Give more details preferably specifications of ur inverter, solar panels and we might help diagnose what's wrong with ur setup. It might just be a little tweaking and you will get the output required.

nonoski:
So I finally finished my connection over the weekend and have been monitoring the results.

Here’s my story.
It will help a lot of people venturing into RE.
My setup for now is 12 panels rated 300watts (3600w) each in 3S4P connection.
I already had an inverter and 48v x 200Ah battery bank (Bluegate VRLA Batteries). The batteries are 13 months old.
Before powering my charge controller (Outback FlexMax 80) and connecting my ZHC equalizer on Saturday I decided to check the reading of the batteries
Battery 1 – 12.2v
Battery 2 – 12.2v
Battery 3 – 12.2v
Battery 4 – 10.2v
The inverter I have been using has a maximum charge voltage of 53.4v (13.35v per battery) and a maximum charging current of 11.4A.
It took me over 10 months before I realized the inverter was undercharging the batteries basically because we had PHED light for at least 21hrs a day throu out last till January this year when we now go weeks without having light. So the inverter neva really went beyond 50% DOD. Infact it was on this thread I learnt that 53.4v is not a good charge voltage.
From my little knowledge of batteries I already know most of those batteries are sulphocated and may need to be changed soonest.
Since I powered my Outback CC midday Saturday till today Monday I haven’t seen more than 6.2KWH which I consider quite poor for a 3.6kw setup. (Thoug there wasn’t any sunshine throu out Sunday in ph).
But today Monday was all sunny and that was when the CC recorded 6.3kwh which less than 45% efficiency rating of the panels.
The incoming Amps didn’t go beyond 20Amps. I am beginning to doubt the rated output of the solar panel coz I was expecting at least 65-70% efficiency. I will be doing a string by string test tomorrow and Wednesday just to be sure.

Now I bought the Inverter and the solar panels (early last year 2017) from a known solar dealer here in Port Harcourt who came highly recommended. He is always on radio talking about renewable energy, in my office he is one of the main contractor for solar installations.
After I noticed the inverter was charging at 53.4v I decided to engage him on the issue.
I was both amazed and disappointed coz the guy is both empty and unknowledgeable compared the folks here on Nairaland. After much question I deduced that he just went to China and shipped in lots of solar panels and inverters. He isn’t even aware his inverters undercharge batteries.

My advice to those who want to go into RE to do a lot of research and triple check anything they want to buy. Check for reviews for any product they want to buy to be sure.
Contact the guys here, there are far more knowledgeable that all these clowns masquerading as solar expert. I don’t blame anybody who refuses to go into RE coz its quite heart breaking spending millions and within a year or 18 months everything fails.

My Solution: (I am learning the hard way)
I will be changing my inverter to a mustpower 5kva inverter (30a charger)
I will gradually phase out all the batteries I’m currently using and increase it to 48v x 400Ah by July
If the solar panels are also found wanting they too will be phased out gradually before February next year.
My goal is to achieve at 75% freedom from PHEd and their nuisance.

pranil:


Yes, I was considering only battery the rest of the system is assumed to be same ( as I was just retrofitting an old system) but in lithium,case you can get away with smaller PV due to higher efficiency.

Also, other companies might give lower LCOE but I did not consider them as I had no access to purchase or manufacturer support to integrate with Victron


Please have a look at TESVOLT site where they back up 0.09 Euro ( 9 cents ) with a commercial guarantee
https://www.tesvolt.com/en/lcos.html

Ok Pranil, you were referring to LCOS rather than LCOE. LCOE by its definition should include the total cost of the PV system (panels, controllers, inverters, batteries etc). In your case, you would have to estimate the resale value of your old system to calculate LCOE.

I would like to see any company that can provide a storage-based PV system at lower than N80/ kWh in Nigeria.

Please does anyone have experience with powerwaves inverter?

Barezzi:
Well, that poor solar yield will refill his batteries, while yours will still be struggling at bulk stage
Seriously though, i may sell one of my kidneys to go Lithium. My goal is a 400Ah LTO bank

All of us be looking at you like...

DMerciful:
Give more details preferably specifications of ur inverter, solar panels and we might help diagnose what's wrong with ur setup. It might just be a little tweaking and you will get the output required.

The Inverter is Exulted Inverter 3.5Kva; The Charging Current is 53.4v and the charging current is 11.4A
The Solar Panels are also Exulted 300w rated (Voc 38.8v; Isc 10.21A) 12nr connected in 3S4P.

