abunafiu:
Oga George, if u dont mind i got my JOY SOLAR panels (120W) for less than 25K, i can give u my contact in lagos.
I also sent easter greetings 2 ur 0807xxxxxxxx50 number but got delivery report failed.
Do av a nice weekend sir.

hello abunafiu,
sorry, that number is an official line and doesn't have the facility to send or receive text messages.

check your mailbox. you got mail!

@George D

Please I need recommendation on good battery to buy for inverter,I have been buying batteries but I have been able to get any that last for more 1 and 1/2 years. I need atleast 2 200AH batteries

i recommend you buy any agm type telecomms battery..these batteries a rated for 15yrs or so..it normally comes in only 150 n 180amp types..i contacted the desolar guy arthur tru the nos listed here and he has them in stock @ 60k for 180amp n 55k for 150amp..

badaru1: @George D

Please I need recommendation on good battery to buy for inverter,I have been buying batteries but I have been able to get any that last for more 1 and 1/2 years. I need atleast 2 200AH batteries

The use of the batteries is as important as their selection. You can double the lifetime of your batteries by not completely draining the juice in them. Read up on DoD of batteries for more information.

badaru1:

Please I need recommendation on good battery to buy for inverter,I have been buying batteries but I have been able to get any that last for more 1 and 1/2 years. I need atleast 2 200AH batteries

@badru, whats ur location.if ure in kwara or osun, then i may be of help. i have a contact for very reliable telecomms battery....if u dont mind.

badaru1: @George D

Please I need recommendation on good battery to buy for inverter,I have been buying batteries but I have been able to get any that last for more 1 and 1/2 years. I need atleast 2 200AH batteries

@oga badaru,

i use zenith batteries and i can confirm they're very good.
my first set of 4pcs 200ah zenith lasted over four years before i
changed them out late last year.

you can contact mr henry on his personal line: 08025810677

he is the sole distributor of zenith batteries in nigeria.

Good fellows please I have a 2400w 24vdc xantrex Inverter using 2v 500ah battery and a prostar 3kva 24vdc inverter using also 2v 500ah battery. Will like to know how many solar panels l will need, charge controls and all other accessories. Using only the xantrex l have power for 5 days without fridge or freezer.

Kindly advice how many solar panels will charge both inverter putting into consideration the use of my 2 freezers, 1 fridge.

N.B My Tv alone is 400watts.

@George D and the gang

if i get u right..u are using 2v 500amphr batteries?..if yes..then it implies that u have 12 pieces of the 2v battery connected in series?. doing the maths 24 x 500 = 12000w factoring in losses/effieciency factor of 0.8 .implies that ur total available wattage is 9600watthr. so divide this 9600/[ur load in watts] = inverter run time in hrs, lemme assume u hv a total of 600watss load..then ur inverter will work only for 16hrs b4 it needs recharge.

on the issue of solar panels assuming u hv 10hrs sunlight per day thus ur total capacity/10 = 960w, so ur combined solar panel need is 960w, adding efficiency factor of 0.8 implies that u need 1200watts of solar panel...so the minimum nos of panels u need is 200w x 6 units solar panel, or 250w x 5 units solar panel etc....
note: this is the minimum nos of panels you need...its always advisable to have more than the minimum.

other members pls feel free 2 correct me if am wrong

earthrealm: if i get u right..u are using 2v 500amphr batteries?..if yes..then it implies that u have 12 pieces of the 2v battery connected in series?. doing the maths 24 x 500 = 12000w factoring in losses/effieciency factor of 0.8 .implies that ur total available wattage is 9600watthr. so divide this 9600/[ur load in watts] = inverter run time in hrs, lemme assume u hv a total of 600watss load..then ur inverter will work only for 16hrs b4 it needs recharge.

on the issue of solar panels assuming u hv 10hrs sunlight per day thus ur total capacity/10 = 960w, so ur combined solar panel need is 960w, adding efficiency factor of 0.8 implies that u need 1200watts of solar panel...so the minimum nos of panels u need is 200w x 6 units solar panel, or 250w x 5 units solar panel etc....
note: this is the minimum nos of panels you need...its always advisable to have more than the minimum.

other members pls feel free 2 correct me if am wrong

thanks @earthrealm. Please l need response from other enthusiasts

abunafiu,Please i will need this joy solar panel and the telecom batteries you are talking about.Please kindly give me ur fone number so that we can start from there.here is my email addy:jaybolar@gmail.com.
Hoping to read from you soonest.

