Greetings everyone!
Last year I purchased a small 800sq ft cabin near Georgian Bay, Ontario. The cabin is off-grid and all of the components were already installed and up and running. Over the course of the summer we were up just about every weekend loving the cottage and getting the hang of all the solar stuff. Even though the cottage was only being used on weekends we were still running into the problem where the batteries would lose enough juice and the system would shut off and we'd have to fire up the generator to get them charged again. So naturally I'm thinking "I'll just add some more panels and we'll be good to go" but the more I read the more I think I'm beginning to realize it may not be that simple.
Our goal is to be able to use the cottage without worry of the system going dead with just basic weekend use. Our typical load at the cottage is fairly minimal already (charging phones and batteries for cordless tools, fridge, water pump, bosch propane tankless water heater, led potlights). In the future we'd like to have an LED TV and a dishwasher. We have pretty good sun exposure in the summer (panels are on the south side of the roof), in the winter the sun doesn't clear the trees for very long.
Current system components are as follows:
(2) 140w Kyocera panels
Morningstar TS-45 charge controller
- 45 amp PWM
- remote included
Magnum Energy MS4024 Inverter Charger
- 4000w
- 24v
- Remote included
(8) 6v 200ah Flooded batteries wired in series and parallel for a 24v setup
- Batteries are stored underneath the cottage and susceptible to the outdoor temperature fluctuations all year. As far as I know they are a couple years old. I check the water levels periodically and add more as needed. If the batteries are toast already I need to make sure it doesn't happen again!
3500w Champion generator for charging batteries etc.
So my questions are:
Do these components play well with each other or is there a weak link?
Can I add more panels without needing to upgrade something else? How many? I can purchase used 260w panels locally for about $100ea
Anyone that is familiar with the Magnum Energy remote, how do I limit the depth of discharge on the batteries so I'm not destroying the batteries prematurely? Any recommendations for my battery storage?
Looking forward to learning more about my gear and this place looks to be the best source of information that I've found so far!
If there is any more information you guys may need in order to give accurate advice just let me know!
-Brandon
Last year I purchased a small 800sq ft cabin near Georgian Bay, Ontario. The cabin is off-grid and all of the components were already installed and up and running. Over the course of the summer we were up just about every weekend loving the cottage and getting the hang of all the solar stuff. Even though the cottage was only being used on weekends we were still running into the problem where the batteries would lose enough juice and the system would shut off and we'd have to fire up the generator to get them charged again. So naturally I'm thinking "I'll just add some more panels and we'll be good to go" but the more I read the more I think I'm beginning to realize it may not be that simple.
Our goal is to be able to use the cottage without worry of the system going dead with just basic weekend use. Our typical load at the cottage is fairly minimal already (charging phones and batteries for cordless tools, fridge, water pump, bosch propane tankless water heater, led potlights). In the future we'd like to have an LED TV and a dishwasher. We have pretty good sun exposure in the summer (panels are on the south side of the roof), in the winter the sun doesn't clear the trees for very long.
Current system components are as follows:
(2) 140w Kyocera panels
Morningstar TS-45 charge controller
- 45 amp PWM
- remote included
Magnum Energy MS4024 Inverter Charger
- 4000w
- 24v
- Remote included
(8) 6v 200ah Flooded batteries wired in series and parallel for a 24v setup
- Batteries are stored underneath the cottage and susceptible to the outdoor temperature fluctuations all year. As far as I know they are a couple years old. I check the water levels periodically and add more as needed. If the batteries are toast already I need to make sure it doesn't happen again!
3500w Champion generator for charging batteries etc.
So my questions are:
Do these components play well with each other or is there a weak link?
Can I add more panels without needing to upgrade something else? How many? I can purchase used 260w panels locally for about $100ea
Anyone that is familiar with the Magnum Energy remote, how do I limit the depth of discharge on the batteries so I'm not destroying the batteries prematurely? Any recommendations for my battery storage?
Looking forward to learning more about my gear and this place looks to be the best source of information that I've found so far!
If there is any more information you guys may need in order to give accurate advice just let me know!
-Brandon
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