Question: Does the depth of discharge effect cycle life? Answer: Yes! The harder any battery has to work, the sooner it will fail. TYPICAL GEL CELL CYCLING ABILITY VS. DEPTH OF DISCHARGE Capacity Withdrawn Typical Life Cycles 100% 200 50% 400 30% 667 10% 2000 1% 20000 As you can see, the shallower the average discharge, the longer the life. This is why it's important to size a battery system to deliver at least twice the average power required.