 12.8V Pack
The YueQi 12.8V series comes in 100, 150 and 200 amp-hour ratings, so roughly 1.3 to 2.6 kWh nominal per pack. One 200 Ah pack covers the sheet above for more than a day; two in parallel give margin for cloudy days when solar underperforms. Because LiFePO4 delivers a deep share of rated capacity in daily cycling and accepts partial charging without damage, the bank works well with the irregular rhythm of boat use. Continuous discharge ratings and parallel limits belong to the model datasheet and should be confirmed in writing against the inverter loads planned.
The Marine Environment
- Salt mist and humidity attack terminals and housings; protected terminals, covers and periodic inspection are part of the installation, not extras
- Mounting must restrain the pack against heel and wave shock, with ventilation as the manual requires
- Bilge proximity is a poor home for any battery; choose a dry, drained location
- Enclosure ratings and temperature ranges are model-specific and should be read from the datasheet rather than assumed
Boat builders should also confirm which standards their market and classification society expect for the installation, since those duties sit with the builder and the installer. Certificate copies for the marks shown on a product are available from the manufacturer on request.
Charging On Board
Three charge sources share most boats. The alternator feeds the house bank through a DC-DC charger, which protects the starting system and respects the BMS charge limit. A shore charger with a lithium profile tops the bank at the dock. Solar through an MPPT controller covers the anchorages. LiFePO4 does not need a float stage, and equalize programs written for lead-acid should stay off. Where an older charger must be kept, its profile should be confirmed with the battery supplier in writing before the bank is connected.
Monitoring and Handover
A battery monitor with a shunt, or the BMS data over its serial interface, gives the crew a state of charge they can act on, because voltage alone hides the charge level on a flat LiFePO4 curve. At handover, the documentation set should include the model datasheet, the charger settings, the fuse sizes and the inspection interval. This is what turns a good installation into a reference the next owner trusts.
Where YueQi Fits
YueQi New Energy, based in Zhongshan, Guangdong, builds 12.8V LiFePO4 packs in 100, 150 and 200 amp-hour ratings alongside 25.6V and 51.2V classes for larger vessels and hybrid layouts. The catalog lists specifications per model, with CE and UN 38.3 marks shown on the literature and certificate copies available on request. Marine-specific approvals, enclosure ratings for a given model and commercial terms are to be confirmed in writing, so the builder's specification matches the pack that ships.
Tell us the operating profile for this application on the quote page, and we will propose a pack specification and system layout in writing.