First of all I am a Solar newb and a huge researcher. It seems like the more I read the more confused I get so I am asking for anyones help that is willing to offer it on setting up an off the grid solar setup. I have been trying to back into the solar panel sizing and I just dont think I am doing this right.
Here are the basics of what we need. We will need to operate 2 battery chargers from the solar setup to keep 2 batteries charged for use at all times. One issue we have is that the batteries could be used daily and therefore need to be charged daily or there could be a number of days of no use. The chargers are the type that charge at a higher rate until the battery is charged then drop down to a trickle charge. My thought is figure the solar setup using the worst case scenario and saying there will be a daily discharge and subsequent need to use the higher power charge rate to recharge the batteries.
Here are the specs on what we have.
Battery 1 that will need to be charged. 48v sealed battery. The charger we were given to charge looks like a small scooter battery charger. The numbers on this charger are as follows.
110ac output 36v 1.8a. This does roll down to a trickle charge but I do not have the specs on the amps it runs at. Assuming 1a on trickle. Typically this takes about 6 hours to charge the battery.
Battery 2: 12v marine deep cycle battery. The charger to charge this battery will be one of the typical car chargers that can deal with deep cycle batteries. The numbers I have on that are as follows.
110ac output 12v 12a for normal charge and 12v 2a on trickle charge. This battery would require about 5 hours to charge before switching to trickle.
As far as I can see this will require an inverter to run the chargers.
The question I have is what size solar setup would we need for this. We are in Houston and I have read that 4.5 hours of sun per day is what we would expect.
In trying to figure this out I came up with needing a 6kw system and I just know that is not right. A $10k dollar system for 2 battery chargers doesnt make since. After more research I think I determined the watt hour needs are 2520 for a 24 hr period. Do we divide that by 24 to get an hourly draw and then start backing into the solar setup? AS you can see I seem pretty mixed up.
So, any assistance anyone can give we would appreciate.
Here are the basics of what we need. We will need to operate 2 battery chargers from the solar setup to keep 2 batteries charged for use at all times. One issue we have is that the batteries could be used daily and therefore need to be charged daily or there could be a number of days of no use. The chargers are the type that charge at a higher rate until the battery is charged then drop down to a trickle charge. My thought is figure the solar setup using the worst case scenario and saying there will be a daily discharge and subsequent need to use the higher power charge rate to recharge the batteries.
Here are the specs on what we have.
Battery 1 that will need to be charged. 48v sealed battery. The charger we were given to charge looks like a small scooter battery charger. The numbers on this charger are as follows.
110ac output 36v 1.8a. This does roll down to a trickle charge but I do not have the specs on the amps it runs at. Assuming 1a on trickle. Typically this takes about 6 hours to charge the battery.
Battery 2: 12v marine deep cycle battery. The charger to charge this battery will be one of the typical car chargers that can deal with deep cycle batteries. The numbers I have on that are as follows.
110ac output 12v 12a for normal charge and 12v 2a on trickle charge. This battery would require about 5 hours to charge before switching to trickle.
As far as I can see this will require an inverter to run the chargers.
The question I have is what size solar setup would we need for this. We are in Houston and I have read that 4.5 hours of sun per day is what we would expect.
In trying to figure this out I came up with needing a 6kw system and I just know that is not right. A $10k dollar system for 2 battery chargers doesnt make since. After more research I think I determined the watt hour needs are 2520 for a 24 hr period. Do we divide that by 24 to get an hourly draw and then start backing into the solar setup? AS you can see I seem pretty mixed up.
So, any assistance anyone can give we would appreciate.
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