₦airaland Forum

Said pretty much same thing some post back.

bigrovar:
Am with you her jazzman. When it comes to AC coupled system the 2 major approach is to get a gridtie Inverter. Or Micro Inverters. The basic element of both approaches are they by pass the need for a charge controller. The gridtie Inverter takes DC from your array and converter them in the fly to AC for use in the house. The excess is either sold to the grid where there is net metering or can be connected to an off-grid Inverter which can then charge a battery bank. SMA sonnybouy even has hybrid system where the gridtie can power the house and at same time connected to a battery bank which acts as backup should the sun drop lower than consumption.

In all gridtie basically converter DC from array straight to AC with ability to "sell" or divert the excess electricity to another use eg charge battery or use for heating water.

Micro Inverter are tiny inverters attached to the back of a PV array. The convert the dc being generated into AC on the fly. Because a micro Inverter is connected to individual PV. They provide the best solution to shading on an array. Here only the shaded PV is affected since each PV has its own MI hence a single panel can't bring the system down. And because the electricity is sent in high voltage you get less wiring lose. Micro inverters can also be configured to sell excess electricity to the grid or used up for charging a battery bank or diverted to heat water.

The advantages of the above approache is there cut the waste off-grid can lose close to 45% of generated electricity to losses from wiring, battery to Inverter. Loses you don't get with an AC coupled solar setup.

The future of renewable is hybrid systems which are smart can generate AC on the fly and backup excess to battery or feed back to the grid.

bigrovar:
5 * 6 * 12 = 360wh
8 * 6 * 4 = 128 wh
90 * 4 = 360 wh
I will assume the fans are normal standing fan
40 * 2 * 8 = 640wh

I will assume charging phones is for 4 hours and 3 phones

12w * 3 * 3 = 108wh

1596 which we round off to 1600wh

That's your daily consumption based on the above stated numbers.

The number of PV you would need to generate what is used (note that due to battery inefficiency and other loses you would need to generate more than 1600 to replace the 1600wh used up daily)

You can start with 2 250w panels or better still 3. At 750w panel would be sufficient to meet your daily needs and give you some chance at day time opportunity loads. 500w would be fine.

Using a general rule of 5 day sun a 500 what panel would theoretically give u 2500wh. When we include the 70% derating of the panels due to general off-grid inefficiency

2500 * .70 = 1750wh

That's the amount u would be able to generate in a day.

For battery bank. The general rule is to your battery at 50% depth of discharge

Go for a 24v system with a 24v Inverter there are more efficient and makes it easier to upgrade.

2 150ah or 200ah battery should be fine. If it's a 200ah battery

200 * 24 = 4800wh

Your daily 1600wh would represent about 34% depth of discharge which will give u a healthy battery that will last and last.

3 panels would ensure you are able to out back what you use. 2 batteries ensure you never over use the battery. 24v Inverter better efficiency.

Post finally came back.

pranil:
Very nice .Also look at pVOUT.org since you have the data already . It keeps much better records and allows you to compare with another systems ( although nobody except me from Nigeria )

https://pvoutput.org


Have you looked into MQTT and NODE red where it will also allow you to control loads using a Raspberry Pi - say when Battery is full allow AC to run. C

That's not true. I for one know at least 3 people on this thread on there including. One who has logged over a MW of harvest

therealMcCain:
Please what does these values with ? mean as displayed on a CC

Pv
Voltage-pv voltage
Current-?

Battery
Voltage-Battery voltage
Current-?

Load
Current-?

When the current value under the battery parameter has a negative value, what does this mean?

Check my signature to for the answer to your question. Days of posting useful content to this platform are over.

DMerciful:
Millions of dollars ko, billions of naira ni

this site is worth an estimated one hundred million dollars. All thanks to the post you and I create here. All am saying is.. User experience could be better to allow us create more content.

DMerciful:
Whats wrong with sunshine solar panels bro?

don't mean no disrespect to sunshine panels. Just won't use it for my client if the contract runs into millions of dollars. Not when you have the likes of Suntech, Canadian Solar, Yingli, solarworld. A service that makes you millions of dollars deserves the best in terms of usability and upgrades.