Well my view, don't look at it that way... U will get the figures wrong..

Look at it from the battery up...

You have 500amp battery at 24vdc setup, right...

So let's say u have sun at full for 5hrs a day, it will take 100amp per hour to charge the battery to full. Assumption that the battery is flat.

Assume u are using morningstar ts mppt 60, u will need 2 of this, filled up to the top, for 24v each controller should have max of 1600w each.

So u need a total of 3200watts of panel, u can do the numbers from here.

So if u assume 10hrs u will only need one controller. From my little experience always think 5hrs

Like I always say, I stand to be corrected

earthrealm: if i get u right..u are using 2v 500amphr batteries?..if yes..then it implies that u have 12 pieces of the 2v battery connected in series?. doing the maths 24 x 500 = 12000w factoring in losses/effieciency factor of 0.8 .implies that ur total available wattage is 9600watthr. so divide this 9600/[ur load in watts] = inverter run time in hrs, lemme assume u hv a total of 600watss load..then ur inverter will work only for 16hrs b4 it needs recharge.

on the issue of solar panels assuming u hv 10hrs sunlight per day thus ur total capacity/10 = 960w, so ur combined solar panel need is 960w, adding efficiency factor of 0.8 implies that u need 1200watts of solar panel...so the minimum nos of panels u need is 200w x 6 units solar panel, or 250w x 5 units solar panel etc....
note: this is the minimum nos of panels you need...its always advisable to have more than the minimum.

other members pls feel free 2 correct me if am wrong

Well my view, don't look at it that way... U will get the figures wrong..

Look at it from the battery up...

You have 500amp battery at 24vdc setup, right...

So let's say u have sun at full for 5hrs a day, it will take 100amp per hour to charge the battery to full. Assumption that the battery is flat.

Assume u are using morningstar ts mppt 60, u will need 2 of this, filled up to the top, for 24v each controller should have max of 1600w each.

So u need a total of 3200watts of panel, u can do the numbers from here.

So if u assume 10hrs u will only need one controller. From my little experience always think 5hrs

Like I always say, I stand to be corrected

badaru1: @George D

Please I need recommendation on good battery to buy for inverter,I have been buying batteries but I have been able to get any that last for more 1 and 1/2 years. I need atleast 2 200AH batteries

if cash is not too much of an issue, i would recommend you buy the Trojan T105, they are flooded, you can always equalize them when you see that the efficiency has dropped, but if you cannot stand the maintenance stress then do the regular sealed like oga at the top has recommended..

2cent

i wish every day can be like this

@total green, thanks for the input on the thread above
.
my own problem is this...i want to install 200amphr x 2 units batteries plus 2 x 250watts [] solar panles, for my folks in the village..just for lights/tv/fan....my question is...do i really need an mmpt charge controller...considering the price difference when compard to pwm charge controller....the only forseeable upgrade i see in the future is increasing the battery bank to 600 or 800ah and maybe buying 2 more units of 250watts panel[if necessary], so factoring all this in.....is it woth it shelling out abt 70k for the 45amp morning start mppt charge controller.........or should i just buy the cheaper pwm charge controller

ok i saw anothjer cheaper 30amp mppt charger abt 35k.but am alittle confused abt the items in red.the optimum operating voltage of the panels is 31v, so am assuming its a 24v panel. i just want to buy 2 units now and hook them up in parallel, but am thinking in the future, i wud want to buy 2 more panels and hook them up in series/parallel...giving me a 48v system.
my question is the unit states 150v max dc voltage ,, and yet again says 24v/780watts max input pv power, so am confusd if my plan above wuold work.
note the panels are all 250w

Specification:

* Model No: Tracer-3215RN
* Nominal System Voltage: 12VDC | 24VDC Auto work
* Rated Battery Current: 30A
* Maximum Battery Voltage: 32V
* Max. Solar Input Voltage: 150VDC
* Max. PV input power: 12V/ 390W 24V /780W
* Self-consumption: <10mA(24V)
* Charge Circuit Voltage Drop: <=0.26V
* Discharge Circuit Voltage Drop: <=0.15V
* Communication: TTL232 / 8pin RJ45

earthrealm: @total green, thanks for the input on the thread above
.
my own problem is this...i want to install 200amphr x 2 units batteries plus 2 x 250watts [] solar panles, for my folks in the village..just for lights/tv/fan....my question is...do i really need an mmpt charge controller...considering the price difference when compard to pwm charge controller....the only forseeable upgrade i see in the future is increasing the battery bank to 600 or 800ah and maybe buying 2 more units of 250watts panel[if necessary], so factoring all this in.....is it woth it shelling out abt 70k for the 45amp morning start mppt charge controller.........or should i just buy the cheaper pwm charge controller

I would say yes, but remember that u don't have to buy morningstar, another good brand at low amp is steca mppt 20amps, but since u are looking at upgrading, u may need to still buy Morningstar maybe the 40amps version, take the dive on the Morningstar, no regrets on the mppt.

