A Deep Cycle Battery is a special type of large capacity battery which can be discharged regularly to about 50% of its capacity. They are a similar size to a car battery but the difference is the chemicals inside. A car battery is designed to be discharged only a small amount, then recharged instantly. Discharging a car battery will leave it with a very bad memory effect and this effect worsens as it goes without being recharged. 20 large discharges may damage a car battery and stop it from ever being fully charged again, where as a deep cycle battery can handle several hundered deep discharges, and go longer without being recharged. 

Even with the discharge capability of a deep cycle battery, it should never drop below 50% of its capacity, but can go several days or sometimes weeks without being recharged and still be as good as new.

A deep cycle battery will have a rating on the side. It will specify a voltage - usually 6 or 12, and an Amp-Hour / Ah rating. More expensive batteries will have a higher Amp-hour rating and therefore have a larger capacity. It is recommended that you purchase 12 volt batteries because your solar panels will most likely be 12 volt. If you need to purchase 6 volt batteries, they can be wired in a special way to increase the voltage to 12. You can purchase more deep cycle backup batteries to add to the required capacity.

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