Hi everyone,
Now that we are settled in our temporary camp on land we bought to build a straw bale-house we have been getting ridiculous quotes from utilities for provisional/temporary supplies of water and telecoms. Telecoms are all but sorted but we need electrical power and running the gennie is both noisy and expensive.
Basically we have already lost a whole year after a car accident left me unable to do anything for a long time and recovery has been slow. Now that we are finally here and recovered a little I need to get things moving but the robbery that passes for 'public' utility here in France is something I am determined to give 'the finger' to.
I already have 20 x 1.2v 250ah Ni Fe batteries that were originally purchased 5 years ago and never commissioned, I bought them after researching the technology and wanted to make them a part of our off grid solar setup. Now, my head isn't 100% yet, my body is getting there, I am able to do manual work albeit quite slowly but am determined to try and make this work. What I am struggling with is the plthora of equipment choices. Our hanger `(open fronted outbuilding) will eventually house the solar array, we will have 14 meters (45') of roof space which can hold the panels facing 11 degrees east of south, we have an average of 5.25 hrs of sun with an average cloudy spell of 3 days in every 8. I need suggestions for the panels, size and number, remember the NiFe batteries need a highish charge rate from time to time and generally don't suffer too much with overcharging. We will need a charge controller/inverter to supply charge to the battery bank and AC to our appliances. The charge gear and battery bank will be housed underneath the solar array, the AC and any direct DC usage will be in the house which is 30 meters (100') away and will feed into a regular consumer unit. There will be other power uses for exterior lighting which is further away but very little power required and may decide to feed directly from a small pv panel and 12v battery, total power required around 50w, all LED and one small IP camera. Our daily average requirements will be quite low too, around 14 kWh, with ample opportunity to use higher power appliances on sunnier days. A fridge freezer will be the only constant high power draw.
My gut tells me a 3960w array, 12 x 330w panels, maybe Sun Eddison? But which charge controller/Inverter should I be looking at? There are lots of examples of installations online but of course everyone has an idea for something a little different. I would really like to here what your ideas are, the principal element of my concern is having enough juice to keep the 24v NiFe battery bank fully charged and in good health. Where to start?
Your input would be gratefully received.
Thank you in advance, Paul
Now that we are settled in our temporary camp on land we bought to build a straw bale-house we have been getting ridiculous quotes from utilities for provisional/temporary supplies of water and telecoms. Telecoms are all but sorted but we need electrical power and running the gennie is both noisy and expensive.
Basically we have already lost a whole year after a car accident left me unable to do anything for a long time and recovery has been slow. Now that we are finally here and recovered a little I need to get things moving but the robbery that passes for 'public' utility here in France is something I am determined to give 'the finger' to.
I already have 20 x 1.2v 250ah Ni Fe batteries that were originally purchased 5 years ago and never commissioned, I bought them after researching the technology and wanted to make them a part of our off grid solar setup. Now, my head isn't 100% yet, my body is getting there, I am able to do manual work albeit quite slowly but am determined to try and make this work. What I am struggling with is the plthora of equipment choices. Our hanger `(open fronted outbuilding) will eventually house the solar array, we will have 14 meters (45') of roof space which can hold the panels facing 11 degrees east of south, we have an average of 5.25 hrs of sun with an average cloudy spell of 3 days in every 8. I need suggestions for the panels, size and number, remember the NiFe batteries need a highish charge rate from time to time and generally don't suffer too much with overcharging. We will need a charge controller/inverter to supply charge to the battery bank and AC to our appliances. The charge gear and battery bank will be housed underneath the solar array, the AC and any direct DC usage will be in the house which is 30 meters (100') away and will feed into a regular consumer unit. There will be other power uses for exterior lighting which is further away but very little power required and may decide to feed directly from a small pv panel and 12v battery, total power required around 50w, all LED and one small IP camera. Our daily average requirements will be quite low too, around 14 kWh, with ample opportunity to use higher power appliances on sunnier days. A fridge freezer will be the only constant high power draw.
My gut tells me a 3960w array, 12 x 330w panels, maybe Sun Eddison? But which charge controller/Inverter should I be looking at? There are lots of examples of installations online but of course everyone has an idea for something a little different. I would really like to here what your ideas are, the principal element of my concern is having enough juice to keep the 24v NiFe battery bank fully charged and in good health. Where to start?
Your input would be gratefully received.
Thank you in advance, Paul
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