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UPS Back-up, Also A Complement To FTA / FTA Frequency / Cctv Installation A Complement To Fta And Solar Energy (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by sinistrian(m): 2:40am On Feb 13, 2018
Oh yeah i bought two more 300W panels too
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by ola28: 3:37am On Feb 13, 2018
Hello all, for sale

Midnite classic( SL) 150v @160k

Midnite classic (regular) 150v @ 170k

Also available (2weeks time)

Victron smartsolar charge controller 150/85 @ 180k


Pls contact Ola on 09057285592

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by sinistrian(m): 5:11am On Feb 13, 2018
mank1234:


Use shoptomydoor.com
Thanks Niyi. I actually have an account with shoptomydoor but shipping costs for these small items is on the high side. I saw an AC/DC SSR and a 230V coil NO1 NC1 contactor (that's the keyword i was missing in my search) on aliexpress. So i'll just chain them.
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by sinistrian(m): 5:12am On Feb 13, 2018
See what ICC is doing for me on my newly installed Axpert MKS+. Now i don't have to keep calling my wife from work to check what the inverter is reading.

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by sinistrian(m): 5:17am On Feb 13, 2018
sinistrian:

Buying an axpert from Gennextech. I can use tools to read data from it and my BMV at the same time.
@gennextech which one of you two gave me surge protection capacitors yesterday morning? I don't know where to install them o
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 8:52am On Feb 13, 2018
24V system seems to be the best bcoz it is in btw the battery stability of 12v system and the efficiency of 48v system. Just a string of 48v battery system is prone to premature failure of one or two batteries in the string. Unless there are multiple well balanced strings
sinistrian:
I decided to bite the bullet and change my inverter. I'll also switch to 48V while i'm at it. Reasons:
* Fangpusun 100/50 cannot handle more than 4 300W panels, no matter what config I use
* The voltage loss along my PV cable is annoying, an i can't increase the number of strings (see #1 above)
* Inverter draws insane currents from batteries at full house equipment load (approx 650W) and 16mm2 cables get hot. My 63A MCB has been thrown many times.
* Inverter (CloudEnergy LPT3000) runs hot and uses 75W standby
* The woes of parallel batteries and charge imbalance. One set is starting to show an ever-so-slight bulge.
* No monitoring software for the inverter, I mean seriously?? Not even a data logger.
* Inverter is aggressive with charging cycles. setting for AGM batteries = 29.6 - 30V bulk (until battery is at 95%), then 28.8V absorption for a loooong time. I have seen the LED for float light up only once.
* Inverter runs hot and i'm worried about overheating. The fan doesn't run constantly and at a point in time you ill not be able to place your hand on the chassis- it's that hot.

Buying an axpert from Gennextech. I can use tools to read data from it and my BMV at the same time.
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 12:35pm On Feb 13, 2018
bigrovar:


For the most part, I support the above post. every component that I use is from tier 2 solar producers. Yet the above should not be taken for suspending due diligent. The biggest advantage of premium products (including solar) is the brand of quality which assures the users that the product had undergone best practise in production and best production materials.
I have some check I apply when procuring a product.. I check the word of mouth from previous and current users,
I check for international review of the product if available (most products in Nigeria are sold under a brand name but usually have their international OEM e.g IpowerPlus Solar inverters are actually voltronic axpert inverters
then I check for the web presence of the producer.. I go to youtube if their manufacturing process is available..
Lastly I do my own physical inspection to make sure at least prima facie the product is OK.

SO WHICH WOULD YOU GO for axpert or zinox ipowerplus??. i am in a dilemma of which inverter to go for since there are so many options now in the market,
@gennextech, what advantage would you say axpert has over the other common chinese/indian inverters?

@dmerciful, 24v systems limit your panel array/harvest to 1600w for most common cc's . this is usually inadequate for a 4 x 12v x 200ah bank, in addition to the wahala that comes with a series.parallel config.
48v is my fav all time, though seems icell inverters share your philosophy as they even have 6kva 24v inverter!.

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 1:57pm On Feb 13, 2018
U can split ur array and use 2 controllers or use the midnite classic of 90A
earthrealm:


SO WHICH WOULD YOU GO for axpert or zinox ipowerplus??. i am in a dilemma of which inverter to go for since there are so many options now in the market,
@gennextech, what advantage would you say axpert has over the other common chinese/indian inverters?

