efuro:


In addition to ur earlier post. I know some enthusiast will take me on it but it may fall true dat some of these ba3 are over-rated for Nigerian market. 200AH ba3 may actually be 180AH or less even with SON seal or LOGO.
So to enjoy 5 days of off-grid, consider over sizing ur bank.
On d condition dat u have powerful mppt firing @ 98% conversion efficiency to maintain ur ba3 in good shape.
Like big wigs here have said few months ago. In crease the abosption time of ur FLA 2-3hrs. U may soon find out that ur ba3 will fall in line in no time at all

I have Luminous and enjoying over 30 months now still going strong . Top and equiliaze them atleast once in 3 months and dont discharge more than 50 % of rated capacity
200 AH x 50 V is 10 KWh at C20 rate ( 400 watt considering 20 % loss in inverter and cabling) you should use them max for 10 Hours at 400 watt load ( not 5 days !)anything more and you are crossing 50 % dod drastically reducing their life They are rated for 1200 Cyles for 50 % DOD and only 500 at * 80 % DOD , if you were discharging them fully expect them to last less than a year

Also little known fact is the capacity of battery reduces under heavy load a 200 Ah bank will deliver more like 170 AH for loads over C20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peukert%27s_law

Anil

bigrovar:


The sukam falcon plus 1.6 kva 24v uses 25w against the 30w advertised in the manual. Its one of the reason I love that inverter.



I use a battery monitor with watt/Amp counter. Previously used a watt meter that comes with a shunt. The device is not bidirectional hence it can only read one way. I set it up between inverter and battery to read watts inverter takes takes from the battery. To know the idle load of the inverter. All I need do is

A: Turn off the load output of the inverter and check the watt meter readings.. Since the inverter becomes the only load on the battery the watt meter gives me its idle load.

B: Put an AC killawatt meter on the inverter out and read how much load in watt is on the inverter. Compare it to how much load the inverter takes from the battery. The difference gives me the inverter self consumption load.

Now I use the victron energy watt meter which is much more sophisticated than the previous device. This one is multi directional as it shows what goes into and out of the battery. The device easily shows me the inverter without stress. The former option is much cheaper though.

Some of the better designed inverters like Prag or Ipower have a power saving mode to solve this issue They switch of the inverter mode and capacitors etc to reduce consumption. If I remember correctly Prag uses 100 Watt in normal mode and 35 watt in power saving. Every four second and so they send a pulse to check if the load is above rated value say 60 watt . It it is more they fire up the inverter . The problem with power saving mode is things like LED bulbs don't trigger it and keep on flashing

pranil:


Some of the better designed inverters like Prag or Ipower have a power saving mode to solve this issue They switch of the inverter mode and capacitors etc to reduce consumption. If I remember correctly Prag uses 100 Watt in normal mode and 35 watt in power saving. Every four second and so they send a pulse to check if the load is above rated value say 60 watt . It it is more they fire up the inverter . The problem with power saving mode is things like LED bulbs don't trigger it and keep on flashing

Sukam uses 25w in "normal mode" which is the only mode. Heck my night load with inverter consumption rarely ever crosses the 100w mark . Including Dstv, 43 inch tv, 2 fan and 4 lighting points. If I turn on the home theater setup its shoots to 120w. C20 for my setup should be 264w. In most cases my discharge rate is less than c40 no way will I use an inverter that uses 100w. That's criminally inefficient.

pranil:



Also little known fact is the capacity of battery reduces under heavy load a 200 Ah bank will deliver more like 170 AH for loads over C20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peukert%27s_law

Anil

And it will deliver more like 210AH or 205Ah for loads under c20. This is why I always advocate for efficient load. My battery discharges less than c40 for most of over 70% of my daily cyclic use and never ever has it been discharged close to c20.

As noted earlier due to lack of standards I take batteries capacity labels with a pinch of salt. I prefer to hover above the safer limit of battery stated capacity. My daily discharge cycles hovers between 30% - 25% dod including using heavy house appliance (the heavy ones during the day like washing machine, freezer, fridge, freezer, blender etc)

This way even if my 220AH battery is actually a 180AH in disguise. Am still good.