For now i believe the problem is the Inverter and 1 or 2 bad batteries.

I am making arrangements for Mustpower 5Kva Inveter then i change and increase my battery bank

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Since you have a combiner box, you can simply switch off all breakers for all PV strings and switch them ON one at a time and use the AMPS output reading at your CC screen to see what each string of 3 panels is putting out. That way you can see if any string is underperforming relative to the others - this is a cheap workaround for your lack of a DC clamp meter.

Be sure to have a sufficient constant house load ON and PHCN/Gen OFF at the time of testing so the panels are giving their maximum juice and of course do it when the batteries are drained and charging at bulk stage.

The extra backup hours you are getting is a result of proper charge voltage unwinding some of the sulphation your batteries have suffered and one possible reason why your solar output is low is because your real battery capacity is being limited by the one bad battery in the string.

Given 4 12v 200ah batteries in series to make 48v 200ah. If one of the batteries (the one reading 10.2v) has capacity reduced to 80ah for example then what you have is a 48v 80ah battery bank and this is how your batteries will behave under charge and discharge with the extra consequence that the 200ah batteries in the string will overcharge and boil out and slowly lose capacity just like the one bad one.

You really can't equalize mismatched capacity sealed batteries in series. All you will be doing is boiling the good batteries in the series string. Isolate the one bad battery and give it a proper charge and then assess its capacity.

Please given ur experience which battery is best recommended for use with solar system. I have been using Bluegate Sealed VRLA batteries coz the distributor here in Port Harcourt is a registered Distributor of Bluegates Intl. But i dont mind testing another brand

nonoski:

The Inverter is Exulted Inverter 3.5Kva; The Charging Current is 53.4v and the charging current is 11.4A
The Solar Panels are also Exulted 300w rated (Voc 38.8v; Isc 10.21A) 12nr connected in 3S4P.

For now i believe the problem is the Inverter and 1 or 2 bad batteries.

I am making arrangements for Mustpower 5Kva Inveter then i change and increase my battery bank

Yes, that charging current is pretty low for your bank. If you're buying the mustpower, bear in mind the idle power consumption: its about 100W.

sinistrian:


Yes, that charging current is pretty low for your bank. If you're buying the mustpower, bear in mind the idle power consumption: its about 100W.

Yes i have also read about that here, is there any other one with high charging current (30A and above) with low idle power consumption?

ceaser:


All of us be looking at you like...

Please for those in Abuja and other north central States what is the the best time period for programmable timers for a fridge and a freezer?

Any pointers would be appreciated

Mine is 9am to 4pm.

8am to 5pm for northern states sounds about right...

Barezzi:
Mine is 9am to 4pm.

8am to 5pm for northern states sounds about right...

@ Barezzi, looking at your setup capacity from your signature, why are you still running your freezers on a timer??

I hv a much smaller array than yours and I found out that running the freezers on 24/7 consumes far less energy than turning it off and on intermittently.

I used this cheap wifi plug to monitor consumption via an app over a period of time to come to that conclusion. give it a try. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0178IC5ZY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@Chuckdee,
Actually, I have 2 fridges and 2 freezers.

The fridges are on inverter while the freezers cycle 9am to 4pm.
I'll run both overnight for a couple of days and see how it impacts on the bottom line.
I like to keep my night time consumption below 5 units.

I'm currently reworking my set up, seems the life of tinkering will never end.

Barezzi:
@Chuckdee,
Actually, I have 2 fridges and 2 freezers.

The fridges are on inverter while the freezers cycle 9am to 4pm.
I'll run both overnight for a couple of days and see how it impacts on the bottom line.
I like to keep my night time consumption below 5 units.

I'm currently reworking my set up, seems the life of tinkering will never end.

so i went to check out the lg 1hp inverter ac, i was not impressed by the specs written on it..even though it had a sticker screaming 70% savings in energy consumption, am still wonderin hos possible this is based on the energy nameplate.

lg 1hp inverter ac cost 129k, normal 1hp ac = 104k naira
normal consumption = 800w
max consumption= 1200w,

so where then is the energy savings??, would appreciate reall world figures from a current user

The 1hp rating is for the compressor only - other elements e.g blower fan e.t.c may consume additional power.

On my 6 year old 1hp AC, it was common to see power draw up to and above 1kw.

When I switched to the 1hp inverter AC, it draws about 1kw in normal mode (ramps up gradually from about 400watts so you don't get that surge effect) but when you activate Gen Mode, it goes as low as 500watts (again ramps down gradually).