Look at it this way, u are buying 2 x 250watts, and hope to buy like 2 more panels later, the mppt gives u more current over time than having 2 more panels with ur regular controller... So u see the mppt will buy out the 2 new panels over time, and u still be enjoying more buy outs over time...

So please do mppt!

earthrealm: ok i saw anothjer cheaper 30amp mppt charger abt 35k.but am alittle confused abt the items in red.the optimum operating voltage of the panels is 31v, so am assuming its a 24v panel. i just want to buy 2 units now and hook them up in parallel, but am thinking in the future, i wud want to buy 2 more panels and hook them up in series/parallel...giving me a 48v system.
my question is the unit states 150v max dc voltage ,, and yet again says 24v/780watts max input pv power, so am confusd if my plan above wuold work.
note the panels are all 250w

Specification:

* Model No: Tracer-3215RN
* Nominal System Voltage: 12VDC | 24VDC Auto work
* Rated Battery Current: 30A
* Maximum Battery Voltage: 32V
* Max. Solar Input Voltage: 150VDC
* Max. PV input power: 12V/ 390W 24V /780W
* Self-consumption: <10mA(24V)
* Charge Circuit Voltage Drop: <=0.26V
* Discharge Circuit Voltage Drop: <=0.15V
* Communication: TTL232 / 8pin RJ45

@earthrealm let me attempt an explanation of the confusing terms:
Nominal system voltage refers to your system voltage (largely driven by your battery configuration). 12v, 24v, 48v and 96v nominal systems are popular.

The particular charge controller you're considering is intended for either 12v or 24v nominal system. For each one, there is a commensurate power rating i.e 390W and 780 Watts respectively. Remember Power=Current x Voltage so for 12v 390W/12v=32.5 Amps and similarly 780W/24V=32.5 Amps. Hence the rating of the controller at roughly 30Amps and the corresponding maximum PV power allowable.

The Max Solar input voltage refers to the arrangement of your panels to either increase Amperage (Parallel) or increase Voltage (Series), so lets assume that for your 24v System, the panels you intend to use (Look at the sticker on the back) have a Voc of 40v, that means for this controller, you must not have more than 3 in series, i.e 40v x 3 panels=120volts (<150VDC so Safe and within tolerance) but 40v x 4=160Volts (>150VDC, therefore unsafe and may damage the controller).

Hope my ramblings helps.

b.t.w, I agree with Totalgreen, go MPPT.

jayboskie7: abunafiu,Please i will need this joy solar panel and the telecom batteries you are talking about.Please kindly give me ur fone number so that we can start from there.here is my email addy:jaybolar@gmail.com.
Hoping to read from you soonest.

U got mail......check ur inbox.

@ ile naija...thanks for ur help...from ur explanation i can go ahead with the series/parallel combo i have in mind that will give me 48v solar panel output.

@abunafie...am also interested in the joy panels/telecomm battery..........skyhigh0455 at yahoo dot com is my email...would want 2 communicate with u as per that...is he in ph/benin?

TotalGreen: i wish every day can be like this

totalgreen,
things are really looking up at your end especially with a solar harvest like that.

a word of caution though: you should start thinking seriously about getting a second
charge controller as you're already maxing out the capacity of your tristar.

at 55a you're racking up about 92 percent capacity and any more increase in array current
may not bode well for the controller.

you could try splitting your array into two strings (like i did with mine) and then installing
a second charge controller for added capacity.

just my thoughts.

hello teamman,
i had tried replying you earlier than now but it seems the spambot didn't like all the mathematical
calculations i made in my post so it deleted it and i was subsequently banned for 24hrs!

not to worry though, this is not the first time this is happening to me on this thread so i'm forced
to conclude that the spambot doesn't like solar power!