[quote author=Feshizzy post=57016409][/quote]Done all that. Problem is Nairaland is huge and is valued multi million dollars. Hence makes millions for it's owner monthly. All this off the back of content creators like us. The least that could be done is at least upgrade the system to 2017. I am a member of many forums from xda to power forums to solar talk. nairaland is the biggest and the one with the worst user experience. It's still based on simple machine forum when it should have moved to something premium like vbulletin which is what most major forum is based on. It's like having a billion dollars contract to deploy off grid solar but you did the job with sunshine solar panels + Roy solar pwm charge controller. That's the metaphor for how NL is being managed.

nene2016:
I have a a keen interest in solar energy since the first day i stumbled upon this thread. Thank you all for the info on solar. I want to start using solar to power my appliances and i would be grateful for some pointers. I want start small and make add-ons as and when funds are available.
For starters i want to start with the following:
1. 5 6W bulbs (on for 12 hrs)
2. 8 6W bulbs (on for 4 hrs cumulatively)
3. 1 Led Tv 90W (on for 4hrs)
4. 2 fans (on 8hrs)
5. Charge phones
What do i need to start the solar journey.
Thank you for your time.

5 * 6 * 12 = 360wh
8 * 6 * 4 = 128 wh
90 * 4 = 360 wh
I will assume the fans are normal standing fan
40 * 2 * 8 = 640wh

I will assume charging phones is for 4 hours and 3 phones

12w * 3 * 3 = 108wh

1596 which we round off to 1600wh

That's your daily consumption based on the above stated numbers.

The number of PV you would need to generate what is used (note that due to battery inefficiency and other loses you would need to generate more than 1600 to replace the 1600wh used up daily)

You can start with 2 250w panels or better still 3. At 750w panel would be sufficient to meet your daily needs and give you some chance at day time opportunity loads. 500w would be fine.

Using a general rule of 5 day sun a 500 what panel would theoretically give u 2500wh. When we include the 70% derating of the panels due to general off-grid inefficiency

2500 * .70 = 1750wh

That's the amount u would be able to generate in a day.

For battery bank. The general rule is to your battery at 50% depth of discharge

Go for a 24v system with a 24v Inverter there are more efficient and makes it easier to upgrade.

2 150ah or 200ah battery should be fine. If it's a 200ah battery

200 * 24 = 4800wh

Your daily 1600wh would represent about 34% depth of discharge which will give u a healthy battery that will last and last.

3 panels would ensure you are able to out back what you use. 2 batteries ensure you never over use the battery. 24v Inverter better efficiency.

jazzman2:
Pls Sir, do some research. You are completely wrong, all microinverters in the market today are gridtie inverters also. Check out this link:
https://www.solar-electric.com/residential/inverters/grid-tie-inverters.html

Am with you her jazzman. When it comes to AC coupled system the 2 major approach is to get a gridtie Inverter. Or Micro Inverters. The basic element of both approaches are they by pass the need for a charge controller. The gridtie Inverter takes DC from your array and converter them in the fly to AC for use in the house. The excess is either sold to the grid where there is net metering or can be connected to an off-grid Inverter which can then charge a battery bank. SMA sonnybouy even has hybrid system where the gridtie can power the house and at same time connected to a battery bank which acts as backup should the sun drop lower than consumption.

In all gridtie basically converter DC from array straight to AC with ability to "sell" or divert the excess electricity to another use eg charge battery or use for heating water.

Micro Inverter are tiny inverters attached to the back of a PV array. The convert the dc being generated into AC on the fly. Because a micro Inverter is connected to individual PV. They provide the best solution to shading on an array. Here only the shaded PV is affected since each PV has its own MI hence a single panel can't bring the system down. And because the electricity is sent in high voltage you get less wiring lose. Micro inverters can also be configured to sell excess electricity to the grid or used up for charging a battery bank or diverted to heat water.

The advantages of the above approache is there cut the waste off-grid can lose close to 45% of generated electricity to losses from wiring, battery to Inverter. Loses you don't get with an AC coupled solar setup.

The future of renewable is hybrid systems which are smart can generate AC on the fly and backup excess to battery or feed back to the grid.

GeorgeD1:
north facing panels. work begins...

we attempted to use adjustable tilt legs but had to discard the idea when we noticed instability
and realized that the panels would be subject to severe wind forces...

Your strong advocacy and time you take to stabilise us newbies is what gaves us the confidence to take the renewable leap. Keep the flag flying.

My question is what influenced the decision to install panel on the north side? Is it a case of available space? I ask because since Nigeria above the equator I have always thought and in line with what I have read that panels in Nigeria should be inclined towards south. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Also are the controllers charging different banks or the same battery bank.

pranil:
Unfortunately they do not have open protocol that I am aware . EMONCMS uses JSON calls on the API . Google srecah turned up nothing .

I got fed up with crappy software and shoddy practice of charging extra for remote monitoring by mainly USA based manufacturers like morningstar and extremely to shift to Chinese stuff . I have a ATS from company called powergen - Costs 73 USD only but comes with full windows software and remote monitoring. Anything close to that from established brands is upwards of 500 USD.