My current usage is to keep a constant temperature of 24°C and run 'Jet Mode' for 1 hour between 8 and 9pm for rapid cooling then 'Gen Mode' from 9pm to 7am in the morning

earthrealm:
so i went to check out the lg 1hp inverter ac, i was not impressed by the specs written on it..even though it had a sticker screaming 70% savings in energy consumption, am still wonderin hos possible this is based on the energy nameplate.

lg 1hp inverter ac cost 129k, normal 1hp ac = 104k naira
normal consumption = 800w
max consumption= 1200w,

so where then is the energy savings??, would appreciate reall world figures from a current user

Jet mode ba? Honestly I've never read the manual. I'll deploy same strategy and see how that pans out...

NiyiOmoIyunade:
My current usage is to keep a constant temperature of 24°C and run 'Jet Mode' for 1 hour between 8 and 9pm for rapid cooling then 'Gen Mode' from 9pm to 7am in the morning

DMerciful:
Comparing lead acid with lithium is like comparing kerosene stove with gas!

Hahahaha, bros easy nw. It's not the comparison that is the issue here.. It's the price factor, the argument is if it's worth buying now... Namaste

@GeorgdD

I just your set up 8 years ago. What happened to this set up equipment?

Technology has really evolved and im sure your CC and Inverter now have display screen rather than volt meter
www.nairaland.com/attachments/298210_DSC_0022a_jpg0b3c36eca1ede356c7dbfcddc43c9193 www.nairaland.com/attachments/298213_DSC_0023a_jpg1e47e991b869602a1aecd66e841bc613 www.nairaland.com/attachments/298214_DSC_0024a_jpg383e6d7974634ccd8af5c745bd9b40af

NiyiOmoIyunade:
The 1hp rating is for the compressor only - other elements e.g blower fan e.t.c may consume additional power.

On my 6 year old 1hp AC, it was common to see power draw up to and above 1kw.

When I switched to the 1hp inverter AC, it draws about 1kw in normal mode (ramps up gradually from about 400watts so you don't get that surge effect) but when you activate Gen Mode, it goes as low as 500watts (again ramps down gradually).

My current usage is to keep a constant temperature of 24°C and run 'Jet Mode' for 1 hour between 8 and 9pm for rapid cooling then 'Gen Mode' from 9pm to 7am in the morning

so how is the cooling effect in gen mode??....lemme know if i will run it 24/7 on gen mode. does it still go as low as 20deg and high fan speed on gen mode?..trying to understand how it saves/uses less energy
.24deg may only be effective for me at night, during the day 23/22 wud be preferred

The cooling effect of the inverter AC in Gen Mode is sufficient to be comfortable but does not have that chill-tang/frosty effect that normal AC has.

After some hours, you can get the room temperature down to between 22 to 24°C depending on how hot it is outside. For now I am still watching and measuring the consumption.

With what I have seen, I may swap out my 2hp sitting room AC for a 1hp standard AC and support it with a fan. Those 2hp units are bloody power hogs.

earthrealm:


so how is the cooling effect in gen mode??....lemme know if i will run it 24/7 on gen mode. does it still go as low as 20deg and high fan speed on gen mode?..trying to understand how it saves/uses less energy
.24deg may only be effective for me at night, during the day 23/22 wud be preferred

earthrealm:
so i went to check out the lg 1hp inverter ac, i was not impressed by the specs written on it..even though it had a sticker screaming 70% savings in energy consumption, am still wonderin hos possible this is based on the energy nameplate.

lg 1hp inverter ac cost 129k, normal 1hp ac = 104k naira
normal consumption = 800w
max consumption= 1200w,

so where then is the energy savings??, would appreciate reall world figures from a current user

Let me bring the house up to speed on my search for DC air-conditioner from Green Energy Innovation.

Thanks to Pranil, for providing the much needed link.
I sent a mail to the company and was linked up with their suppliers here in Nigeria(one in Lagos and the other in PH).

The one in PH replied my mail while the Lagos one is yet to after 2weeks.

Currently they don't have supplies but are awaiting some soon.
The prices are:
1hp......$1,385
1.5hp....$1,695

For the unit only!

Now Oga earthrealm, the performance is not bad ooh, after getting the prices above, my friend decided to buy the 1hp LG inverter AC and I was surprised by the performance....on a 24v-2kva system, it took 8hrs for the battery(200Ah x 2) to drop from 25v to 24v.

Initially wanted him to go for daikin inverter AC but couldn't source locally

NiyiOmoIyunade:
The 1hp rating is for the compressor only - other elements e.g blower fan e.t.c may consume additional power.