For longer life of our batteries, best practice suggests that we should not discharge our batteries beyond 50% but for a lot of us, our setup may not be able to give us the state just by looking at it to determine State of charge (SOC) or Depth of Discharge (DoD). In my search for knowledge, i stumbled on the attached diagrams which i believe will give us an idea of our SOC and also the DoD when we look at our batteries (though the diagram may not be 100% accurate for all batteries).


State of charge (SOC) is the equivalent of a fuel gauge for the battery pack in a battery electric vehicle (BEV), hybrid vehicle (HV), or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The units of SOC are percentage points (0% = empty; 100% = full).

An alternate form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), the inverse of SOC (100% = empty; 0% = full).

therealMcCain:
My journey for RE has started,

I have the following

1. 1400va Kevin inverter 24v
2. Epever 30a, 100v CC
3. 4×200w solar panels, acquired from our uncle in the house, GeorgeD1( yet to be received though)
4.watt meter

I rewired the house & have a dedicated DB for the inverter


Outstanding

1.Pv connection cable
2.breakers
3.BATTERIES
4.combiner box
5.Pv mounting kit or frame should I choose ground mount
6.earthing protection for Pv & inverter DB

CC
Dmerciful
GeorgeD1
Efuro
Bigrovar
Juo
Abunafiu

More questions coming please
1. The max for my CC is 780w, can I use the 4 panels totalling 800w?

If yes what's my best way of connecting them?

2. If my CC Max rating is 30a, won't it be a problem if my CC is producing almost this on a constant basis because of my 800w setup

3.can I use normal 10mm cable or it's best I go for the amoured cable

Distance from panel to CC will be 7m

Distance from CC to battery will be 12m


These distances is a result of optimum position for the inverter & battery

The location of the CC in my balcony is safe from water but battery at ground level won't be

Should i work out a way to put the battery there, I can't put my inverter there

Meaning if my CC & battery is at Same location, my inverter will be inside the house 12m away from Battery

Option 2

Run cable straight from Pv to CC-battery-inverter all located inside the house, 19m

My only concern with this option is ventilation

So how do I go about this please

Mank said it al, if u r in lag, call us let us com n check out possible installation locations that will suit your system. You can also check some of our beautiful installation pictures and tips on facebook.com/monzpowersolutions
#cheers

Good Day Wonderful People,
Please who has ever used a fully refurbished battery and how was/is the experience?
Kindly help out with performance report!

Thank you in advance,

Please who has a brand new 48V MPPT solar charge controller for sale?

A very good used one is also welcome.

Feshizzy:
Good Day Wonderful People,
Please who has ever used a fully refurbished battery and how was/is the experience?
Kindly help out with performance report!

Thank you in advance,

its a game of luck/chance...a well maintained 2yr old batt may be beta than an abused 6months old battery..
go with a load tester, and check the batteries b4 purchase, if possible

babaegun:
For longer life of our batteries, best practice suggests that we should not discharge our batteries beyond 50% but for a lot of us, our setup may not be able to give us the state just by looking at it to determine State of charge (SOC) or Depth of Discharge (DoD). In my search for knowledge, i stumbled on the attached diagrams which i believe will give us an idea of our SOC and also the DoD when we look at our batteries (though the diagram may not be 100% accurate for all batteries).


State of charge (SOC) is the equivalent of a fuel gauge for the battery pack in a battery electric vehicle (BEV), hybrid vehicle (HV), or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The units of SOC are percentage points (0% = empty; 100% = full).

An alternate form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), the inverse of SOC (100% = empty; 0% = full).

the attached DOD picture was just what i intended to search and dload.
my battery bank drops to 50.4v from idle voltage of 53.4v, 30-45mins after phcn goes...when fully charged and zero/minimal load, and drops to 50v in about 90mins with 200-300w load.
its the above behaviour that am not comfortable with, but guess i have to accept what bigrovar explained as voltage sag for flooded batts, when i was using smf batteries, they didnt have such a rapid voltage drop

earthrealm:


the attached DOD picture was just what i intended to search and dload.
my battery bank drops to 50.4v from idle voltage of 53.4v, 30-45mins after phcn goes...when fully charged and zero/minimal load, and drops to 50v in about 90mins with 200-300w load.
its the above behaviour that am not comfortable with, but guess i have to accept what bigrovar explained as voltage sag for flooded batts, when i was using smf batteries, they didnt have such a rapid voltage drop

Agreed.
Same here.

earthrealm:


its a game of luck/chance...a well maintained 2yr old batt may be beta than an abused 6months old battery..
go with a load tester, and check the batteries b4 purchase, if possible

Thank you very much for your response sir,
I would put that in mind.

