sizing my panels.

[davidb]

I got this idea from reading this great site. Because of my Very north location. I used the PV watts calculator.gov and changed the pv array size from 3000w to 5000w (max for my budget) in 250 watt increments while watching the ac energy results. while there are months that I will have to use the genset to supplement, I figured that about 3700 watts would meet my needs for 8 out of 12 months. I would have to add 1300 (approx) more watts of panels and another expensive controller(see. I listen to you Sunking) to get just 1 more month to produce the 300 ac kwh... Disclaimer... these are approx. figures as I really dont know **** about solar yet.

[russ]

Hi David - You are following an unusual concept that many will never learn - studying and learning before buying. Good start!

[J.P.M.]

I got this idea from reading this great site. Because of my Very north location. I used the PV watts calculator.gov and changed the pv array size from 3000w to 5000w (max for my budget) in 250 watt increments while watching the ac energy results. while there are months that I will have to use the genset to supplement, I figured that about 3700 watts would meet my needs for 8 out of 12 months. I would have to add 1300 (approx) more watts of panels and another expensive controller(see. I listen to you Sunking) to get just 1 more month to produce the 300 ac kwh... Disclaimer... these are approx. figures as I really dont know **** about solar yet.

But you seem to be learning fast. AND, you seem to have a leg up in the common sense dept. Read, study, think, learn, ask questions, repeat. Welcome to the neighborhood.

[davidb]

Thank you for the compliment and support. Now for the bad news... I cannot produce enough solar to meet my needs for November thru Feburary without having a 8000 watt system. That would supply me with 5 times my summer requirements, and kill my budget. So it seems a 3700 watt system would work along with genset supplement. Now I have to figure on how long I would have to run my diesel, and how much fuel it would use according to the load. The inverters I am considering are a Magnum 4448pae or a Outback radian 4048. The Magnum has better specs, but the Outback warranty is 5 years compared to 3. I am hoping I can get Northern Lights to try and be just a little reasonable about just running the grid to me. Also I need wisdom and maybe a Valium, to not tell them to go %^^$ themselves when I get thier price.

[davidb]

But you seem to be learning fast. AND, you seem to have a leg up in the common sense dept. Read, study, think, learn, ask questions, repeat. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Everyone has a opinion, my Dad said to never argue with people who have facts to back them up. When posters here post links to back them up... people should listen even when they dont like what they hear..... especially with wiring 12v in cabins. They have caused alot of cabins to burn down, probably as much as wood stoves.

[J.P.M.]

Everyone has a opinion, my Dad said to never argue with people who have facts to back them up. When posters here post links to back them up... people should listen even when they dont like what they hear..... especially with wiring 12v in cabins. They have caused alot of cabins to burn down, probably as much as wood stoves.

I'd agree to the extent that the links you refer to reflect some form of reality and not marketing hype and manipulation. Not everything on the net, or other places for that matter, including opinions expressed on this forum (including mine BTW) that look authoritative are the best sources of accurate information.

[Sunking]

Thank you for the compliment and support. Now for the bad news... I cannot produce enough solar to meet my needs for November thru Feburary without having a 8000 watt system. That would supply me with 5 times my summer requirements, and kill my budget. So it seems a 3700 watt system would work along with genset supplement. Now I have to figure on how long I would have to run my diesel, and how much fuel it would use according to the load. The inverters I am considering are a Magnum 4448pae or a Outback radian 4048. The Magnum has better specs, but the Outback warranty is 5 years compared to 3. I am hoping I can get Northern Lights to try and be just a little reasonable about just running the grid to me. Also I need wisdom and maybe a Valium, to not tell them to go %^^$ themselves when I get thier price.

What size genny?

You want the generator to be sized so it can operate a charger so as to carry any load you are running, plus maximum charge current the batteries can take to minimize fuel burn. Best time to run genny is early morning to get the batteries back up to Absorb and let the panels do the rest. In addition if you manage your batteries you can wait until they get down to close to 50% before running genny so as not to waste fuel or have to charge everyday.

[davidb]

True. Thats why I do what a great President once said... trust but verify. Now in this web site's defence, I have been on at least a half dozen Solar sales sites, and ALL have either undersized the battery bank, mis stated the Sun Hours (giving a average instead of the low months) or have suggested two or three strings with assinine series/parallel wiring methods that would leave the middle batteries undercharged. These few mistakes would be disaster to someone on a tight budget and no genset.