On my 6 year old 1hp AC, it was common to see power draw up to and above 1kw.

When I switched to the 1hp inverter AC, it draws about 1kw in normal mode (ramps up gradually from about 400watts so you don't get that surge effect) but when you activate Gen Mode, it goes as low as 500watts (again ramps down gradually).

My current usage is to keep a constant temperature of 24°C and run 'Jet Mode' for 1 hour between 8 and 9pm for rapid cooling then 'Gen Mode' from 9pm to 7am in the morning

Good analysis.

After feeling the cool of the LG inverter at work, I think the info from different people that the gen mode does not cool much is not exactly true but as you pointed out above, it may not be as icy and chilly like the Ac mode...but you will know that AC they blow you well in gen mode

life707:


Let me bring the house up to speed on my search for DC air-conditioner from Green Energy Innovation.

Thanks to Pranil, for providing the much needed link.
I sent a mail to the company and was linked up with their suppliers here in Nigeria(one in Lagos and the other in PH).

The one in PH replied my mail while the Lagos one is yet to after 2weeks.

Currently they don't have supplies but are awaiting some soon.
The prices are:
1hp......$1,385
1.5hp....$1,695

For the unit only!

Now Oga earthrealm, the performance is not bad ooh, after getting the prices above, my friend decided to buy the 1hp LG inverter AC and I was surprised by the performance....on a 24v-2kva system, it took 8hrs for the battery(200Ah x 2) to drop from 25v to 24v.

Initially wanted him to go for daikin inverter AC but couldn't source locally

thnks bruv, with those prices, i leave it for the members eyeing the LiTHUIM batteries, for me and my family, on LG inverter ac and agm batteries i stand
ONE cannot come and bankrupt himself cos of RE...lolz

earthrealm:


so how is the cooling effect in gen mode??....lemme know if i will run it 24/7 on gen mode. does it still go as low as 20deg and high fan speed on gen mode?..trying to understand how it saves/uses less energy
.24deg may only be effective for me at night, during the day 23/22 wud be preferred

The energy is saved by the variable speed compressor and higher efficiency gas and condensers. Normal Ac runs in ON off mode while inverter AC only draws power required to reach the cooling temp. This video from LG explains it better than word
An additional benefit of inverter AC's is they can cool faster in jet /power mode as the compressor can go into overdrive

Also, they are able to maintain exact setpoint . for my bedroom when I set 26 it is at 26 +- 0.1


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ueIUEojI0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-YtYp2RJ-k

davodyguy:
@GeorgdD

I just your set up 8 years ago. What happened to this set up equipment?

Technology has really evolved and im sure your CC and Inverter now have display screen rather than volt meter
www.nairaland.com/attachments/298210_DSC_0022a_jpg0b3c36eca1ede356c7dbfcddc43c9193 www.nairaland.com/attachments/298213_DSC_0023a_jpg1e47e991b869602a1aecd66e841bc613 www.nairaland.com/attachments/298214_DSC_0024a_jpg383e6d7974634ccd8af5c745bd9b40af

davodyguy,
lolz! these are throw back pix of the early years in my journey to energy freedom.
ah! the joys of the internet, a place where memories never die!

for starters, that pwm cc in the first picture served its time well without issues. after
being in the cooler for a couple of years, it is now producing much needed juice for a reputable
medical doctor in benin.
the 5kva prostar inverter in the second picture blew up without warning one fateful morning after
working all night. i had earlier shut down it down to cool off in the morning and when i went back
a few hours later to put it on i heard a loud bang and that was the end. the local dealer whom i
bought it from wasn't too excited when i took it back to him for repairs, citing lack of available
spares, support, etc. well, that shouldn't have come to me as a surprise - afterall, what do you
expect from a chinese made mid-range product?
ok, the batteries were zenith 200ah and lasted about 5yrs give and take. i was so impressed with
their performance that i decided to replace them with their 260ah senior cousins which i'm using
till date.
as for the 5kva binatone stabilizer, i guess it just couldn't cope with the huge power draw from
both the inverter and house loads that it caved in and went into early retirement...

i could go on but that would mean writing a whole book on my long journey into renewables...

I do not know this exulted brand however you did not mention what charge controller you are using. Mustpower idle power consumption is appreciable and this increases with the kva so be mindful of that. your panels is enuf to charge ur batteries and at least augment the inverter gap.....you might need to check if the panels are facing the right angle

nonoski:

The Inverter is Exulted Inverter 3.5Kva; The Charging Current is 53.4v and the charging current is 11.4A
The Solar Panels are also Exulted 300w rated (Voc 38.8v; Isc 10.21A) 12nr connected in 3S4P.