ok, seriously, from what i've seen so far, i think earthrealm and totalgreen have done a good job in trying
to put you on the right track.

you have two banks of 500 amphour batteries each at a system voltage of 24v. there is no clear information
about all the equipment you have been running on them and the average daily run hours.

therefore, without an actual equipment list, we can only guess at your total house load.

it is always good practice to size your battery bank according to your house load and days of autonomy
you want to achieve. you then size your solar array to effectively charge your battery bank.

teamman,
so skipping your houseload (since we have little information on that), we go straight to your
battery bank size.

you have two battery banks of 500 amphours each at a system voltage of 24v. but you're only allowed to
discharge this up to eighty percent of capacity (80 percent dod for deep cycle). so this becomes 400
amphours available (useful) capacity.

400 amphours at a system voltage of 24v becomes 9600 watt-hours.

given a solar insolation of 5 hrs (which is usually the average for our geographical location), you
will need a total of 1920 watts solar panels.

but, solar modules are not 100 percent efficient, so factor in module efficiency, and this becomes

2688 watts.

therefore you will need about 2700 watts of solar modules to effectively charge each of your battery
banks.

also, consider installing two separate charge controllers, one for each battery bank as it is not
acceptable practice to use one charge controller to charge two separate battery banks.

hope this helps?

This is the total load in my home:
tv 420watt, 4 ceiling fans, 1 freezer and fridge, 132 watt of lighting. Thsts all. Thanks George D.

George_D: teamman,
so skipping your houseload (since we have little information on that), we go straight to your
battery bank size.

you have two battery banks of 500 amphours each at a system voltage of 24v. but you're only allowed to
discharge this up to eighty percent of capacity (80 percent dod for deep cycle). so this becomes 400
amphours available (useful) capacity.

400 amphours at a system voltage of 24v becomes 9600 watt-hours.

given a solar insolation of 5 hrs (which is usually the average for our geographical location), you
will need a total of 1920 watts solar panels.

but, solar modules are not 100 percent efficient, so factor in module efficiency, and this becomes

2688 watts.

therefore you will need about 2700 watts of solar modules to effectively charge each of your battery
banks.

also, consider installing two separate charge controllers, one for each battery bank as it is not
acceptable practice to use one charge controller to charge two separate battery banks.

hope this helps?

teamman: This is the total load in my home:
tv 420watt, 4 ceiling fans, 1 freezer and fridge, 132 watt of lighting. Thsts all. Thanks George D.

teamman,

how many hours on daily average do you run each of these equipment?

l run the frezer and fridge for 7hours, tvs for 4hrs, lighting for 4hrs

George_D:


teamman,

how many hours on daily average do you run each of these equipment?

George_D:

totalgreen,
things are really looking up at your end especially with a solar harvest like that.

a word of caution though: you should start thinking seriously about getting a second
charge controller as you're already maxing out the capacity of your tristar.

at 55a you're racking up about 92 percent capacity and any more increase in array current
may not bode well for the controller.

you could try splitting your array into two strings (like i did with mine) and then installing
a second charge controller for added capacity. its

just my thoughts.

George_D: thanks for the info, the great thing about the morningstar is, even u oversize the panel wattage, but I wouldn't as it is just a waste of money. The controller can only down convert 60 amps and no more.

but i usually have the arrays on 2 controllers like you advice, i lost one carelessly.

thanks

totalgreen,
yes, you're right. the tristar ts-mppt is such a great product. it will not get damaged even with an excess
of array current. you only will not get value for the extra array current being produced above 60a
(for the ts-mmpt-60) or above 45a (for the ts-mppt-45). unlike other charge controllers which are easily
affected by current overload. some can't even handle up to 90 percent of name plate current rating!

teamman: l run the frezer and fridge for 7hours, tvs for 4hrs, lighting for 4hrs

hello teamman,
i ran your houseload through my solar software and interestingly there is not much difference with the info
i already gave you. the only addition is your expected days of autonomy for each battery bank which is 2 days.
what this means is that each bank can carry you for two full days before being depleted to 80 percent dod.
so for both banks that translates to a total of four days.

however, you will still need to arrange for a minimum of 2700w of solar panels and a charge controller to be
installed for each bank.

are you running your house completely off-grid?

Dear all,

I still like to reiterate the point of DOD of the batteries in our banks. As i have read and noticed, best design practice is to install batteries banks with 50% or lower DOD keeping in mind that the lower the better.