DIY Solar Panels

[burn'n feather]

http://www.amerescosolar.com/

TOMBALL,TX

[Brazos Hunter]

I was wrong on the count of the larger ones. I have 30, not 18.

[91cavgt]

So I have an off grid cabin, no water, no electricity - so here is my plan and what I have been doing so far.

Been using 2 deep cycle marine 12 volt batteries tied together to power up laptop, charge laptop, 6 volt batteries for spin feeders, cell phone, 3 to 4 lights usually only 1 or 2 at any one time for the past 5 months and have never ran out of power. I now want to expand my system and only want to do this once – cannot afford mistakes.

What I want to power use in my cabin – here is my plan

-Running water pump for water coming off the house - 250 gallon roof catching system - low pressure
-Small TV to catch weather if bad occasional or small use
-One to 3 lights at any one time but small 9 or 6 watt bulbs could use up to a total of 5 at one time
-In IT so on the Laptop a lot, charge phone, Wi-Fi, laptop charges - yes-Verizon tower 1 mile away so I can work from the cabin sorry already told boss.
-Microwave on a very small scale
-Maybe a toaster for 1 or 2 pieces of bread – I can toast them on the stove if needed
-5000 watt AC if very hot - Texas can be hot
-Fans most of the time
======================================
Renogy Solar 400W Poly Starter Kit :4pc 100W Solar Panel +30A Charge controller - not sure what I need to do with regards to the charge controller

Power Bright PW3500-12 Power Inverter 3500 Watt 12 Volt DC To 110 Volt AC

EdgeStar - 80 Quart 12 Volt DC Portable Fridge/Freezer - Gray

4 - Deep Cycle trolling motor batteries

Use cabin only on Weekends - so do you feel this will meet my needs? I am keeping a watchful eye on the specifications on appliances to keep things as low as I can.

I think what you picked out will be a good start, but will not be able to power everything that you want, especially when the sun goes down.


The biggest downfall to the system you listed above is the batteries. Most trolling motor batteries are only about 50 amp/hr or so. If you had 4 of these then you are looking at 200 amp/hr capacity, which means that only 10 amps of current is available for the batteries to last 20 hours without being recharged before they get too low. This might be sufficient for the lights, fans, and water pump. But once you add any big power demand devices(toaster, A/C, microwave) then it will take a LOT of power very quickly from the battery bank.


The second possible problem is running an A/C off of a 3500 watt power inverter. When you have a power inverter that is barely able to run a device, the power inverter will be working very hard to produce the power and it typically won't be as efficient when maxed out. It is like towing a 10,000 pound load with a 1/2 ton base model V6 pickup. Yes, it can do it but you will be pushing the truck VERY hard and it won't get as good of fuel economy as say towing the same load with a 3/4 ton diesel truck.

Also when the A/C compressor turns on, it pulls a LOT of power. This will make the power inverter pull a LOT of power, which will drop the battery voltage. The battery voltage will drop more with a smaller battery bank. If the voltage drops too much, the power inverter will shut off, even if the power inverter is big enough to run the A/C.



I think the solar panels you picked out is a good start, and may be enough for your needs. The nice thing about solar panels is if you see you don't have enough then you can always add more down the road.


When it comes to the charge controller, the one that comes in the kit will probably be sufficient for the 4 panels. If you had to add more solar panels then you would want to add another charge controller at that time, or replace the charge controller that comes in that kit now for a bigger one which would leave you room to upgrade in the future, without having to replace or add to the charge controller in the kit.

[Brazos Hunter]

I figured I would start here then go to the classifieds then craigslist then eBay. I am looking to trade or sell some of my large panels for batteries, charge controllers and wire...I am not in a rush but the sooner, the better.

[12 point]

Great thread. Pardon me for not being up on terminology, but I hope to have the panels mounted on a frame that is supported off the ground with a sturdy pole or poles. Have read of others who did this because of not wanting the panels on the roof. The whole panel assemblies adjust to the optimum angle of the sun as the earth turns. I realize this won't be cheap.

http://www.backwoodssolar.com/zomework-universal-tracker-969?gclid=CIGomt7PxsECFc1AMgodJhEALQ

http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/gps-enabled-sun-tracking-solar-power-installed-at-woodchuck/

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Tracker.htm

Is there some way a grid tie system could be modified to still have power during an outage? Maybe some type of automatic switch?

[91cavgt]

Great thread. Pardon me for not being up on terminology, but I hope to have the panels mounted on a frame that is supported off the ground with a sturdy pole or poles. Have read of others who did this because of not wanting the panels on the roof. The whole panel assemblies adjust to the optimum angle of the sun as the earth turns. I realize this won't be cheap.

http://www.backwoodssolar.com/zomework-universal-tracker-969?gclid=CIGomt7PxsECFc1AMgodJhEALQ

http://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/gps-enabled-sun-tracking-solar-power-installed-at-woodchuck/

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Tracker.htm

Is there some way a grid tie system could be modified to still have power during an outage? Maybe some type of automatic switch?

