New Solar Design. Need help with figuring out how the KW system works??

[LemonChips]

I don't understand how many much power my system will be getting on the daily monthly or whatever... Can you help me figure this out.

If was to be using these what would be the max wattage I could pull? and yes there would be more than just one solar panel (but I don't know what the maximum amount of solar panels that I could put into this system is; so if you could help me with that too I would greatly appreciate it)

- Solar Panel
Helios Solar Works 300W Mono Solar Panel, 7T2 Series, 7T2 300

- Charger/Inverter
Outback Radian Gs8048 8000Watt inverter-charger 48vdc

- Communication Manager
Hub 10 coms Manager

- System Display & Controller
Outback Mate 3 Display & Controller
Flexnet DC System Moniter

- Sensor
RTS Temperature Sensor

- Battery
Deka 8A22NF 12V 55AH Sealed AGM Solar Battery

[billvon]

If was to be using these what would be the max wattage I could pull?

The GS8048 will supply 8000 watts continuously or 16,000 watts for a short time. To get that much power, Outback recommends at least 350 amp-hours worth of batteries. That means 32 of the Deka batteries, although you would likely be happier with a smaller number of larger capacity batteries.

The number/wattage of panels you have does not affect the power you can draw. It _does_ affect how much energy you can draw from an independent system, and thus you need to know your energy requirements before you can decide what size panel array you need.

[LemonChips]

The GS8048 will supply 8000 watts continuously or 16,000 watts for a short time. To get that much power, Outback recommends at least 350 amp-hours worth of batteries. That means 32 of the Deka batteries, although you would likely be happier with a smaller number of larger capacity batteries.

The number/wattage of panels you have does not affect the power you can draw. It _does_ affect how much energy you can draw from an independent system, and thus you need to know your energy requirements before you can decide what size panel array you need.

Ok to make it easy lets just say I need 2900kw a month. If I'm correct that 96KWH a day

[Sunking]

Ok to make it easy lets just say I need 2900kw a month. If I'm correct that 96KWH a day

You do not want to know the answer, but for your education let's crunch the numbers for you, especially the MONEY NUMBERS.

At 2900 Kwh a month means you use 2900 / 30 days = 96.6 Kwh per day. So let's make up an unrealistic amount of Daylight for you to make it cheap on paper and say you get 5 Sun Hours a day in December and January. Keep in mind very few places on earth get that much sun so real numbers will be larger, much larger.

You would need a 30,000 watt solar panel. Cost roughly $60,000 to $80,000
8-80 amp MPPT Charge controller costing roughly $800/unit or a total of $6400
30,000 pound battery of approx cost of $75,000. They will need replaced about every 5 to 7 years
EPA Permits to own such batery, spill prevention, yearly inspections roughly $20,000
You will need an addition to your home of about 1000/Ft2 to house the batteries say another $50,000

Need to know any more ? Or shall I keep going with the rest of the cost like labor, material, and infrastructure. You are looking realistically at around $250,000 to $300,00 USD. Then in about 5 to 7 years another $100,000 to haul off all that toxic waste and replace the batteries. The EPA would be watching you like a Wall Street Occupier looks at Teen Age Boys and a Joint.

If the property ever caught fire which is likely, th eFD would just let it burn down as they would not go near that much battery and electrical. You would be on the hook for all the toxic waste clean up.

[LemonChips]

You do not want to know the answer, but for your education let's crunch the numbers for you, especially the MONEY NUMBERS.

At 2900 Kwh a month means you use 2900 / 30 days = 96.6 Kwh per day. So let's make up an unrealistic amount of Daylight for you to make it cheap on paper and say you get 5 Sun Hours a day in December and January. Keep in mind very few places on earth get that much sun so real numbers will be larger, much larger.

You would need a 30,000 watt solar panel. Cost roughly $60,000 to $80,000
8-80 amp MPPT Charge controller costing roughly $800/unit or a total of $6400
30,000 pound battery of approx cost of $75,000. They will need replaced about every 5 to 7 years
EPA Permits to own such batery, spill prevention, yearly inspections roughly $20,000
You will need an addition to your home of about 1000/Ft2 to house the batteries say another $50,000

Need to know any more ? Or shall I keep going with the rest of the cost like labor, material, and infrastructure. You are looking realistically at around $250,000 to $300,00 USD. Then in about 5 to 7 years another $100,000 to haul off all that toxic waste and replace the batteries. The EPA would be watching you like a Wall Street Occupier looks at Teen Age Boys and a Joint.

If the property ever caught fire which is likely, th eFD would just let it burn down as they would not go near that much battery and electrical. You would be on the hook for all the toxic waste clean up.

haha my bad I typed in the wrong numbers. It's actually 1800KWH per month/60KWH a day or if that is still to pricey I can work with 1300KWH a month/42KWH a day

[billvon]

Ok to make it easy lets just say I need 2900kw a month. If I'm correct that 96KWH a day

OK. First get that down to 24kwhr a day. Power saved is the easiest way to make a solar system more affordable.

The Radian will do grid tie so base your system on that. 24kwhr a day, average 5 hours equivalent sun a day -> 4.8kW. With losses and real world ratings you are looking at about a 6.5kW system (STC DC.) So you'd be looking at 22 panels.

[Sunking]

haha my bad I typed in the wrong numbers. It's actually 1800KWH per month/60KWH a day or if that is still to pricey I can work with 1300KWH a month/42KWH a day

OK then only half of what I quoted. $100,000 to $150,000. You are basically saying I do not want to pay 12 cents per Kwh with unlimited use. I want to pay $1.50 or 12 times more for electricity the rest of my life and have a full time job keeping the system going. That is in essence what you are asking for.