Regards

Its double pole but I switch only the live while the neutrals are joined together(common neutral)

dejidotun2000:
A purely mechanical switch (double pole double throw) ?

I did not advertised panels for sale...maybe Others on d forum

shiftmarket:
Are your panels still available, I need like 2 of them or up to 4 if you still have them.

all,
i want to appreciate all those who indicated interest in my used solar panels sales.
for those who placed orders, some of you have already received your packages and
for those yet to receive, be rest assured that yours is already on the way.
panels are now sold out, thus i'm no longer receiving fresh orders.
for those whose requests i was not able to meet, please accept my apologies.
it was done on a first come, first serve basis. nothing personal to it.
and for purposes of clarity, all panels sold were in good working condition and
were not defective in any way.
although 30k for a 200w panel may sound ridiculously cheap, it was just my way
of giving back to the house and helping to empower a few peeps here who yearned
for a way to jump start their journey into energy freedom but hitherto didn't have
the means to do so.
believe me, i could have given them out for free if not for some financial constraints
that came up during the course of this major system upgrade which is still on-going.

once again, thanks for the patronage.
break the myth!

My mistake, it was GeorgeD1, and my mistake cost me the chance to get a part of it.
He just posted that the panels have been sold out now.

DMerciful:
I did not advertised panels for sale...maybe Others on d forum

Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

I'm angry as I type this now & i want the house to be the judge

GeorgeD1 put up an ad for his panels for 30k, he stated he had SHARP and SUNTECH panels for sale 200w each, he equally stated that it was 1st come first serve basis

Immediately after his post I was first to indicate interest.


We spoke LAST WEEK and he told me he was not in town & that i should hold on with payment, that the panels will be RESERVED FOR ME.

SARTURDAY HE CALLED that he was in town & I promised to make payment on MONDAY which I did.

I paid for 4 panels including courier fee, the delivery date was Thursday/Friday which I agreed to.

Its worthwhile to mention that when the panels were put up for sale, the picture of the panels were MONO

When he later did a test on them using a multimeter, the pictures were also MONO

Imagine my disappointment when I went to pick my panel to see that they were POLY panels with no sticker or nameplate behind.

I am not happy at all. I called him, I couldn't really process what he was saying, background
Was noisy & i was really disappointed & down

It was when I got home to check the name plate, ALL 4 panels had no nameplate!

I called again & he promised to send a pic of rhe name plate from the initial installation


How do i know that these are really SHARP panels as I requested?

I am weak, disoriented & angry

therealMcCain:
I'm angry as I type this now & i want the house to be the judge

GeorgeD1 put up an ad for his panels for 30k, he stated he had SHARP and SUNTECH panels for sale 200w each, he equally stated that it was 1st come first serve basis

Immediately after his post I was first to indicate interest.


We spoke LAST WEEK and he told me he was not in town & that i should hold on with payment, that the panels will be RESERVED FOR ME.

SARTURDAY HE CALLED that he was in town & I promised to make payment on MONDAY which I did.

I paid for 4 panels including courier fee, the delivery date was Thursday/Friday which I agreed to.

Its worthwhile to mention that when the panels were put up for sale, the picture of the panels were MONO

When he later did a test on them using a multimeter, the pictures were also MONO

Imagine my disappointment when I went to pick my panel to see that they were POLY panels with no sticker or nameplate behind.

I am not happy at all. I called him, I couldn't really process what he was saying, background
Was noisy & i was really disappointed & down

It was when I got home to check the name plate, ALL 4 panels had no nameplate!

I called again & he promised to send a pic of rhe name plate from the initial installation


How do i know that these are really SHARP
panels as I requested?

