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foxdud
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:46am
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Any one have any advise and or links to a off grid solar system?
I need something that would work well in the shade and I only want to spend around $1500 max.
I also would like a setup that would automatically charge my batteries when I run my generator and that is expandable later on.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 12:07pm
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Quoting: foxdud ... off grid solar system? I need something that would work well in the shade
Contradiction there... PV panels don't work well in the shade.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 12:13pm
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Quoting: foxdud like a setup that would automatically charge my batteries when I run my generator
You can have this. An inverter / charger unit like Outback, Magnum and the XW Xantraex are examples. Most cost more than $1500 just for the inverter/charger though.
The first thing you need to do is to accurately estimate how much power (watt-hours) you need in a 24 hour period.
That will indicate the battery capacity needed.
Then the PV panel size can be determined.
Adding on later can be problematic as adding new batteries to older batteries is not recommended. It can be done but the new batteries then act like old ones.
Panels can be added later if the charge controler is able to handle the extra PV input. Often a second CC and new panels are added together.
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foxdud
Member
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 04:42pm
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I get about 4 hrs of good direct sunlight each day.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 04:51pm
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Quoting: foxdud I get about 4 hrs of good direct sunlight each day.
That is better than some get; I'd say more or less average. Is that the worst case (winter) or the average / best?
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foxdud
Member
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 05:18pm
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just took down some trees so its way better now ..... i would say thats the best im going to get
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 13 Oct 2013 05:50pm
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Now figure out how many watt-hours of power you will use daily.
Along with that how many cloudy days you want to be able to live through w/o using a generator and what is the coldest temperature the batteries will see.
Is the plan to go DC only like some here do, or go with an inverter and run most everything on 120 VAC?
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foxdud
Member
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:07am
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I plan on getting a killowatt meter to find out just how much power I am going to need.
I am mostly running everything on 12vdc
I only run a very small fridge a little during the day and 2 lights and a ceiling fan off of the 120vac along with the occasional DustBuster vacuume cleaner.
All the regular recepticals are wired to where they run off of the generator only.
As far as the lights that are 120vac I plan on getting led bulbs to replace the regular 40w incandescent that I currently have.
Any more suggestions would be great.... Thanks a lot for all of the feedback.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 11:53am - Edited by: Truecabin
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Quoting: foxdud All the regular recepticals are wired to where they run off of the generator only. As far as the lights that are 120vac I plan on getting led bulbs to replace the regular 40w incandescent that I currently have.
your description of wht your going to do confuses me but probably only me 
you dont say how many lights how big is your generator
if these lights run off the generator only it will make no difference to change the 40w bulbs to led a waste of money
if these lights run from the inverter which is from the 12v battery then get the 120v leds
a lot of small fridges are wasteful and use the same power as bigger fridges if you have the yellow tag that shows usage what does it say? does this fridge only run from the generator if yes then no worry
maybe this question is for others, can a killawatt meter work on a generators ac or does it only work from grid ac? well if it works on a generator then its a good way to see how much total power you are using
also you should know that if your solar panel even has even a little shade on it you can lose the whole output of the panel the cells are in series its like a garden hose if you step on it anywhere along the hose it makes a big change what comes out the end
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foxdud
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 12:30pm
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Sorry for the confusion.
The 2 ac lights I am running are now on the inverter. All the rest of my lighting is 12vdc I could wire them back into the breaker panel to run from the generator only but we like to run the ceiling fan. Here is a thought... Can I wire the ceiling fan for 12vdc? Or should I just buy a 12vdc ceiling fan?
The fridge is a newer one and from what I understand should be very efficient.
The way we use our fridge is we fill the crisper tray with a bag of ice and then run the fridge off of the generator when it is running. When the Generator isn't running I simply unplug the fridge from the wall outlet into the power strip coming from the inverter. then at night we turn off the inverter and unplug the fridge.
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foxdud
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 12:36pm
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Sorry forgot to add that my Generator is a Small 2000w
I just bought it because I was running a big 3600w craftsman that was very noisy. We wanted small and quiet so I bought a craftsman 2000w inverter/ generator.... Is very much like a Honda eu2000
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 02:28pm
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Kill-A-Watt works on 120-120 VAC; does not care what the AC source is. They do have a maximum power; something around 1800 watts IIRC.
Things like the fridge should be measured over the course of a full day or several days and then averaged to get the most realistic usage data.
Changing from 120 VAC incandescent 40 watt lamps to LED lamps (9-10 watts?) may not provide as much of an energy savings as theory would indicate. This is because the inverter will still have operating losses. With very low wattage devices, like a 9 watt LED the internal inverter losses could be larger than the LED. I still think LED's a re a great idea, but the inverter loss is a hidden loss, not always thought of.
A 110-120 VAC ceiling fan needs that; will not work on DC. There are DC fans made. RCH is the brand we have; the one with the airfoil blades. It is much more efficient than the typical flat paddle blade. We have the variable speed control as well. Love it!
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razmichael
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 02:37pm
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Quoting: MtnDon here are DC fans made. RCH is the brand we have; the one with the airfoil blades. It is much more efficient than the typical flat paddle blade. We have the variable speed control as well.
Fully Agree! Great fan. Costly when you add in the speed controller but works great and really a miser on power.
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foxdud
Member
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 05:05pm
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Thanks for the info on the fan, only downfall i see with it is that it doesnt have a built in light.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:00pm
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Quoting: foxdud it doesnt have a built in light.
Yeah, but it sure beats any AC fan on power use. No light available for it either in case you are wondering. IMO, ceiling lights don't distribute the light well enough to be really useeful when one is trying to be careful about power use. We use a number of desk / table lamps and some under the cabinet strips at the kitchen counter.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:37pm
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running 12vdc led lights is a very efficient way to get light
there are 6w led lights that are much brighter than 40w incand. may be like a 75w bulb try searching for AR111 led
if your trying to save 12v power there are a lot of other leds that use 2w 3w that are about as bright as a 40w incandescent this means your battery will run the lights for more than 10x as long as incandescent
killawatt does not work with ac from a modified sine wave inverter i guess thats no surprise but i called them and they only guarantee function on grid power but there are lots of people who are able to use them off the grid it may be luck
they wont guarantee function on any inverter even true sinewave
they said if it works on the grid then its functioning
seems like a fan would use a lot of power but nice to have
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razmichael
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# Posted: 16 Oct 2013 07:45pm - Edited by: razmichael
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Quoting: Truecabin seems like a fan would use a lot of power but nice to have
These fans are really well designed for 12/24 volt with a very small draw but lots of air. Specs for the 4 blade are:
Amps: 0.5 @ 12 VDC; 0.78 @ 24 VDC
Watts: 2 @ 9 VDC; 4 @ 12 VDC; 15 @ 24 VDC
RPM: 66 @ 9 VDC; 83 @ 12 VDC; 117 @ 24 VDC
CFM: 1,221 @ 9 VDC; 1,820 @12 VDC; 3,600 @ 24 VDC
The speed controller will give you even more flexibility allowing you to run at a slower speed when it makes sense. It includes a reverse switch but the cyclone blades are not really designed to run in reverse.
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