Solar setup for remote wireless access point

[supertechhawaii]

Aloha,
I am in the process of setting up an off the grid wireless access repeater. I am building this from the ground up. I am not sure as to what kind of solar panel, battery and charge control I will need. The access repeater will draw 550mA at 5V during operation. Does any one have a suggestion on what will be need for this setup?

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

[Shockah]

Aloha,
I am in the process of setting up an off the grid wireless access repeater. I am building this from the ground up. I am not sure as to what kind of solar panel, battery and charge control I will need. The access repeater will draw 550mA at 5V during operation. Does any one have a suggestion on what will be need for this setup?

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Aloha!...

Which island are you on?

Is that 550ma / 5v being drawn 24/7?

[supertechhawaii]

Aloha Shockah,
I live on Oahu and the system will be running 24x7x365 but in my sun zone I should be able to get a about 6 hours of light. I need the battery to hold over night

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Aloha!...

Which island are you on?

Is that 550ma / 5v being drawn 24/7?

[Shockah]

Aloha Shockah,
I live on Oahu and the system will be running 24x7x365 but in my sun zone I should be able to get a about 6 hours of light. I need the battery to hold over night

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Cool... which part of Oahu?

As far as I know, there is nowhere in Hawaii that gets 6 hour insolation during the winter months.
Most areas get 4... but where I live at the east foot of the Koolaus, it's probably 3 - 3.5

If you're building a system to function all year, you need to design it with December insolation numbers.

So back to your build,
The 550ma/5v, is it provided via a 120VAC transformer?

[supertechhawaii]

Aloha Shockah,
I live in manoa Sorry I miss spoke... I was in a jam at work today I get about 4.6 hours of light. My wireless gear has listed on the ac adapter is: 12V 500MA. I hope this helps I did find this project on the web but it is not too specific on the build .... http://www.thestaleys.info/bryans_electronics/sowap.htm.

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Cool... which part of Oahu?

As far as I know, there is nowhere in Hawaii that gets 6 hour insolation during the winter months.
Most areas get 4... but where I live at the east foot of the Koolaus, it's probably 3 - 3.5

If you're building a system to function all year, you need to design it with December insolation numbers.

So back to your build,
The 550ma/5v, is it provided via a 120VAC transformer?

[Shockah]

Aloha Shockah,
I live in manoa Sorry I miss spoke... I was in a jam at work today I get about 4.6 hours of light. My wireless gear has listed on the ac adapter is: 12V 500MA. I hope this helps
Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Ok, so the output specs stamped on the adapter (aka transformer) is 12V / 500MA?

I believe those numbers are the capacity of the adapter, and not necessarily the draw rate.

But let's say the wireless gear does draw no more than 12v/500ma 24/7 ... that would total 12wh in 24 hours.

If your wireless gear operates on 12 volts, there are 2 ways to set it up.

1) PV Panel -> Charge Controller -> Battery -> 12VDC-120VAC Inverter -> 120VAC-12VDC Transformer -> Wireless gear.
or
2) PV Panel -> Charge Controller -> Battery -> Wireless gear.

Option 2 would be require less components (aka Cheaper), less risk of component failure and would have less current loss.
Just MAKE SURE the Wireless Gear is 12volts.

According to the Off-Grid Calculator , the 12wh would need a minimum battery size of 5AH and Panel Size of 6W with a PWM CC.

If you insist on the adapter, then you WILL need an inverter. You would then also need a Kill-A-Watt meter to determine the true watt draw over 24 hours. Once you have the Kill-a-Watt reading, you can size your panel/battery/cc/inverter.

[Shockah]

Forgot to ask, is this power supply going to be fixed-mount or portable?

I'm guessing portable...
because there are many 120VAC outlets in Manoa

[supertechhawaii]

Aloha Shockah,
If I went with option 2, are you saying that the wire that runs from the battery to the wireless repeater would be spliced and the adapter head would be attached. This would not cause an over power and possible blowout?

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Ok, so the output specs stamped on the adapter (aka transformer) is 12V / 500MA?

I believe those numbers are the capacity of the adapter, and not necessarily the draw rate.