I am weak, disoriented & angry

No comment yet. Let oga George speak first.
Oga George ur rejoinder is essential.

peaceland:
Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

Ur effort is modest. I use this medium to congratulate u on ur drive & accomplishments.
On ur worry, let us know what rating is ur mppt (amp) or take a snap shot of d nameplate & paste here. It will allow house to correctly advise u. #cheers!

peaceland:
Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

i think ur mppt cc is rated for 100v, and the installer wired them in series, so they sometimes would be exceeding the 100v rating, and would shut down to prevent damage. the installer is trying to play a fast one/cut his losses by swapping it with a cheaper pwm charge controler that wud be able to handle >100v that ur 3 panels are producing, if ur cc is 40amps, u can easily remedy this by buying another panel and hooking them in 2 strings of 2 panels, if ur cc is 30amps.....na there small wahala fit dey.
like efuro has said, post the specs of the cc, and ur panels, so we could advice you accordingly

peaceland:
Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

If your charge controller is the epsolar Tracer A series which has a 100v PV input limit then your installer has the right of it. 3 24v panels in series would definitely kill a 100v controller. An averge 24v panel has a vmp range of between 29-35v and a VOC of 37-45 depending on the panel. The important voltage to watch for is your VOC. 37x3 puts your controller in dangerous territory if its pv voltage limit is 100v.

Your options are get a new panel to make your PV 4 so you can do a series parallel. Or get a controller with 150v limit.

But before we get ahead of ourselves. Send us the specs of your controller.

therealmccain,
brother, we have already discussed so no need to bring this up in public space.
the panels i had on sale were a mix of poly and mono. i could have upped the price
for the mono but for personal reasons, i decided to give them all away same price.
when i posted the price and specs on this thread i neither indicated which type of
panels i was giving out only that it was 200w. if you say you are angry because i
sent you poly panels then its rather regrettable because you didn't specifically
indicate you were after mono panels. as for nameplate, i did promise to send you
details on watsapp which you agreed to. besides, the history of every single one of
my modules are replete on the pages of this thread like an open book for everyone
to read.
should you still have any other issues you want cleared up, kindly reach me via my
mobile and lets resolve. i don't believe we should regale honorable members here
with back and forth posts over what could be regarded as a private matter.

i'm sorry for the heartache this might have caused you but i assure you it was not
intentional.

therealMcCain:
I'm angry as I type this now & i want the house to be the judge

GeorgeD1 put up an ad for his panels for 30k, he stated he had SHARP and SUNTECH panels for sale 200w each, he equally stated that it was 1st come first serve basis

Immediately after his post I was first to indicate interest.


We spoke LAST WEEK and he told me he was not in town & that i should hold on with payment, that the panels will be RESERVED FOR ME.

SARTURDAY HE CALLED that he was in town & I promised to make payment on MONDAY which I did.

I paid for 4 panels including courier fee, the delivery date was Thursday/Friday which I agreed to.

Its worthwhile to mention that when the panels were put up for sale, the picture of the panels were MONO

When he later did a test on them using a multimeter, the pictures were also MONO

Imagine my disappointment when I went to pick my panel to see that they were POLY panels with no sticker or nameplate behind.

I am not happy at all. I called him, I couldn't really process what he was saying, background
Was noisy & i was really disappointed & down

It was when I got home to check the name plate, ALL 4 panels had no nameplate!

I called again & he promised to send a pic of rhe name plate from the initial installation


How do i know that these are really SHARP panels as I requested?

I am weak, disoriented & angry

The George D I know is a man with an open mind.
He will never call it white when it's black.
I suggest u iron it out with him first before coming online.
I can assure you that there's a mix up somewhere.
Do kindly take it easy sir.

GeorgeD1:
therealmccain,
brother, we have already discussed so no need to bring this up in public space.
the panels i had on sale were a mix of poly and mono. i could have upped the price
for the mono but for personal reasons, i decided to give them all away same price.
when i posted the price and specs on this thread i neither indicated which type of
panels i was giving out only that it was 200w. if you say you are angry because i
sent you poly panels then its rather regrettable because you didn't specifically
indicate you were after mono panels. as for nameplate, i did promise to send you
details on watsapp which you agreed to. besides, the history of every single one of
my modules are replete on the pages of this thread like an open book for everyone
to read.
should you still have any other issues you want cleared up, kindly reach me via my
mobile and lets resolve. i don't believe we should regale honorable members here
with back and forth posts over what could be regarded as a private matter.

i'm sorry for the heartache this might have caused you but i assure you it was not
intentional.

