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  • Help required with 6x245w solar setup

    Hello, I have moved into a static caravan in the UK with no mains electric and I am trying to setup a solar panel system to provide me with electricity.

    I purchased 2nd hand 6 x 245w solar panels, made by Canadian Solar :CS6P-245P

    Via my research, I understand these need to connect to a charge controller, which connect to a bank of my leisure batteries which connect to an inverter.

    I require enough power to run lights/TV/laptop/phone charger etc

    It seems there are hundreds of charge controllers and inverters to choose from; so, before I start to purchase I wanted to ask others for their recommendations on which charge controller and inverter would be the best.

    I want a safe and cost effective system so the cheaper the better.

    Do let me know if you think you can help.

    Thank you

    Benjamin
    Attached Files

  • #2
    Originally posted by KernowSun View Post

    I require enough power to run lights/TV/laptop/phone charger etc

    Benjamin
    How many lights, how many watts per light, how long will they be on for (worst case scenario).

    TV - rated watts, how long on for (worst case scenario)?

    Ditto laptop (worst case scenario).

    Phone charger is pretty minimal.

    Start here and come back with the numbers so that others can help you: https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...battery-design
    Last edited by whazzatt; 08-03-2018, 02:52 PM.

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    • #3
      Most projects start with a goal. For a goal of meeting an electrical load with PV, it's necessary to describe the load as a first step.

      Describe the loads and their pattern.

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      • #4
        Thank you for the replies. I have been reading through the how-to articles on this forum for the last few days. I will try and work out my Watt use over the weekend. I am working backwards, and I do realise that. I did not expect to be living in a static caravan with no utilities at all so this has been rushed to date. I own the panels after finding someone locally getting rid of their array and will aim to get it up and running ASAP so I have some power to use.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by KernowSun View Post
          Thank you for the replies. I have been reading through the how-to articles on this forum for the last few days. I will try and work out my Watt use over the weekend. I am working backwards, and I do realise that. I did not expect to be living in a static caravan with no utilities at all so this has been rushed to date. I own the panels after finding someone locally getting rid of their array and will aim to get it up and running ASAP so I have some power to use.
          Respectfully, start with loads and how to reduce them, and then learn the basics of solar electricity, and what's available to produce it in ways that fit your goals Throwing equipment you're unfamiliar with at an ill defined goal will not get you to a good spot. It will waste money and time and your goals will be unrealized.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by KernowSun View Post
            I purchased 6 x 245w solar panels, made by Canadian Solar :CS6P-245P
            OK that is 1470 watts, call it 1500 watts. You need to educate yourself. At 1500 watts of power is more than a 12 volt system can handle. The largest controller you can buy is 80 amps. and at 12 volts maximum power is 1000 watts. You can make it work if you use two very expensive 60 amp controllers.

            At 12 volts with 120 amps of charge current requires a 1200 AH battery. A 12 volt 1200 AH battery weighs in around 850 pounds consisting of of 12 x 12 volt 100 AH batteries in parallel aka 12P of 12 x 6-volt 200 AH batteries arranged 2S6P.
            e
            So you need two Morningstar 60 amp Charge controller costing you $500 each for a total of $1000 USD, and a 850 pound $2000 battery. Good luck with all that when all you needed at most is 1 or 2 panels to do what you want.

            Cheerio.
            MSEE, PE

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            • #7
              Thank you for your replies ; i have been given 4, 12 volt leisure batteries today so i will continue to work backwards and see what power I will eventually be able to generate. I have been advised to start with a 30amp mppt charge controller and a Victron 375 Inverter and to build around the equipment I have. I will update,

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              • #8
                Originally posted by KernowSun View Post
                Thank you for your replies ; i have been given 4, 12 volt leisure batteries today so i will continue to work backwards and see what power I will eventually be able to generate. I have been advised to start with a 30amp mppt charge controller and a Victron 375 Inverter and to build around the equipment I have. I will update,
                You really need to check the state of those batteries. Why were they given away? How long have they been used and to what depth of discharge?

                Depending on how you build your system around your equipment, you might get stuck into replacing all the batteries when they die. So if you use all 4 batteries, you may have to replace all 4, depending on how the system is built.

                I am sympathetic to the approach where people build systems using components they have been given, and possibly where one battery and a charge controller have been purchased. I took this approach when learning (I'm still learning), but the school fees have been cheap. The system I am aiming for will be about as big as the simplest, cheapest option you have that I will mention below... and I'm still trying to work out a few minor details to make the most informed decision about the sizing.

                In your case, your school fees may be very expensive: if you build a system around those 4 batteries and that large panel array, you may have to replace all 4 batteries at once in the near future, which will be very costly.

                I'm probably not the guy to take system design advice from, so the rest of my response will need verifying. But from what I have ascertained, the ideal battery arrangement is in series, which means your 4 batteries could be put together in series to get a 48V battery bank. This would actually allow you to utilise all of your panels if you get a 40A charge controller / regulator (MPPT). BUT when those batteries die - and I suspect that free batteries die far sooner than you'd expect - you will need to put together another 48V battery bank, which probably means buying another four 12V batteries.

                Less ideal would be to have your two sets of free batteries connected in parallel, and then connect the sets to each other in series to get you to a 24 volt system. Here you'd likely just use 4 of your panels to keep you at around 1000W array. When the batteries die, you might get away with replacing them with only two batteries at 12V each connected in series. But here you will need to go for a slightly larger MPPT controller / regulator, like a 45A one.

                Really though, as Sunking suggested at the end of his post, you don't need a big system for the needs you mentioned (depending on how long you run that TV for). If I were you, I'd mount 2 panels, and wire two of your free batteries in parallel to keep them at 12 V. You'd need a 45A controller / regulator (MPPT). Now you only need to mount 2 panels to your caravan, spend less on mounting and cable and connections, buy a small-ish inverter, but most importantly, when the time to replace batteries comes, you only need to get 2 true deep cycle batteries at 6V each and wire them in series for a 12V bank. You can then get a car laptop charger and phone charger and run the laptop, phone and lights straight from the 12V load, and you'll only need the inverter for the TV... which I'd sell if I were you and use your laptop for watching stuff...

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                • #9
                  Hi whazzatt, sorry for the late reply. Currently rushing to move out of my house and into the caravan. I will reply in full and hopefully add some photos. Thank you for the advice, it is appreciated. Back in a few days.

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