Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

First solar project for the cabin

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • First solar project for the cabin

    First post and a newbie here, so take it easy on me.
    Have a small cabin in Mississippi for the past 7yrs. I am there every other weekend for two days. No elect, because the power co. wanted to charge me over 3K to get it to me. We have been using candles,12vt LED lighting,and also have two gensets for bigger loads like microwave,fans and tools.Cooking and hot water is on propane. Now the good part>>> My son in law who works for a solar co. got me a few items;3-190watt,24vt panels(SF160-24-M190B Hanwha), Midnight combiner box with breakers, Morningstar TS-MPPT -60 CC,digital meter,cables and 1000watt pure sine wave inverter and fuses and disconnects. I also have a buddy that sells Trojan batteries,so I was going to run six T105s for a 12vt bank(675AH).
    My load will be somewhat variable at 2000wt/hrs/day. See any issues here? System matched OK? Thoughts?

  • #2
    That will mean batteries in parallel which is never a good idea.
    If feasable do a 48 volt system with batteries in series
    The tristar MPPT should handle the panels in series and wiring will be less expensive and batteries will last longer
    See the off grid battery design link in my sig line
    NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

    [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

    [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

    [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for the reply Naptown. After lurking here a while and doing some reading, I see that wiring my battery bank in series/ parallel in not a good idea. Perhaps going with eight of those golf cart batteries in series would solve that issue.( or maybe 6 8vt batteries} Seems like I would have to get another panel to support the batteries for a balanced system?

      Comment


      • #4
        What's the voltage of the inverter? That determines the voltage of the battery bank, unless you replace the inverter.
        Solar Queen
        altE Store

        Comment


        • #5
          The inverter is 12vt(but new in the box). Maybe I can exchange it for 24 or higher voltage, but like the idea of staying with 12vt because I can run some light dc loads without waking up the inverter.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by kennyc View Post
            No elect, because the power co. wanted to charge me over 3K to get it to me.
            So what is the problem? A whole lot cheaper than solar. $3K in solar will only get you about 1 Kwh or 10 cents worth of electricity.
            MSEE, PE

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Sunking View Post
              So what is the problem? A whole lot cheaper than solar. $3K in solar will only get you about 1 Kwh or 10 cents worth of electricity.
              He got most of the stuff for free and has generators.
              Perhaps going to larger AH but 2 or 4 volt would keep him in the 12v range.
              Just keep in mind that any large loads will need to be run from the genny
              The cables to feed large loads from battery to inverter are huge and the terminals are sometimes not large enough and will burn up
              NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

              [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

              [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

              [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Sunking View Post
                So what is the problem? A whole lot cheaper than solar. $3K in solar will only get you about 1 Kwh or 10 cents worth of electricity.
                I would normally agree, but when your son in law works for a solar wholesaler.......Kind of hard to pass it up.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Naptown View Post
                  He got most of the stuff for free and has generators.
                  Perhaps going to larger AH but 2 or 4 volt would keep him in the 12v range.
                  Just keep in mind that any large loads will need to be run from the genny
                  The cables to feed large loads from battery to inverter are huge and the terminals are sometimes not large enough and will burn up
                  The OP just has to be careful to make sure he has enough solar wattage to charge a high Ah battery bank which he will need to get an average 2kWh per day.

                  I do not think 3 of those 190watt panels will be enough. He should go to 4 but is now pushing the limit of that 60A CC.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks for all the input. I can still swap some of this back as it is still sitting in the inventory till I pick it up.
                    Keep in mind, this system will be used for two days in two weeks. It will have at least twelve days to fully recharge.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Staying at 12 volts has its advantages in that there are a LOT of items in the RV/ marine markets that will work with it.
                      He has generators worst case he could run one of them a few hours a day if loads were high and enjoy quiet evenings.
                      NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

                      [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

                      [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

                      [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X