But let's say the wireless gear does draw no more than 12v/500ma 24/7 ... that would total 12wh in 24 hours.

If your wireless gear operates on 12 volts, there are 2 ways to set it up.

1) PV Panel -> Charge Controller -> Battery -> 12VDC-120VAC Inverter -> 120VAC-12VDC Transformer -> Wireless gear.
or
2) PV Panel -> Charge Controller -> Battery -> Wireless gear.

Option 2 would be require less components (aka Cheaper), less risk of component failure and would have less current loss.
Just MAKE SURE the Wireless Gear is 12volts.

According to the Off-Grid Calculator , the 12wh would need a minimum battery size of 5AH and Panel Size of 6W with a PWM CC.

If you insist on the adapter, then you WILL need an inverter. You would then also need a Kill-A-Watt meter to determine the true watt draw over 24 hours. Once you have the Kill-a-Watt reading, you can size your panel/battery/cc/inverter.

[Shockah]

http://www.thestaleys.info/bryans_electronics/sowap.htm

Is the WAP11 what you have?

According to Bryan's build, it operates at 5v/550ma.
You will need a DC to DC converter to regulate that... but doable.

Bryan's build is way overkill for Hawaii.

I know a local supplier who can get you a 20W Panel / 22AH Battery / 10AMP "Made-in-Japan" CC combo for $295.
Will need to look into the converter (or switching regulator as Bryan called it).

You might build it yourself for less than $295 by shopping online suppliers like http://www.solartown.com

[Shockah]

Aloha Shockah,
If I went with option 2, are you saying that the wire that runs from the battery to the wireless repeater would be spliced and the adapter head would be attached. This would not cause an over power and possible blowout?

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

No. I'm saying that the adapter head would be cut off the wire, and the + & - wires hooked directly (via fuse) to the battery... with the jack into the repeater.
I'm only suggesting this IF your wireless repeater is in fact 12 volts... otherwise NO.

[supertechhawaii]

Aloha Shockah,
I possibly use a linksys 45g for this build and use a smaller set if antennas. . What size of solar panel should I get and size of battery

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Is the WAP11 what you have?

According to Bryan's build, it operates at 5v/550ma.
You will need a DC to DC converter to regulate that... but doable.

Bryan's build is way overkill for Hawaii.

I know a local supplier who can get you a 20W Panel / 22AH Battery / 10AMP "Made-in-Japan" CC combo for $295.
Will need to look into the converter (or switching regulator as Bryan called it).

You might build it yourself for less than $295 by shopping online suppliers like http://www.solartown.com

[Mike90250]

Aloha Shockah,
I live on Oahu and the system will be running 24x7x365 but in my sun zone I should be able to get a about xx 4 xx hours of light. I need the battery to hold over night

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Overnight, and for a couple cloudy days ? or do you care if the system goes down after 2 days of clouds ?

[Shockah]

Overnight, and for a couple cloudy days ? or do you care if the system goes down after 2 days of clouds ?

^^^ Yes, what Mike said...

Manoa is a valley between 2 mountainous heights and is common for cloudy days... so I would go at least double panel/battery of what the calculator says.

Aloha Shockah,
I possibly use a linksys 45g for this build and use a smaller set if antennas. . What size of solar panel should I get and size of battery

Thanks,
supertechhawaii

Can't say what size panel and battery until you are sure what gear you are running and the exact wh specs of said gear.

If you decide to go the inverter route, you also have to factor in the current loss in the inverter.

First thing you need to do is decide which wireless gear. I know there are many deciding factors when purchasing wireless gear, but when going off-grid, I would say 12v gear is a better choice.

[Shockah]

Overnight, and for a couple cloudy days ? or do you care if the system goes down after 2 days of clouds ?

This is Manoa, Mike...

manoa.jpg

[paulcheung]

Ok, so the output specs stamped on the adapter (aka transformer) is 12V / 500MA?

I believe those numbers are the capacity of the adapter, and not necessarily the draw rate.

But let's say the wireless gear does draw no more than 12v/500ma 24/7 ... that would total 12wh in 24 hours.

.

12 Volt @500ma for 24 hours is not 12wh, it is 12x0.5x24=144watt hours.
Cheers