Panels mounted

Mounted

Remaining rail for future expansion

Nice. Sir, do you have numbers to show the improvement of your setup. Since the panels are no longer directly on the roofing sheets I reckon your harvest should be on the increase

bode4real:
Remaining rail for future expansion

Nice one there Oga bode4real

Your roof material most be of very high gauge for you to be able to suspend the roof mount (L-foot) on the ridge. Or else you could have fixed then on the trough. That would have ensured a firmer grip.

Congrats though and thanks for patronizing us.

Hello everyone!
@George D . Long time bros
It's good to see every one is doing upgrades.

ora10g:
Hi all,
Great thread but seems like its getting dull already,... i hope not.
I have been using inverter for the past 13 years now but only on a small scale and i feel like expanding soon as i see alot of pple now prefer solars.
Currently i have 4 100ah gel batteries connected in parallel with a 12v 1000watts mod sine wave inverter and an external charger(2 spoilt and one local which i dont like as its unstable).
I will like to know if i can use another brand of batteries and amphour rating in conjunction with my present batteries while reconnecting to match the ah of the new ones, or it has to be same brand and ah rating all over, as it can be hard to get bulk quantity of same battery brand here in ghana, and i never for once seen a 200ah deep cycle battery here, max is 100ah.
Also, i will be needed a 3kw to 5kw inverter with high/fast charging capacity which is not on the high side cost-wise, as there is a decent(not so decent now) amount of electricity availability per day.
Also will want to know how to connect the battery to inverter(new one) using circuit breakers alongside.
Please bear in mind that i may chose to involve solar panels at later time as solar panel are so expensive here, like 650-750 GHS for a 120watts panel as at now, so will need an inverter which can also support solar installation.
Thanks and all input will be appreciated.

You did not state how long you've had your present batteries. If it's over 6 months, it's not wise to add a fresh batch. You should just do a replacement.
The C.B is connected from battery + to inverter +. Make sure it's a dc breaker with.
You can just take a trip to Lagos and buy all you require.

I have been doing upgrades thru last year.

Akanniade:
Hello everyone!
@George D . Long time bros
It's good to see every one is doing upgrades.
You did not state how long you've had your present batteries. If it's over 6 months, it's not wise to add a fresh batch. You should just do a replacement.
The C.B is connected from battery + to inverter +. Make sure it's a dc breaker with.
You can just take a trip to Lagos and buy all you require.

Bros good work, is the hanger adjustable?

Changed my battery bank to Trojan and lined up the panels along the driveway (it's a new house).

I observed drop in harvest over the last one year from the 3.2kw solar array due to shading. It could not keep up with the battery bank(39.36kvah).

JUO:
Bros good work, is the hanger adjustable?

No it's not. To be candid it was a rather frustrating effort
The welder could not translate the idea to reality.
I had to call on Richmond74's expertise, as I had no more space except the roof.

It's a 24x 255w installation. He finished installation 3 days ago. I will post performance later.

These water filler for flooded batteries, makes filling stressless. It stops water flow once cell level is reached. So far I have topped up twice in one year.

akanniade,

wao! what a set up you have there. you have turned your new house into a virtual solar hot spot!

as for space, even with your old set up, i think it was only a matter of time before you moved roof-wise
and i see you have finally made the plunge. of course except for those fortunate enough to have a large
spacious compound (like a football field) the only ideal place to mount your solar panels remains the roof
of your house.

congrats and happy harvesting!

bode4real,

your new improved solar set is rather tempting for me. i think your trying to force me to jettison my old locally
fabricated brackets in favour of these cute railings. the more i look at your pictures, the more i think of taking
the plunge. maybe richmond will have another in-house customer soon enough.

congrats to you and more happy upgrades!

Akanniade:
Hello everyone!
@George D . Long time bros
It's good to see every one is doing upgrades.