This is where victron energy products (and by extension their clones) completely got me sold. In an industry where the norm is for companies to be closed and resort to proprietary protocols. Victron energy is an exception. Every single one of their devices communicate via open standard protocols. The bluesolar MPPT charger, Inverter and battery monitor (BMV) all spew out plain text every second. The can be captured via any ttl/serial com port tool like Putty that can read data stream. There also send and can receive hex commands which can also be handled by Putty.

As if this is not enough this guys went further to create a detailed white paper with FAQ outlining in depth the technical specifications and information on the Victron VE. Direct Data communication protocols. They also have a github where they have committed and open sourced some of their projects. An example is their own version of Outback Mate 3 which they call color control GX. These device is like a hub / status display / remote control and monitoring / connection and integration hub of victron devices like Inverters, MPPT controllers, Battery monitors on steroids. The device cost about $400 a pop. But victron did something unprecedented in the solar industry and completely opened sourced it. They created a Linux Distribution based on debian called Venus and can be installed on the raspberry Pi. Venus allows your 30 dollars raspberry pi to do every thing that can be done from the $400 CCGX. The Venus software is completely free and well maintained and come with detailed guide on how to configure and install. With the Venus and Rbp I can have a system which can be connected to Victron Remote Monitoring Portal (VRM) and allow me to monitor and control my system from any where in the world all for $30.

Add this to their excellent and truly cross platform victronconnect and they is no solar company come close to integrating the best of ICT to energy generation.

pranil:
a single company called Voltronic Power - Sold in South Africa as Axepert and in Europe /Latin America as MPP solar
The company is as big as APC and very well known brand having more than 15 % global market of Hybrid inverters .

You mean MPP solar and Voltronic are one and the same? I thought there were different companies

pranil:
Software by order of prefrance
ICC - http://iccsoftware.co.za/

Lucibus - http://www.lucibus.com/( end May) and OLD verison -http://www.homoandroidus.com/forum/ - Inverter control , Hostory ,s ttings Additional peripherals to switch on and off specific loads based on production /SOC and web browser interface on any phone tablet

Watchpower( official) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1Oskf3HHA - Download from Any vendor site also comes on CD with inverter - Msut for changing some settings

Solarmon -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiBDnjGH5Oc - GREAT dashboard buggy . Don't think it is supported anymore, can't find the download link.
Website is closed - http://www.solarmonitor.co.za/


SolarPatrol
Great program used it for quit a while, stable, USB & rs232 support, great built-in timer to turn on and off inverter -
Download Link: http://www.energialternativa.info/public...Patrol.rar


SolarMon





ACDC power monitor
never used it but seems a fair effort has gone into it.
Website : http://www.acdcpowermonitor.com/Default.aspx
Video review :

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. Indeed that Axpert series of inverters are hugely popular in most OECD countries like Australia and South Africa. I would be considering them now so that I can join the club of cool kids with their cool wall mounted Inverters. I just wished the pure inverter units without the charge controller bits are also sold in Nigeria

Has anyone here who uses any of the Axpert series of Inverters be it ipowerplus or Gennex been able to ascertain the idle consumption of these units?

Today makes it a year since I turned on my off-grid setup. It's been an amazing journey and surpass my expectations. From a lowly modest system of 480w I gradually grew the system to a lowly modest 1kw. And in the progress of increasing the system to 1.8kw.

The expansion plan is to install a 800w panel array on the western facing side of the roof to tap into the mid to late afternoon sun. The western panels would be connected to a different charge controller which will run in parallel with the main controller connected to the south facing PV.

I decided to install the new panel to the west because I have ran out of space for new ground mounted system.

1.8w system on a 24v battery setup would probably provide current that would be over the recommended bulk limits of my flooded battery. By having the 2 array face different orientations I would be preventing them from hitting pick at the same time. While at the same time get more out of the 3pm 4pmish sun.

Lastly my main south facing panels get shaded in the months of February and September between 3pm to 5pm. The west facing panels would reduce the effect of such shading my over all system since the western part of my roof is not affected.

Splitting the panels between 2 different controllers helps diversify my access to the sun. Would update here how far this plans out.

efuro:
True talk.

I came across this nameless fridge/freezer
reading 72w only. But I went back there with A/C watt meter & had a reading of 102w wen compressor kicked..

maybe some enthusiast will check model online for nameplate or http://www.google.com.ng/url?q=http://www.sy-beier.com/Product/3980245831.html&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiYs_S9z4DUAhWNalAKHUD3CSsQFggLMAA&sig2=W5p8GZW-GZXyWxDouaRGkA&usg=AFQjCNH1qncdoshfOPMXm9iSanf0LCbPrw

Problem is when it develops a fault and then you are stuck because very few technician knows how to fix those things. Name brand is non tested durability is in question. Besides most convintional fridge are getting more and more efficient as long as you have your system is well sized u will be fine.