You can put together a system that is a hybrid of a grid tie and an off grid system. These hybrid systems bring together the best of both worlds. In a hybrid system, you have your solar panels, a battery bank, and a hybrid controller that acts as the charge controller as well as the grid tie power inverter. The system will mainly focus on keeping your batteries charged. Once they are fully charged, the hybrid controller sends the solar power to the built in grid tie power inverter automatically so you end up with the best of both worlds.

If the power goes out, the hybrid controller senses this and some of the hybrid controllers automatically use the built in grid tie power inverter to power your house off of the battery bank! It sounds and works amazing, but the price is very high. They are also not very common due to their price so finding one is not a simple task.



When it comes to solar panels mounted on a pole that automatically adjust their angle depending on where the sun is in the sky, these too are expensive but are VERY nice to have. Most solar panels when fixed mounted will put out their maximum amount of power only a couple of months out of the year, and only for about 2 hours each day. This is only if they are originally mounted directly facing the sun. When the seasons change, the sun is at a different part of the sky and thus your solar power output will not be as high. During the morning or evening hours, solar output with a fixed mount is very low, even though you may have a great amount of sun light due to the panels not aimed directly at the sun.

Now if you have a sun tracker system your power output will still be the same at it's maximum, but instead of that solar panel only having it's maximum output for about 2 hours each day, the maximum output will be spread out over a period of about 6-8 hours each day. In the end, with a good sun tracker system you will see approximately 30% more power output.

Most of the time you see companies using a sun tracker system when they don't have any more room to mount solar panels. This way they can take advantage of all the space they have and get as much power as possible from the panels. For a typical person like one of us, the only reasons why a sun tracker would make sense is if you too don't have much room to put solar panels, or you want to impress others, or you want to get as much out of your solar panels as you possibly can. Otherwise, just buying a couple more panels than you were planning on will be cheaper than buying a sun tracker system, and in the end you'll end up with about the same amount of power.

[12 point]

Thank you 91cavgt for your very informative response and thread. If I decide to do this, you may not be very far from the location . The idea of not having the solar panels on the roof is a big plus to me. This is on a ranch where the house cannot be seen from any road. I just gotta make sure the cows can't get anywhere near the panels. :-)

[thomason]

thank you for your comments on what systems I am trying to start with, my biggest question is really about batteries, I just do not get or understand the best option for what my needs are. I can use the deep cycle batteries until I get a better battery system or at least for now. Knowing that I only use the place for weekends want to use a 5000 btu air conditioner for hot days in the summer as well as lights and maybe a small refrig what is the best battery option. 6 volt golf batteries, maybe 6 of them tied together? again thank you for all your expertise and help for me and others. thomason

[Brazos Hunter]

Several have sent me PM's/text's as of late about solar so I figured I would bump this back up as well as post an updated pic of the panel I just completed.

[bfree]

thanks for sharing

[Brazos Hunter]

Oh yea, a pic may help.?

Here is one of the 72v panels ready to install.

[Whale]

Tagged

[Brazos Hunter]

I finally had a quasi free hour so I removed the three little 12v panels totaling 45 watts off my shop and installed the completed 435 watt 72v panel. As soon as I purchase a quality meter I will post values. BTW, I plan to add two more on my shop.

[antp510]

This has been a great thread!

However my ADD is making it hard to learn anything...

Would it be possible for someone to just give me a shopping list for what I might need?

I want to power a light, a fan, and have the ability to charge a phone and an Ipad. I realize an ipad requires more to charge than a iphone... And maybe both at the same time.

I think the hooking up process would be easy just making sure I have the right components that compliment each other.

I can store the battery outside and just run the cables inside... This will be inside my hunting blind...

I appreciate any help you guys can give me... Also if I can spend just a little more and have the ability to power more stuff that would be cool too!

[Brazos Hunter]

This has been a great thread!



However my ADD is making it hard to learn anything...



Would it be possible for someone to just give me a shopping list for what I might need?



I want to power a light, a fan, and have the ability to charge a phone and an Ipad. I realize an ipad requires more to charge than a iphone... And maybe both at the same time.



I think the hooking up process would be easy just making sure I have the right components that compliment each other.



I can store the battery outside and just run the cables inside... This will be inside my hunting blind...



I appreciate any help you guys can give me... Also if I can spend just a little more and have the ability to power more stuff that would be cool too!

A very simple, basic system would be Harbor Freight's 45 watt system. Add two 6v solar batteries and you are set. The charge controller has two USB outputs that you can charge devices with. Just be sure and get a 12v fan and you are good to go.