You did not state how long you've had your present batteries. If it's over 6 months, it's not wise to add a fresh batch. You should just do a replacement.
The C.B is connected from battery + to inverter +. Make sure it's a dc breaker with.
You can just take a trip to Lagos and buy all you require.

Thanks for your reply boss,
the batteries are less than 6 months, yesterday went out to find out the current price and found out it has increased more, seems they are on the rise here now as electricity is getting bad.

another thing is cost of transportation all the way from lagos to accra, and then customs....their wahala too much.

thanks once again

Thanks GeorgeD.
The north side roof holds the remaining 6 panels.
Kudos to Richmond74, he did a fantastic installation.The harvest on the north roof is just as good as the south.

Who says there is no light,tv and fta without phcn.for complete 1mnth and 14days now,i've been on solar without phcn.i just moved to my house and have decided to stay away from phcn in my estate.i've been able to power d following with my 500watt solar panel,20amp charger controler with 2 150ah toks batteries:
1: 4 15watt energy saving bulb for 5hrs at night daily.
2:80w tv and 25w decoder for 6-8hrs during d wk and 10-12hrs during d wkend.Blending,use of fan as situatn demand.I'm d toast of my estate and everyone want to use solar and i on a daily bases i educate at least a person on solar.
With d igbadun unlimited of offgrid world,i'm more than ready to upgrate very soon.thanks to all d guru in d house whow will all look upto in fta and solar world.

Who says there is no light,tv and fta without phcn.for complete 1mnth and 14days now,i've been on solar without phcn.i just moved to my house and have decided to stay away from phcn in my estate.i've been able to power d following with my 500watt solar panel,20amp charger controler with 2 150ah toks batteries and 1kva inverter:
1: 4 15watt energy saving bulb for 5hrs at night daily.
2:80w tv and 25w decoder for 6-8hrs during d wk and 10-12hrs during d wkend.Blending,use of fan as situatn demand.I'm d toast of my estate and everyone want to use solar and i on a daily bases i educate at least a person on solar.
With d igbadun unlimited of offgrid world,i'm more than ready to upgrate very soon.thanks to all d guru in d house whow will all look upto in fta and solar world.

tshirt2,
congrats on your achievements and welcome to the club. suddenly you have become a solar ambassador in that estate all because you chose to think differently from others. you did not allow their 'generator mentality' to discourage you.rather you pressed on and inspite of all the odds you were able to breakthrough.now imagine when you eventually upgrade to a much bigger system where you have 24hrs all round power? Hmmmm! they may make you estate chairman before you know it!

Akanniade:
Thanks GeorgeD.
The north side roof holds the remaining 6 panels.
Kudos to Richmond74, he did a fantastic installation.The harvest on the north roof is just as good as the south.

akanniade,
nice to see but have you thought about possible wind loading on your roof structure occasioned by the stepped angles of the panels?

GeorgeD1:

akanniade,
nice to see but have you thought about possible wind loading on your roof structure occasioned by the stepped angles of the panels?

I guess time will tell. The prevailing wind though, is from the west.

Help is needed. What might be the cause of a new battery of 4 of 200amp capacity and a sine wave inverter of 48 volts capacity. The battery h charged through public power source but the charging capacity as indicated by the inverter doesnt exceed 57 percent. And this results that any time their is a power outage. The battery runs out soonest. What might be the cause of the battery not charging to up to 90 percent ? Is there anyway this can be rectified? Is the battery capacity not enough as this is meant to carry a flat of 3 room and a sitting room.

Ogojohn:
Help is needed. What might be the cause of a new battery of 4 of 200amp capacity and a sine wave inverter of 48 volts capacity. The battery h charged through public power source but the charging capacity as indicated by the inverter doesnt exceed 57 percent. And this results that any time their is a power outage. The battery runs out soonest. What might be the cause of the battery not charging to up to 90 percent ? Is there anyway this can be rectified? Is the battery capacity not enough as this is meant to carry a flat of 3 room and a sitting room.