[LemonChips]

OK then only half of what I quoted. $100,000 to $150,000. You are basically saying I do not want to pay 12 cents per Kwh with unlimited use. I want to pay $1.50 or 12 times more for electricity the rest of my life and have a full time job keeping the system going. That is in essence what you are asking for.

Well that's the bare minimum I can get it. That's with no Air Conditioning/Heater or Heated pool. Otherwise it does go back to the original 2900 a month/60 a day. But there is no way I can get that down 24KWH a day. that's only 720KWH a month. I'm already conserving energy by not running the Air Conditioning/heater and pool heater until I get this system running. I'm planning on being connected to the grid though. I plan on going off grid. Wait.. When I say 60kWH do you think I mean I'm pulling 60KW each hour? because I mean I pull 60KW a day

[Sunking]

When I say 60kWH do you think I mean I'm pulling 60KW each hour? because I mean I pull 60KW a day

Nope per day. That is a huge amount of energy guy. I live in TX in a custom built 3200/Ft2 home with air conditioning and all the luxuries and I only use 25 to 30 Kwh per day, and I keep it cold in the house in Summer. Today outside is 103 and a nice cozy 70 inside. .

[LemonChips]

Ya we do have several appliances running all day. But ok I'm confused in one main area (or at least I believe I am). If I have a 300watt solar panel does that solar panel take in 300watts per hour equaling .3kw? meaning if I have 10 300watt solar panels I would be getting 3kwh?

[russ]

Ya we do have several appliances running all day. But ok I'm confused in one main area (or at least I believe I am). If I have a 300watt solar panel does that solar panel take in 300watts per hour equaling .3kw? meaning if I have 10 300watt solar panels I would be getting 3kwh?

On a perfect day - clear with great sun and cool you might get the 3 kW for a few minutes at solar noon - the rest of the day less

In July (the best month for insolation) you might get 13 kWh AC per day from a 3 kW DC system

[Sunking]

Ya we do have several appliances running all day. But ok I'm confused in one main area (or at least I believe I am). If I have a 300watt solar panel does that solar panel take in 300watts per hour equaling .3kw? meaning if I have 10 300watt solar panels I would be getting 3kwh?

No you are confusing power with energy. For electrical Power = Watts, and Energy = Watt Hours. Watts is simply the amount of power either being consumed or generated at any given moment in time. Example a 100 watt light bulb burns 100 watts.

Electrical Energy has a time element of hours measured in Watt Hours = Watts x Hours. So for example how much energy does a 100 watt light bulb use in 10 hours? 100 watts x 10 hours = 1000 watt hours or 1 Kwh.

[billvon]

Well that's the bare minimum I can get it. That's with no Air Conditioning/Heater or Heated pool. Otherwise it does go back to the original 2900 a month/60 a day. But there is no way I can get that down 24KWH a day. that's only 720KWH a month. I'm already conserving energy by not running the Air Conditioning/heater and pool heater until I get this system running. I'm planning on being connected to the grid though. I plan on going off grid. Wait.. When I say 60kWH do you think I mean I'm pulling 60KW each hour? because I mean I pull 60KW a day

How are you burning through that much energy? Something's not right. Are you running air compressors or other odd industrial loads? You won't be able to run an electric pool heater off any off-grid system; just too much power. Use gas (or better yet solar thermal) if you want to do that. If you want to get really fancy, get a good natural gas water-cooled generator and put in a heat exchanger to allow the pool water to cool the generator. You'll get power and heat - and with the amount of power you need you'll be running it pretty often.

(and just to be clear that's 60 kilowatt-HOURS a day not 60 kilowatts a day; that's a meaningless statement.)

[LemonChips]

How are you burning through that much energy? Something's not right. Are you running air compressors or other odd industrial loads? You won't be able to run an electric pool heater off any off-grid system; just too much power. Use gas (or better yet solar thermal) if you want to do that. If you want to get really fancy, get a good natural gas water-cooled generator and put in a heat exchanger to allow the pool water to cool the generator. You'll get power and heat - and with the amount of power you need you'll be running it pretty often.

(and just to be clear that's 60 kilowatt-HOURS a day not 60 kilowatts a day; that's a meaningless statement.)

Ya it's a huge bill. It used to be 1700kwh a month which is still high but as you mentioned I do run a lot of machinery here (I run my business out of my home; plasma cutters, welding, air compressor, etc.) but it went up when the rest of my family moved in... but I'm just going to cut off the water heated pool; there is no point in having it.

[LemonChips]

No you are confusing power with energy. For electrical Power = Watts, and Energy = Watt Hours. Watts is simply the amount of power either being consumed or generated at any given moment in time. Example a 100 watt light bulb burns 100 watts.

Electrical Energy has a time element of hours measured in Watt Hours = Watts x Hours. So for example how much energy does a 100 watt light bulb use in 10 hours? 100 watts x 10 hours = 1000 watt hours or 1 Kwh.

hmm, I'm still confused... I understand this part

So for example how much energy does a 100 watt light bulb use in 10 hours? 100 watts x 10 hours = 1000 watt hours or 1 Kwh.

but I still don't understand how much energy a 300w solar panel takes in. I've been trying to research it and come to realized that it takes in 300w DC which is higher once it is converted into AC. But I'm not completely sure