Look at my solar system pics and help me finish the project (:

[SunEagle]

Is it just me or did anyone see the issue concerning the multiple strings of wire in his diagram? hollywoodtoday solar sys pic.jpg

From the panels + terminal (1 -#6 & 3-#12), from panels - terminal (1 -#4 & 3 - #12), to the inverter + & - terminal (1 - #2 & 2 - #12). The electric code does not allow you to run different gauge wires in parallel.

Also that inverter he listed is looking for 48VDC input yet the OP has a 24V battery system.

This whole system is an accident waiting to happen. Someone please get him to STOP NOW.

[Amy@altE]

Is it just me or did anyone see the issue concerning the multiple strings of wire in his diagram? [ATTACH=CONFIG]5689[/ATTACH]

From the panels + terminal (1 -#6 & 3-#12), from panels - terminal (1 -#4 & 3 - #12), to the inverter + & - terminal (1 - #2 & 2 - #12). The electric code does not allow you to run different gauge wires in parallel.

Also that inverter he listed is looking for 48VDC input yet the OP has a 24V battery system.

This whole system is an accident waiting to happen. Someone please get him to STOP NOW.

It's not just you, we have all been trying to stop him. He is not stopping, so I have switched to trying to minimize the damage and try to prevent death.

He has changed what he says he has for equipment many times. His last post said 8 6V L16 batteries. As long as they wire them in series, he will have 48v (that's for him, not you, I know you know that). You may be seeing that he is saying he has 24V panels, which he is wiring in strings of 4.

[SunEagle]

It's not just you, we have all been trying to stop him. He is not stopping, so I have switched to trying to minimize the damage and try to prevent death.

He has changed what he says he has for equipment many times. His last post said 8 6V L16 batteries. As long as they wire them in series, he will have 48v (that's for him, not you, I know you know that). You may be seeing that he is saying he has 24V panels, which he is wiring in strings of 4.

You are correct. I looked at some of the earlier posts and he does indicate a 48volt battery system. With all the changes he has made and the discussion about those "24v" panels I got a little confused.

I still think a big issue is the multiple gauge wires running in parallel between his equipment and his desire to use AC rated switches and breakers on a DC system. I hope he is wearing fire proof clothing when he energizes his system.

[Amy@altE]

I also think he has switched it to all #12 wires, which we have also tried to stop. But I do not believe there will be multiple gauges, but multiple pieces of #12. Which is still wrong.

[SunEagle]

I also think he has switched it to all #12 wires, which we have also tried to stop. But I do not believe there will be multiple gauges, but multiple pieces of #12. Which is still wrong.

Yes. I don't have the exact reference but the NEC also doesn't allow you to run parallel wires below a certain gauge and that #12 is in the "too small" a gauge category.

[sensij]

None of it matters. Wire it up however he wants, running a single phase 3 HP pump and a 1.5 HP pump from this will just not work.

The 3 HP pump pulls something like 16.5 A at 230 V, the 1.5 HP pump would pull around half of that. Figure a power factor of something like 0.75, and these pumps will take 4250 W to run. 6720 W of panels is not enough to run a 4250 W load for a meaningful amount of time, even if there was enough battery to support it, which there is not. With those batteries discharging (4250 W/ 48 V) =~90 A, they wouldn't even run for 3 hours at 100% discharge (note the rating at 75 A is 185 min).

So, go ahead, build it, it will shut itself down soon enough, and the batteries will be murdered before any of the long term electrical problems really become an issue. Building this system with anything other than a grid tie inverter is a waste of time and money, and a sad use of panels that could have been installed in a way that truly would have been of benefit to the OP in the long run.

[Amy@altE]

Soo, this 24x280w 48v system will be running our 1 and half hp well pump and our 3hp pressure pump. Theyre both 240. So hopefully we've got enough juice. I know during the summer they have a tendency to pump almost all the time for our 5 acres of park like area. At night is when I water all the grasses which can take all night as the sprinklers are staggered to go on at different times ALL night long.
(:

sensij, you are absolutely right, and have been saying it all along. I've been so focused on trying to keep him alive, I haven't bothered stepping back to do the loads list.

1.5HP and 3HP pumps for 24 hours a day. Rough, easy numbers of 750W per HP = 750W x 4.5HP x 24 hours = 81,000 watt hours a day (81kwh).

81,000Wh / 5 sun hours / .67 inefficiencies =24,179 watts of solar needed.

81,000Wh x 1 day x 2 (50% depth of discharge) x 1.04 temp deration /48V = 3510ah 48V battery for each day. And that's beating the heck out of the batteries at 50% DoD, he should at least double, better triple it.

He has 280W x 24 = 6720 watts of solar and 370ah 48V of battery. 1/4 of the solar and 1/20 of the battery needed.

[Living Large]

sensij, you are absolutely right, and have been saying it all along. I've been so focused on trying to keep him alive, I haven't bothered stepping back to do the loads list.

1.5HP and 3HP pumps for 24 hours a day. Rough, easy numbers of 750W per HP = 750W x 4.5HP x 24 hours = 81,000 watt hours a day (81kwh).

81,000 / 5 sun hours / .67 inefficiencies =24,179 watts of solar needed.

81,000 x 1 day x 2 (50% depth of discharge) x 1.04 temp deration /48V = 3510ah 48V battery for each day. And that's beating the heck out of the batteries at 50% DoD, he should at least double, better triple it.

He has 280W x 24 = 6720 watts of solar and 370ah 48V of battery. 1/4 of the solar and 1/20 of the battery needed.

The reason this was forgotten is I don't believe he took the advice given in the beginning to take this one step at a time. A stack of big automotive batteries and some wire showed up that some other people involved (neighbors, ???) said they wouldn't return, and it was off to the race(way), so to speak. You kind people are trying to help him, and have fallen into the trap you tried to avoid. My .02

[Amy@altE]

Yup