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Upgrading

S

sunnybouy60

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello, I was wondering if all you "experts" out there could answer a
question for me? Let's say you have a very small budget and would like to
start implementing solar power, can you build slowly over time?

Example:

1 110 Watt PV Panel
1 Charge Controller
1 1500 Watt Modified Sine Wave Inverter
1 160 AH AGM Battery

Then a few months later add another

110 Watt PV Panel
160 AH Battery

Can you just bridge the battery and run the open pos/neg wires to the
inverter and continue to add on this way?
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
sunnybouy60 said:
Hello, I was wondering if all you "experts" out there could answer a
question for me? Let's say you have a very small budget and would like to
start implementing solar power, can you build slowly over time?

Example:

1 110 Watt PV Panel
1 Charge Controller
1 1500 Watt Modified Sine Wave Inverter
1 160 AH AGM Battery

Then a few months later add another

110 Watt PV Panel
160 AH Battery

Can you just bridge the battery and run the open pos/neg wires to the
inverter and continue to add on this way?

yes, you can, but batteries should be installed at the same time,
otherwise you end up with different states of charge and new batteries
dischsarging into used ones. A few months won't make a big difference,
unless you are heavily taxing them.
 
S

sunnybouy60

Jan 1, 1970
0
Can panels be mixed as long as they are the same voltage? Could I start out
with a 45 Watt panel and add 110 Watt panel later? What size charge
controller and inverter should I start with if I want to eventually produce
up to 5kw per day?
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
sunnybouy60 said:
Can panels be mixed as long as they are the same voltage? Could I start out
with a 45 Watt panel and add 110 Watt panel later? What size charge
controller and inverter should I start with if I want to eventually produce
up to 5kw per day?
you can mix panels, but at 5 kWh / day (not kw), you want a higher
voltage system than 12vdc. 5 kWh / 3 hours = 1666 watts of pv. That's
138 amps at 12vdc, or 34 amps at 48 vdc. You'd need a different controller.
 
S

sunnybouy60

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ok let me set my sights lower for starters.... how about 2kWh per day?
Using the following senario:

1 80 Watt Panel
1 85ah battery

Then building one panel and one battery at a time until I've reached:

6 80 Watt Panels
6 85ah batteries

What size / type charge controller and inverter would you suggest that I
wouldn't have to upgrade those 2 componenets (controller and inverter)?
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
sunnybouy60 said:
Ok let me set my sights lower for starters.... how about 2kWh per day?
Using the following senario:

1 80 Watt Panel
1 85ah battery

Then building one panel and one battery at a time until I've reached:

6 80 Watt Panels
6 85ah batteries

What size / type charge controller and inverter would you suggest that I
wouldn't have to upgrade those 2 componenets (controller and inverter)?

You would need a charge controller able to handle 500 watts. Charge
controllers are sold by amps, and volts. Six 85 ah batteries could be
kept in a 12vdc pack, so 500 watts / 12v = 41 amps. I'd suggest a 60 amp
charge controller for a bit more expansion capability. As for an
inverter, that's load specific. I have a 2500 watt inverter on my 675 ah
system. It's enough to run everything in my house.

A trace c60 can be configured for 12/24 vdc, and is usually available
for $150 or so.
 
S

sunnybouy60

Jan 1, 1970
0
Steve, how many panels and what size do you have to keep the six batteries
topped off?
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
sunnybouy60 said:
Steve, how many panels and what size do you have to keep the six batteries
topped off?


I only have 100 watts of PV. My VeggieGen is my primary source of power.
 
S

sunnybouy60

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ok thank you all for the advice so far... let me make sure I am
understanding something right though... to determine battery capacity am I
correct in assuming that:

One 85 Watt Panel x 5 Hours of Sunlight per day = 425 Watt Hours

How does this break down into Amp Hours? 425 Watt Hours divided by 12 / 24
/ 48 volts?

So in a 12V setup 425 Watt Hours would equal 35.41 Amp Hours?

Please excuse my ignorance but I'm trying to get my mind around this whole
process lol.
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
Steve,

Would you tell me more about the "disconnects". I know that my
inverter/charger has a disconnect from shorepower when a backup
generator feeds it. Is it the samething?

Larry

It's basically a large switch that lets me isolate the pv panels from
the charge controller, and another that isolates the batteries from the
inverter and dc load panel
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks Steve, when would you need to use the disconnects? This is the
first time I have heard about them.

Larry

you always should have a disconnect between the pv array and the charge
controller. it's advisable to have one between battery pack and inverter.
 
S

Steve Spence

Jan 1, 1970
0
Do you disconnect when you are away from the place awhile? Larry

No, only when I'm doing maintenance.

I was away for 6 months and came home to a fully charged battery bank.
Turned on the inverter and the house lit up.
 
J

Jim Baber

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Baber added:

Steve said:
you always should have a disconnect between the pv array and the
charge controller. it's advisable to have one between battery pack and
inverter.

You should also have disconnects between the pv array and any inverter
if it is a grid based system.

These disconnects allow you to work on the array itself without having
the electronics providing a circuit that could cause an accidental short
circuit. This is still not a fail-safe because you can still short out
any panels in a string that is not connecting through the electronics.
You have to be very careful, even low voltage arrays can have enough
panels in parallel to develop enough power to get very hot. Mine also
have a high voltage consideration, they can generate almost 500 VDC at 5
Amps ..... easily fatal.

--
Jim Baber
Email [email protected]
1350 W Mesa Ave.
Fresno CA, 93711
(559) 435-9068
(559) 905-2204 (Verizon IN cellphone (to other Verizon IN accounts))
See 10kW grid tied solar system at "http://www.baber.org/solarpanels.jpg"
See solar system production data at "http://www.baber.org/solar_status.htm"
 
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