I've been trying to design a solar system for my in-laws' dock, but I've been running into some issues and wanted to make sure I've got the calculations right.
Background:
- Off-grid system to provide power for lights on a boat dock
- Dock already has electrical appliances (listed below) as it used to be hooked up to land power
- Dock is a two bay, two story with a top sun deck, and the edges of the sun deck has a slightly sloped tin roof angled toward the sun that are about 3'x25' (hopefully will mount panels here)
- Primarily need power for lights at night (4-5 hours)
- Will also use power for vacuuming the boat and maybe powering a fan or a speaker
- Since this is a boat dock we won't be using it much, if any, in the winter, so the calculations below should cover the maximum need
Current Appliances:
- Two motion sensor flood light fixtures with two bulbs each (4 bulbs total)
- Four accent lights on top deck (4 bulbs total)
- Two general purpose lights over each bay (2 bulbs total)
- Four total standard receptacles
In order to make this work, we can change the bulbs to anything. I'm thinking 11W CFLs for the accent lights, some low wattage LEDs for the flood lights, and probably some 15-20W CFLs for the general purpose lights. I don't have specifics on the vacuum, but from a quick Google search it seems the average is around 450W (probably no more than 15 minutes for a boat). A fan seems to be about 100W, and to be safe that could be up to 8 hours continuous run. Other stuff like iPhone or Bluetooth speaker charging will hopefully be negligible.
With all of that info, I keep coming back to 4x 160W panels, a 1000W inverter, and 2x 220Ah 12V batteries minimum. I know I can cut some off by keeping the fan and the vacuum out of the calculation, but I figured I'd start high.
Questions:
1. Am I even close on the calculations?
2. If I'm close, is there any where I can reasonably cut back?
3. Any reason I should go with 24V instead of 12V?
4. Should I piece the design together myself, or order a kit?
5. Should I worry about loss at the panels since they'll be mounted on a tin roof on a dock?
6. Aside from dropping components into the water and general electrical safety, anything I should worry about with a solar system on a dock?
7. Any reputable suppliers that you guys prefer over others?
Thanks!
Background:
- Off-grid system to provide power for lights on a boat dock
- Dock already has electrical appliances (listed below) as it used to be hooked up to land power
- Dock is a two bay, two story with a top sun deck, and the edges of the sun deck has a slightly sloped tin roof angled toward the sun that are about 3'x25' (hopefully will mount panels here)
- Primarily need power for lights at night (4-5 hours)
- Will also use power for vacuuming the boat and maybe powering a fan or a speaker
- Since this is a boat dock we won't be using it much, if any, in the winter, so the calculations below should cover the maximum need
Current Appliances:
- Two motion sensor flood light fixtures with two bulbs each (4 bulbs total)
- Four accent lights on top deck (4 bulbs total)
- Two general purpose lights over each bay (2 bulbs total)
- Four total standard receptacles
In order to make this work, we can change the bulbs to anything. I'm thinking 11W CFLs for the accent lights, some low wattage LEDs for the flood lights, and probably some 15-20W CFLs for the general purpose lights. I don't have specifics on the vacuum, but from a quick Google search it seems the average is around 450W (probably no more than 15 minutes for a boat). A fan seems to be about 100W, and to be safe that could be up to 8 hours continuous run. Other stuff like iPhone or Bluetooth speaker charging will hopefully be negligible.
With all of that info, I keep coming back to 4x 160W panels, a 1000W inverter, and 2x 220Ah 12V batteries minimum. I know I can cut some off by keeping the fan and the vacuum out of the calculation, but I figured I'd start high.
Questions:
1. Am I even close on the calculations?
2. If I'm close, is there any where I can reasonably cut back?
3. Any reason I should go with 24V instead of 12V?
4. Should I piece the design together myself, or order a kit?
5. Should I worry about loss at the panels since they'll be mounted on a tin roof on a dock?
6. Aside from dropping components into the water and general electrical safety, anything I should worry about with a solar system on a dock?
7. Any reputable suppliers that you guys prefer over others?
Thanks!
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