Lesson learnt.
Not everyone u can do biz with on Nairaland.
Always state rhe terms clearly to avoid unnecessary online drama.

abunafiu:

The George D I know is a man with an open mind.
He will never call it white when it's black.
I suggest u iron it out with him first before coming online.
I can assure you that there's a mix up somewhere.
Do kindly take it easy sir.

Its sure a lil mix up as few sample pics of personal used panels mustnt all be mono spec tho if only the said client(newbie) was very precise in his quest .. Thanks

GeorgeD1:
therealmccain,
brother, we have already discussed so no need to bring this up in public space.
the panels i had on sale were a mix of poly and mono. i could have upped the price
for the mono but for personal reasons, i decided to give them all away same price.
when i posted the price and specs on this thread i neither indicated which type of
panels i was giving out only that it was 200w. if you say you are angry because i
sent you poly panels then its rather regrettable because you didn't specifically
indicate you were after mono panels. as for nameplate, i did promise to send you
details on watsapp which you agreed to. besides, the history of every single one of
my modules are replete on the pages of this thread like an open book for everyone
to read.
should you still have any other issues you want cleared up, kindly reach me via my
mobile and lets resolve. i don't believe we should regale honorable members here
with back and forth posts over what could be regarded as a private matter.

i'm sorry for the heartache this might have caused you but i assure you it was not
intentional.

seconded , its more or less a private issue ! Moreover I know George D as a man of his words as his 200w sharp panels said to be poly are POLY whilst 200w Suntech said to be mono are MONO , newbies presuming that there is a 50% marginal differential between MONO & POLY PV are making a huge mistake OK.. Cheers !

Hello Guys,

So am trying to setup 12 nos - 250W, 30V/8A solar panels in series/parallel.

Kindly look at my diagram and suggest the best option that is most efficient. Charge Controller is 150Vdc/80A mppt, Battery Bank is 48V, 200AH and the Inverter is 5000va.

Thanks as I await your response.

Same happened to me when I stringed 3 panels with Voc of 35v during my early solar days. It was epever of 30A rated 100v input. It wasn't charging sometimes mostly when panel voltage rose above 100v so I bought the 4th panel and do 2*2 configuration and Voc became 70v. Buy the 4th panel for urs as d installer said but don't go with d pwm option.

peaceland:
Good day House,
Please I need your help on a solar installation.
- installed recently 1.5kva solar system.
- 2 Gacia batteries (200Ah); 3 panels (250w, 24v); MPPT charge controller (epever) & Sukam Falcon + inverter.
- Recently the installer came that he wants to change the MPPT to PMW claiming that the voltage from the panels is sometimes over 100v and that this led to the controller (epever) shutting down occasionally. I noticed the charger not indicating charging even when the sun is very high. The explanation does not make any sense to me and changing to PMW even makes me more worried.
- The alternative I was given was to remove one of the panels or add an extra one to make 4.
- My concern is – could the current MPPT charge controller be a faulty one?. How can I check this independently.
Thank you

babaegun:
Hello Guys,

So am trying to setup 12 nos - 250W, 30V/8A solar panels in series/parallel.

Kindly look at my diagram and suggest the best option that is most efficient. Charge Controller is 150Vdc/80A mppt, Battery Bank is 48V, 200AH and the Inverter is 5000va.

Thanks as I await your response.

option A is better, am assuming you intend to use a combiner box

Option A would be more efficient .Recommended.

babaegun:
Hello Guys,

So am trying to setup 12 nos - 250W, 30V/8A solar panels in series/parallel.

Kindly look at my diagram and suggest the best option that is most efficient. Charge Controller is 150Vdc/80A mppt, Battery Bank is 48V, 200AH and the Inverter is 5000va.

Thanks as I await your response.

Babaegun, option A .

I use 250w poly and did 4*4 with my classic 150 mppt.

babaegun:
Hello Guys,

So am trying to setup 12 nos - 250W, 30V/8A solar panels in series/parallel.

Kindly look at my diagram and suggest the best option that is most efficient. Charge Controller is 150Vdc/80A mppt, Battery Bank is 48V, 200AH and the Inverter is 5000va.

Thanks as I await your response.

NOTE: Option A is suitable for your 48v inverter system .. Contact me for combiner box , 6mm - 10mm 3 core cables & DC breakers(10a-15a-20a-32a-50a-63a-100a) ranging from 4k to 6k .. Thanks !