For now i believe the problem is the Inverter and 1 or 2 bad batteries.

I am making arrangements for Mustpower 5Kva Inveter then i change and increase my battery bank

Bug kudos to you, cos you started going Green and clean as far back as 8 years ago.

Some of us only started recently and we hope many more Nigerians embrace the clean energy.

I'm having issues with some of my neighbors now. Ask me why? They have a very terrible noisy generator. I've preached Inverter and solar, these fools claimed no money, but one of them recently bought a car worth 1.2million just to prove a point, cos they can't stand the fact that my wife uses SUV, hence the wife too needed to show off. That's how terrible mentalities of people are.

They run this gen whenever there's no mains power supply for almost 12hours in a 24 hours day, with the noise disturbing the neighborhood. In July, 2017 their 1kva Tiger generator caught fire, but luckily for us, it happened around 8:30pm. I used two of my cars' fire extinguishers to help them prevent disaster.

Thinking buying PMS to fuel gen daily is a sign of being rich is a stupid as a butterfly trying to fly as high as a bird.

I'm sorry I have to express myself to this extent, but that's how Nigerians are.

May God help us

GeorgeD1:


davodyguy,
lolz! these are throw back pix of the early years in my journey to energy freedom.
ah! the joys of the internet, a place where memories never die!

for starters, that pwm cc in the first picture served its time well without issues. after
being in the cooler for a couple of years, it is now producing much needed juice for a reputable
medical doctor in benin.
the 5kva prostar inverter in the second picture blew up without warning one fateful morning after
working all night. i had earlier shut down it down to cool off in the morning and when i went back
a few hours later to put it on i heard a loud bang and that was the end. the local dealer whom i
bought it from wasn't too excited when i took it back to him for repairs, citing lack of available
spares, support, etc. well, that shouldn't have come to me as a surprise - afterall, what do you
expect from a chinese made mid-range product?
ok, the batteries were zenith 200ah and lasted about 5yrs give and take. i was so impressed with
their performance that i decided to replace them with their 260ah senior cousins which i'm using
till date.
as for the 5kva binatone stabilizer, i guess it just couldn't cope with the huge power draw from
both the inverter and house loads that it caved in and went into early retirement...

i could go on but that would mean writing a whole book on my long journey into renewables...

davodyguy:
Bug kudos to you, cos you started going Green and clean as far back as 8 years ago.

Some of us only started recently and we hope many more Nigerians embrace the clean energy.

I'm having issues with some of my neighbors now. Ask me why? They have a very terrible noisy generator. I've preached Inverter and solar, these fools claimed no money, but one of them recently bought a car worth 1.2million just to prove a point, cos they can't stand the fact that my wife uses SUV, hence the wife too needed to show off. That's how terrible mentalities of people are.

They run this gen whenever there's no mains power supply for almost 12hours in a 24 hours day, with the noise disturbing the neighborhood. In July, 2017 their 1kva Tiger generator caught fire, but luckily for us, it happened around 8:30pm. I used two of my cars' fire extinguishers to help them prevent disaster.

Thinking buying PMS to fuel gen daily is a sign of being rich is a stupid as a butterfly trying to fly as high as a bird.

I'm sorry I have to express myself to this extent, but that's how Nigerians are.

May God help us

Penny wise Pound foolish

@davodyguy,
I can relate... My neighbour is a rich dude who runs his diesel gen for almost 24hrs daily.
There's this deep hum that irritates. I might consider arranging boys to make his gen disappear

I have equally tried to convert him, but he loves diesel too much . How do you convert someone who owns several diesel tank farms?

Barezzi:
@davodyguy,
I can relate... My neighbour is a rich dude who runs his diesel gen for almost 24hrs daily.
There's this deep hum that irritates. I might consider arranging boys to make his gen disappear

I have equally tried to convert him, but he loves diesel too much . How do you convert someone who owns several diesel tank farms?

Place juju in front of his house

Barezzi:
@davodyguy,
I can relate... My neighbour is a rich dude who runs his diesel gen for almost 24hrs daily.
There's this deep hum that irritates. I might consider arranging boys to make his gen disappear

I have equally tried to convert him, but he loves diesel too much . How do you convert someone who owns several diesel tank farms?

Easy! Just invite the Jamb sneak, his gen is as good as gone, QED.