@dmerciful, 24v systems limit your panel array/harvest to 1600w for most common cc's . this is usually inadequate for a 4 x 12v x 200ah bank, in addition to the wahala that comes with a series.parallel config.
48v is my fav all time, though seems icell inverters share your philosophy as they even have 6kva 24v inverter!.
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 2:06pm On Feb 13, 2018
DMerciful:
U can split ur array and use 2 controllers or use the midnite classic of 90A

WHCIH IS MORE EXPENSIVE AND IN MY OPINION NOT WORTH THE EXTRA COST.
SIMPLY SLAPPING ON A 60AMP RELIABLE EP SOLAR CC TO A 48v system..hook up ur 3200 - 3500w panels...and u r good.
no need spending extra on 2 ccs or the expensive midnite classic 90amp.

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 2:22pm On Feb 13, 2018
Maybe you consider premature battery failure a cheaper option. By the time you replace 2 batteries then you'll
understand
earthrealm:


WHCIH IS MORE EXPENSIVE AND IN MY OPINION NOT WORTH THE EXTRA COST.
SIMPLY SLAPPING ON A 60AMP RELIABLE EP SOLAR CC TO A 48v system..hook up ur 3200 - 3500w panels...and u r good.
no need spending extra on 2 ccs or the expensive midnite classic 90amp.

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 2:44pm On Feb 13, 2018
For large systems 48v is the most efficient choice - think thinner gauge cables, fewer CCs (same CC will have a ~1.8kw power limit at 24v and ~3.2kw power limit at 48v), cooler running equipment and less heat generation because of fewer transformer windings amongst other reasons.

You have a valid argument about the difficulty keeping four 12v batteries balanced in a 48v system vs two 12v batteries in a 24v system but imagine my own scenario now with 16 pieces 12v 200ah batteries - how would I run that setup in a 24v config? and honestly, I have seen batteries go unbalanced in a 24v system as well.

I believe keeping batteries in balance is the biggest challenge faced by the user of a large RE system second only to getting a regular full charge and keeping within the 50% DoD limit.

In fact one may still be undone by battery balance issues despite a regular full charge and not draining batteries too low as I sadly discovered with my flooded US Battery bank - despite introducing a seperate manual charger to boost a weak battery in the bank, I would solve the immediate balance problem only to have it show up in yet another battery later on.

With such a large system as I have now I have been forced to go the active battery balancing route using ZHC Battery Equalizer and I must say I like the results so far - the device basically removes up to 10a current from the strongest battery in a series string and pushes it into the weakest batteries until all come to thesame state of charge.

I chose the ZHC over the Victron and Fangpusun (Victron clone) balancers because of the price point - a single $60 ZHC unit can handle four batteries with very simple wiring whereas I would need 3 pieces * $70 each of the Victron or Fangpusun to do thesame job with the attendant wiring complexity.

I have a few ZHC pieces spare if you would like to experiment with it. It is flexible to handle 2v, 6v and 12v battery units.

DMerciful:
24V system seems to be the best bcoz it is in btw the battery stability of 12v system and the efficiency of 48v system. Just a string of 48v battery system is prone to premature failure of one or two batteries in the string. Unless there are multiple well balanced strings

earthrealm:


@dmerciful, 24v systems limit your panel array/harvest to 1600w for most common cc's . this is usually inadequate for a 4 x 12v x 200ah bank, in addition to the wahala that comes with a series.parallel config.
48v is my fav all time, though seems icell inverters share your philosophy as they even have 6kva 24v inverter!.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 3:03pm On Feb 13, 2018
I have only used the Zinox IPowerPlus - it was my first introduction to ultra high speed battery charging with its 60amps at 48v charging capacity.

I would wager Gennex and Zinox are fruits off thesame tree since they are both based off thesame Axpert design.

The advantages for me over chinese and indian inverters are high charging amps, user selectable battery type and charge profile, Depth of Discharge cutoff, in built PWM or MPPT solar charge controller (expect average performance from the solar charger of course).

We use a Zinox 5kva in my family house and we can charge a 48v 200ah battery bank from zero to over 90% full in 5 hours - before we went solar we would only run the gen once every 3 days and put enough power in the batteries within a 5 hour charge cycle to use for the next 2 days.

One thing I know for sure is that they don't like resistive loads and heating elements e.g iron, microwave, heaters e.t.c but I know mavens like Oga Pranil found a workaround by paralleling the output of two or more inverters and with this were able to handle larger loads.


earthrealm:


SO WHICH WOULD YOU GO for axpert or zinox ipowerplus??. i am in a dilemma of which inverter to go for since there are so many options now in the market,
@gennextech, what advantage would you say axpert has over the other common chinese/indian inverters?

@dmerciful, 24v systems limit your panel array/harvest to 1600w for most common cc's . this is usually inadequate for a 4 x 12v x 200ah bank, in addition to the wahala that comes with a series.parallel config.
48v is my fav all time, though seems icell inverters share your philosophy as they even have 6kva 24v inverter!.

