need help sourcing correct components

[Mcmullen7242]

The panels will be just under 50 cents a watt. They are model spr 305 wht u. I want to upload a pic of the specs but won't let me so here they are:
peak power 305 watts
voltage 54.7
current 5.58
open circuit voltage 64.2
short circuit current 5.96
maximum series fuse 15

[Mcmullen7242]

Thank you guys for the info. I am in rainbow, ca on a south facing flat. The average peak sun here for solar is 5.5 hours year round. Also all my appliances are propane (fridge, stove, water heater). The only things being used on the solar would be my internet router (about 5-10 watts, two TVs (80 watt and 100 watt), two Xbox ones (230 watts max), 2 phone chargers (10 watts), 2 MacBook chargers (170 watts) and 4 fans 65 watt fans (only 2 running regularly). I am sorry for the long reply as I am living without power and my data ran out the other day so had no internet.

[sdold]

2000 Wh/day requires about 10KW of batteries and probably 1000W of panels with an MPPT charge controller, depending on location. Use 48V at 200AH, 12V is bad advice because you'd need to use parallel batteries to get the 800AH needed, adding a lot of cable complexity and ensuring early battery death from unequal charge/discharge rates. I assume you mean AGM (sealed lead acid) and not Gel. AGM batteries costs more and gives fewer cycles than flooded batteries and don't allow you to measure specific gravity for state-of-charge estimation, a useful capability for someone starting out with their first system.

The inverter you mentioned is a cheap modified sine wave inverter, with the money you'll be spending I'd go for a quality pure sine wave inverter around 1000W if that'll handle your loads. And of course one that runs on 48V.

There are some assumptions here and it's best if you take a look at this sticky and work through it yourself to see what you come up with:
https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...battery-design

[NochiLife]

Several quick suggestions:
- The Vector Max 3000W inverter is a Modified Sine Wave inverter. If you're hoping to run refrigerators/freezers, or other appliances, I would HIGHLY recommend a pure sine wave inverter. (Yes, that will cost more, but you'll be happy you got one.)
- Just for a benchmark, running a chest freezer and a standard 'fridge, I average 4KWh/day usage. Better oversize--you'll never regret it.
- Keep in mind that even if you have 900W of panels, they will only produce close to that if it's completely sunny. Cloudy days will produce 1/10 that or less; it's really amazing how little power gets generated in less than ideal conditions. I'd recommend getting more panels than you think you'll need--you'll never regret it
- I would highly recommend an MPPT charger...though keep in mind that there are some cheap "MPPT" chargers on eBay that are actually PWM chargers (which lose a lot more power than a true MPPT charger.)
- What system voltage are you planning to go with? I assume you're thinking about going with a 12v system; for small systems, that will be OK. However, if you want to be able to upgrade in the future, I'd suggest going with 24v. (To change the voltage, you'll have to replace the inverter--so you want to make a long-term decision when buying one!)
- I'm also assuming that you're going with an off-grid system (it's a lot of fun to hear people talk about a power outage, and you say, "What? I didn't notice.")

How much are you looking at paying for the SunPower panels? (If you divide the wattage by the price, you can get a "price per watt"; a good price is less than 80 cents/watt. I can get panels for around 50 cents/watt, though I did pay 80 cents/watt for my first ones. Just didn't know any better!)

EDIT: While I have no personal experience with them, there are some "hybrid" units that incorporate both an MPPT and inverter in the same case. They're not the cheapest at $700, but it might be more cost effective to get an all-in-one unit rather than an inverter and an MPPT that each cost about the same as the "hybrid" unit. Reviews on Amazon are middling; again, I will note that I do NOT have any experience with them. Had I known of them when I was building my system, I'd probably have bought them.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/MPP-SOLAR-Inv.../dp/B078746PG3
eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2400W-24V-1...l/254240090199 [NOTE: It may be "split-phase CAPABLE", but you'll need two units to get that.]
These are 24vDC inverters (2,400W), and have a built-in 80-amp MPPT (which should be good for up to around 2,000W of solar panels).

Other members are welcome to chime in with experience on these units--if they are good idea, or if they're a terrible idea.

[Mcmullen7242]

Hello, my brother and I are new to solar and are trying to put together 600-900 watts of panels for our small cabin. We will only be running 3kw a day maximum (typical day should be around 1.5-2 kw). I see people selling a bunch of nice panels, inverters, and charge controllers for cheap on Facebook and want to make sure what I get works together. Also I will be getting deep cell gel batteries for storage (most likely Renogy as amazon has a good deal on them). I saw a vector max 3000watt inverter for cheap and looking to pick that up. Also a sunpower 305 watt panel (will post pic of specs). And then also want to know what charger I should get.