1. Whats the make and size of your inverter
2. Whats the make of your batteries
3. How much load is connected to ur inverter

Barezzi:


1. Whats the make and size of your inverter
2. Whats the make of your batteries
3. How much load is connected to ur inverter

SAKO 48V DC INVERTER. BATTERY NAME. LEOCH. 200V . 4 ps. LOAD. One 55 inch plasma tv. One freezer. One refrigerator. Four ceiling fans. One 14 inch television and 14 pieces of small energy bulbs. Please i will still want you to lay emphasis on why the charging capacity is the battery is stil remited to 57 percent only.

Ogojohn:
SAKO 48V DC INVERTER. BATTERY NAME. LEOCH. 200V . 4 ps. LOAD. One 55 inch plasma tv. One freezer. One refrigerator. Four ceiling fans. One 14 inch television and 14 pieces of small energy bulbs. Please i will still want you to lay emphasis on why the charging capacity is the battery is stil remited to 57 percent only.

i can't find any information online about your inverter. Whats the charging current, and for how long typically do you have utility power?
Its likely your battery bank is not receiving enough charge.

Ogojohn:
SAKO 48V DC INVERTER. BATTERY NAME. LEOCH. 200V . 4 ps. LOAD. One 55 inch plasma tv. One freezer. One refrigerator. Four ceiling fans. One 14 inch television and 14 pieces of small energy bulbs. Please i will still want you to lay emphasis on why the charging capacity is the battery is stil remited to 57 percent only.

all these for this small battery? bros you wicked

Please i will
still want you to lay
emphasis on why the
charging capacity is the
battery is stil remited to 57
percent only.

because your batteries maybe dead. was it like this when you bought it? to start with your batteries I will rate them at 150ah/ 500 cycle at 50% load and you have exceeded that. the load you stated is over 1000w and don't forget you only have 2 batteries to play with, so putting all these load on a 300ah battery is wicked at 150ah each. bros na people like una dey spoil inverter so. after 6months usage your batteries are dead you say inverter no dey work. for your mind the inverter is 3500va/48v therefore it can carry a 2000w load

Pls i need help: how much wilL it cost me to charge one 200Ah or 150Ah battery with solar panel. And secondly how many watt does and external battery chager use when chagring a battery?thanks

JUO:
because your batteries maybe dead. was it like this when you bought it? to start with your batteries I will rate them at 150ah/ 500 cycle at 50% load and you have exceeded that. the load you stated is over 1000w and don't forget you only have 2 batteries to play with, so putting all these load on a 300ah battery is wicked at 150ah each. bros na people like una dey spoil inverter so. after 6months usage your batteries are dead you say inverter no dey work. for your mind the inverter is 3500va/48v therefore it can carry a 2000w load

As a matter of fact. My battery is not dead. I bought it brand new. It is 4 in number and not 2 as you stated. The power rating for each of the battery is 200ah. I started using them from 23rd of December 2014. I bought them brand new with the inverter from the manufacturer by myself. From the first day it was installed. Even with 24 hours charging. It has not exceeded the 57 percent charging. Please advise me properly.

Sexynick:
Pls i need help: how much wilL it cost me to charge one 200Ah or 150Ah battery with solar panel. And secondly how many watt does and external battery chager use when chagring a battery?thanks

You need between 200W to 300W panel to charge a 200AH battery. It depends on your usage.
Cost ?....between N50K to N80K for the panel....charge controller not included.

External battery charger power consumption will depend on the rating of the charger.
Example: A 30A, 24V battery charger would be 30A x 24V =720W + Conversion loss say total of about 800W

Hope this helps

Ogojohn:
As a matter of fact. My battery is not dead. I bought it brand new. It is 4 in number and not 2 as you stated. The power rating for each of the battery is 200ah. I started using them from 23rd of December 2014. I bought them brand new with the inverter from the manufacturer by myself. From the first day it was installed. Even with 24 hours charging. It has not exceeded the 57 percent charging. Please advise me properly.

Post a pic of your inverter name plate.