Solar Power System Installed

[intrepid]

21 minutes ago, jimeve said:

Depending on your load you will need about 8 to 10 deep cycle solar batteries, very expensive and will need replacing every few years. In my opinion replacing those batteries every few years tells me it's not worth it.

Looked on at some of those batteries, 200AH 14,000 Pesos each, 2 year guarantee.

There has been a lot of development in the past couple years.  Research "Power Wall".  These use Lithium Ion and seem to be the best choice for power output and longest lasting with little to no maintaince.  The type of cells all the electric cars use.  They are expensive but can be cheaper if you have the time and uy singles and make up your own banks.  Actually quite easy.  On my boats in the past I have used lead acid (6volt Golf cart type) and gel cells, (4D type).  If I were going to install a bank now the only way for me would be Lithium Ion.

Also for those just getting into this field, don't wast your money on regular auto batteries because you will be very disappointed.  The type of battery must be a deep cycle.

[Tommy T.]

1 hour ago, Marvin Boggs said:

I looked at getting a little gel battery for the truckster, so I know they are available, just pricey.  Still, I guess I'm thinking of a system based around whatever can be most easily found locally.  Whether that means lead acid, or cell phone batteries, or some kind of salt-water thing-a-ma-jig....I'd rather not have to order replacement stuff from Manila if you know what I mean.  

I'm curious on your yacht, if you ever experimented with micro wind turbines?

Intrepid mentioned lithium ion batteries such as are used in electric cars. I am totally ignorant about those so cannot comment, but the idea sounds good.

Regular lead/acid batteries just won't hold up - they are not designed for deep cycling. The gel batteries will last up to about five years or maybe more if they are cared for and not really abused. They are totally maintenance free. You get what you pay for and if you try cheapo batteries, they may last you a year or less... you are just throwing money down the toilet in my opinion. Plus, you need to keep replenishing the water on wet lead/acid batteries, there is corrosion from the gas plus the risk of fire or explosion also from the off gassing. hydrogen and oxygen

As Intrepid and others suggest, it depends on what you really want to do with your system - go totally off grid, just supplement the regular daily use or have emergency back-up for when power drops? My intent will mainly be for supplemental energy and emergency back-up. It would be too costly for us to try to go totally off grid. So maybe two or three or four gel 4d batteries - which I recall as providing about 150 AH each? - would be enough for refer, lights, fans for a day or two. The panels  - maybe 200 amps? - could supply enough to keep them charged up and also feed back something to the grid to save a bit of money most days, but not a lot.

About wind generators... I tried that on the yacht and could not find one I liked. They just did not look right on the yacht - ungainly and not fitting with the yacht design. I also knew several people who did use these. The units were noisy - either the actual wind spinning them and/or vibration through the unit and hull. I remember so many times being anchored in a nice, quiet cove somewhere and somebody with one of these wind generators would anchor right in front of me and then I would be hearing their wind generator all day and all night. We're talking irritating like karaoke! Many times I would just pick up anchor and move away. I did not go sailing in exotic destinations in order to feel like I was living in a wind farm experiment.

I love the idea of wind generators, but they are noisy and not pretty to look at. I love the sound solar panels make...none!

[jimeve]

1 hour ago, intrepid said:

There has been a lot of development in the past couple years.  Research "Power Wall".  These use Lithium Ion and seem to be the best choice for power output and longest lasting with little to no maintaince.  The type of cells all the electric cars use.  They are expensive but can be cheaper if you have the time and uy singles and make up your own banks.  Actually quite easy.  On my boats in the past I have used lead acid (6volt Golf cart type) and gel cells, (4D type).  If I were going to install a bank now the only way for me would be Lithium Ion.

Also for those just getting into this field, don't wast your money on regular auto batteries because you will be very disappointed.  The type of battery must be a deep cycle.

LifePO4, Yes they are the best without a doubt and last 10x more than lead acid batteries. When they become cheaper I might invest in a few. Those and a good solar controller and pure sine inverter.

[Marvin Boggs]

Found this really good DIY instructional vid that covers all the basics.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4qcoEXYqK0&frags=pl%2Cwn

[bastonjock]

One of my crazy ideas was to damm the creek that runs along side the farm , I was thinking of hydro , the guy who owns the land in the other side of the creek wants too much money to make the hydro system viable 

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, bastonjock said:

One of my crazy ideas was to damm the creek that runs along side the farm , I was thinking of hydro , the guy who owns the land in the other side of the creek wants too much money to make the hydro system viable 

I don't think hydro sounds crazy at all. I have seen articles and videos and it works - maybe even more reliable than wind, depending on your source... I will stick with solar panels because there is no continuous water flowing near the house. To me, backup power is the main concern with payback of power to the grid being a bit of icing on the cake. It may mean we can use the aircon more often or even get a power dishwasher or clothes dryer!

[jimeve]

7 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

To me, backup power is the main concern with payback of power to the grid being a bit of icing on the cake. It may mean we can use the aircon more often or even get a power dishwasher or clothes dryer!

Then you will need a Hybrid solar system, very expensive.  Hope you realize that a "grid-tie" system you will still get brownouts and a "off-grid" you need Batteries, a lot of them to run those appliances you mentioned. 

[Tommy T.]

38 minutes ago, jimeve said:

Then you will need a Hybrid solar system, very expensive.  Hope you realize that a "grid-tie" system you will still get brownouts and a "off-grid" you need Batteries, a lot of them to run those appliances you mentioned. 

Thanks for your thoughts, Jim.

Well, the initial plan is just backup power for lighting and fans, manually switched. I am just thinking that, if we can feed some power back into the grid, that may offset our regular grid power use cost. At any rate, we have plenty of time to think about it because, after the build, there won't be much cash remaining for the solar right away.

[Marvin Boggs]

11 hours ago, bastonjock said:

One of my crazy ideas was to damm the creek that runs along side the farm , I was thinking of hydro , the guy who owns the land in the other side of the creek wants too much money to make the hydro system viable 

I agree with Tommy, I love the idea of hydro if you have the land conditions for it.  There are some pretty interesting mini hydro setups on youtube, you can feed it with a pipe, or use one of the hydro rigs that just sits in the creek.  But it does seem like we have pretty ideal conditions here for solar.  

[hk blues]

11 hours ago, Tommy T. said:

I don't think hydro sounds crazy at all. I have seen articles and videos and it works - maybe even more reliable than wind, depending on your source... I will stick with solar panels because there is no continuous water flowing near the house. To me, backup power is the main concern with payback of power to the grid being a bit of icing on the cake. It may mean we can use the aircon more often or even get a power dishwasher or clothes dryer!

If you're only interested in a back-up, i wonder why you wouldn't choose the less expensive option of a generator?  

Also, I hummed and hawed about installing solar power but the numbers didn't stack up for me as our power bills are circa 2k a month only.  Also, the power supply is pretty reliable in my area, with only a couple  of small outages a month and never more than a couple of hours so we can survive easily.  I realise this is location dependant but the situation is more likely to get better than get worse IMO. 

Given that, i'd opt for a generator before a solar system.