2 Likes

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 3:09pm On Feb 13, 2018
Invest in active battery balancing and in one fell swoop kill the bane of series wired battery packs. grin

Even Lithium batteries usually have some battery balance mechanism incorporated into their BMS or other wiring circuitry to keep all the cells happy and in thesame state.

If you can keep your batteries balanced, the only thing that should kill them early is old age or poor charging or too deep discharge.



DMerciful:
Maybe you consider premature battery failure a cheaper option. By the time you replace 2 batteries then you'll
understand

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 3:21pm On Feb 13, 2018
NiyiOmoIyunade:
I have only used the Zinox IPowerPlus - it was my first introduction to ultra high speed battery charging with its 60amps at 48v charging capacity.

I would wager Gennex and Zinox are fruits off thesame tree since they are both based off thesame Axpert design.

The advantages for me over chinese and indian inverters are high charging amps, user selectable battery type and charge profile, Depth of Discharge cutoff, in built PWM or MPPT solar charge controller (expect average performance from the solar charger of course).

One thing I know for sure is that they don't like resistive loads and heating elements e.g iron, microwave, heaters e.t.c but I know mavens like Oga Pranil found a workaround by paralleling the output of two or more inverters and with this were able to handle larger loads.



aha, superb, this is the kind of review i have been looking for.
ook, 1 of the principal loads in the setup is a 2300w steam pressing iron..........n the closet substitue is a 1700w steam iron...any1 who knows or have a low power full steam iron should holla...guess that leaves me with prag or highpower inverter
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 3:53pm On Feb 13, 2018
Share a link of a good balancer pls
NiyiOmoIyunade:
Invest in active battery balancing and in one fell swoop kill the bane of series wired battery packs. grin

Even Lithium batteries usually have some battery balance mechanism incorporated into their BMS or other wiring circuitry to keep all the cells happy and in thesame state.

If you can keep your batteries balanced, the only thing that should kill them early is old age or poor charging or too deep discharge.



Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by makavele: 4:17pm On Feb 13, 2018
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 4:53pm On Feb 13, 2018
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Oshomo12(m): 4:57pm On Feb 13, 2018
DMerciful:
Share a link of a good balancer pls

Look what I found on AliExpress
http://s.aliexpress.com/IVj6JvUZ
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 5:12pm On Feb 13, 2018
This gives 5A. Want something of 10A
Oshomo12:


Look what I found on AliExpress
http://s.aliexpress.com/IVj6JvUZ
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 5:14pm On Feb 13, 2018
Thanks... Got something like this however it gives 5A to balance. If I could get a balancer of 10A would be better
Used it on a 48v installation n 2batteries failed within 6months.losses minimised due to warranty cheesy
makavele:
https://www.amazon.com/ZHC-Battery-Equalizer-Balancer-Connected/dp/B01JJ4X8CO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518535030&sr=8-1&keywords=zhc+battery+balancer
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by Oshomo12(m): 5:32pm On Feb 13, 2018
DMerciful:
This gives 5A. Want something of 10A
Do check it very well, 0-10A is what I saw. Let me double check.
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 6:15pm On Feb 13, 2018
I have the manual in my hands and have posted it below.

ZHC HA02 has 0 to 10A listed as the 'optimizing current' and with an operating voltage range of 2.4v to 12v, I interprete the maximum current it can move around to be 10amps at 2.4v and 2amps at 12v. Basically it can shift a maximum 24watts around from stronger to weaker battery per time.

I am convinced this is true as the wires on the device are pretty thin and cannot safely move 10amps at 12v.

I want to clarify your statement below - are you saying you used the ZHC on a battery bank and they still failed after 6 months? Did you eliminate other causative factors? Please clarify


DMerciful:
Thanks... Got something like this however it gives 5A to balance. If I could get a balancer of 10A would be better
Used it on a 48v installation n 2batteries failed within 6months.losses minimised due to warranty cheesy

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 6:23pm On Feb 13, 2018
Which balancer are you using currently?
NiyiOmoIyunade:
I have the manual in my hands and have posted it below.

ZHC HA02 has 0 to 10A listed as the 'optimizing current' and with an operating voltage range of 2.4v to 12v, I interprete the maximum current it can move around to be 10amps at 2.4v and 2amps at 12v. Basically it can shift a maximum 24watts around from stronger to weaker battery per time.

I am convinced this is true as the wires on the device are pretty thin and cannot safely move 10amps at 12v.

I want to clarify your statement below - are you saying you used the ZHC on a battery bank and they still failed after 6 months? Did you eliminate other causative factors? Please clarify


Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 6:31pm On Feb 13, 2018
The ZHC HA02 48v boss


DMerciful:
Which balancer are you using currently?

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 6:38pm On Feb 13, 2018
OK... Will check for this specific brand
NiyiOmoIyunade:
The ZHC HA02 48v boss


Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by chris81964(m): 6:48pm On Feb 13, 2018
We finally started phase one of our project: Victron with Lithium batteries. We had to do three phase electrical connections, so we are doing three 8 kva Quattro Inverters. 250 / 100 MPPT Controller, Color Control GX, 2 x 200 AH Lithium HE 24V batteries Everything is mounted on the wall.
Tomorrow the wiring starts. We hope to be online tomorrow.
We have a fantastic team of people at AWPS Renewable Energy, LTD Nigeria's #1 provider of premium quality solar power. I beg make una hail dem when una see dem

3 Likes

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by DMerciful(m): 6:56pm On Feb 13, 2018
Great job so far..... Following seriously to know how it goes
chris81964:
We finally started phase one of our project: Victron with Lithium batteries. We had to do three phase electrical connections, so we are doing three 8 kva Quattro Inverters. 250 / 100 MPPT Controller, Color Control GX, 2 x 200 AH Lithium HE 24V batteries Everything is mounted on the wall.
Tomorrow the wiring starts. We hope to be online tomorrow.
We have a fantastic team of people at AWPS Renewable Energy, LTD Nigeria's #1 provider of premium quality solar power. I beg make una hail dem when una see dem

1 Like

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by makavele: 7:50pm On Feb 13, 2018
earthrealm:


this is the one i got, though yet to commission it, as i already have desulphators hooked up...and am undecided about which is better....a desulphator, or a balancer

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/battery-balancer-for-12V-lead-acid-battery-connected-in-series-12V-battery-equalizer/32643577605.html?aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1518537032225&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=4d6e17ef8a3e4568917a88e9ddb7db2b-1518537032225-05782-6mia6uv&terminal_id=c63a4001af5f4498b06d032916111287

Apples to oranges . . . They serve slightly different purposes.
While a desulphator might work as a balancer'; a balancer would not work as a desulphator.
I'll go for the battery balancer over the desulphator
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by NiyiOmoIyunade(m): 8:01pm On Feb 13, 2018
Well said! Shikena!!!

Nothing further to add


makavele:


Apples to oranges . . . They serve slightly different purposes.
While a desulphator might work as a balancer'; a balancer would not work as a desulphator.
I'll go for the battery balancer over the desulphator



Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 9:00pm On Feb 13, 2018
makavele:


Apples to oranges . . . They serve slightly different purposes.
While a desulphator might work as a balancer'; a balancer would not work as a desulphator.
I'll go for the battery balance over the desulphator




hmmmm, i thought long and hard, and finally settled for the dsulphator, reasons being
1. system is totally off grid
2. batteries are flooded batts
3. since batts are hooked up to an epsolar cc with a 28day desulphation cycle, and the system is unmonitored, i felt the desulphation cycle might not be working on some of the dates. i hv also checked the batt voltages on several occasions and all but 1 batt had about .04v diff
anyway, we learn everyday, will consider removing the desulphator and trying the balancer and obverse for changes
Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by dapsyra(m): 9:27pm On Feb 13, 2018
earthrealm:


hmmmm, i thought long and hard, and finally settled for the dsulphator, reasons being
1. system is totally off grid
2. batteries are flooded batts
3. since batts are hooked up to an epsolar cc with a 28day desulphation cycle, and the system is unmonitored, i felt the desulphation cycle might not be working on some of the dates. i hv also checked the batt voltages on several occasions and all but 1 batt had about .04v diff
anyway, we learn everyday, will consider removing the desulphator and trying the balancer and obverse for changes

Why not run both the desulphator and the balancer concurrently on the bank? Is there any rule against that?

I did just that for over a year when I was using Lead Acid batteries and it worked well. I had both the H02 balancer and Pulse desulphator hooked up on the same battery bank.

Re: Solar Energy, A Complement To FTA by earthrealm(m): 9:48pm On Feb 13, 2018
dapsyra:


Why not run both the desulphator and the balancer concurrently on the bank? Is there any rule against that?

I did just that for over a year when I was using Lead Acid batteries and it worked well. I had both the H02 balancer and Pulse desulphator hooked up on the same battery bank.


i just feel it would be too much pulses and sHI.t going on, mek e no come fry my CC ..do you have a CC hooked up to ur setup?.
i would hv felt more confident if it was just inverter alone, cos i believe it would be able to handle the pulses/transient voltages from the 2 devices

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