Nigeria companies need to step up real big rather than focus their energy at appealing to patriotic favor. They need to build their strategy around marketing to the consumer and competing with the best rather than focusing on getting exclusive government contract.
Personally I try to avoid many Nigerian companies. Even big house old names like Zinox are an eyesore and can ruin your business with their lack or professionalism.

efuro:
nice reading ur views. I hope dey improve. thank you for believing in nija. we get there sooner than we think.

let's buy nija panels instead of Indian or chinko or any other.

my next upgrade will revolves round nija (at least 30% local content)

imagine Australia has 1.2m households using solar, Nigeria can do better with local content.

cheers.

sensisosu:
Boss yes I paid for it.. but what do I know? I'm a novice hence why I have come to this forum for help from gurus like you.. your input will highly be appreciated. Thank you

Might look like tough love but sir you need to do some home work yourself.. The equalisation setting is in your controller manual. Might want to read up on battery charging for deep cycle battery. There is no short cut to knowledge you just have to have the craving to learn.

From the pictures you posted here are my observation

Batteries are mixed. Never. Good thing to mix different batteries : trojan and different tubular batteries all have different internal resistance .. Also are those batteries new? I doubt it. Mixing batteries will slow the weaker battery drain the bank and the stronger one get over charged and damaged.

Also your battery cable seem too thin for your setup. You can't get optimal charge with those cables.

You are yet to tell what direction your solar panels are facing east west north or south.

sensisosu:
Hello house,

I have a 3.5kva Sukham inverter system with a setup of 8 pieces 250w mono panels, 60amps mppt charge controller and 4 200amps batteries

The issue I am currently having right now are:

My solar panels are positioned in a way that after 1pm my panels aren't getting enough sun light due to the position of My house(the panels are placed on the roof of my house)

I have a problem with a Trojan battery as it discharges faster than the remaining 3 batteries

My inverter usually goes off at 2am in the midnight with minimal or no load on the system

When I'm on nepa inverter cuts off when there is drop in voltage..

I would like my honorable members on this thread to enlighten on how to get the best out of my systems..

Thank you all and I will greatly appreciate your opinion

Honourable OP. We are not magicians here we work with facts and figures. Gives us some and we would be able to help. You talk about a weak battery. How did u isolate the weak battery? Did u use a multimeter to test the voltage if you did share the result. If u didn't then do that and share the result. Might even be better to get a hydrometer (less than 2k) and test the gravity of those batteries post them here too

How about your average daily generation from your controller. Kindly post that too. Your panel are installed the wrong way? Which direction? which angle of inclination?

How about the panel configuration, how are they connected. In which string.. we don't want to guess work..
Also your load describe your daily usage. What and what are connected and hours of use.

Might also want to take some pictures while at it. If any f this sound strange to u. Get a installer on here to help u out. Provide data and we can help.

bodeface:
Team,
I am trying to lookup the Yachi / Yahsun and Yingli solar panel brands on the internet, I am just trying to lookup these China brands to compare with all these well know European brands,
I was able to find the Yingli website but I couldn't find any website for Yachi / Yahsun brand, I know that many people has used it and a dealer on this forum is selling these unit, can anyone who has used these unit comment on this brand, I will appreciate a link to the manufacturer website also.

There are many ... probably thousands of Chinese PV manufacturers out of which about 20 stand out as tier 1 (The likes of Yingli, Trina, Canadian Solar, Jinko,CSUN etc) The above have 2.5 to 4GW production capacity per year and have fully automated production facilities spread around the world most tier 1 solar producers have close to 10 years experience at module production and are also vertically integrated meaning they produce their own solar cells and wafers . Behind the Tier 1 are the Tier 2. This include the likes of Solarland, Felicity, etc. They have limited production capability usually sub 500 MW per year and their manufacturing process are usually semi automated. They buy solar cells and wafers from tier 1 producers and invest little in R & D Most tier 2 have ambition to be tier 1 but lack the lack the financial musle..

Last is tier 3. These are the bottom of the barrel and the most numerous of the bunch (about 90%). they have the least experience. Their operations are limited to assembling panels using components manufactured by other companies (i.e. no R& operations of their own), and their production processes are highly reliant on manual labour. soldering and the likes are done by hand. They have zero RnD.

From my limited study of the solar panel market in Nigeria. What we have dominated are tier 2 and tier 3. Our level of economic development, purchasing power and lack of Quality Control means majority of panels in our market are tier 3 panels.

How do u spot tier 3. I have spoken to a few members on here back stage on the need to do more to review product we use so as to help each other. As a rule of thump. what I do is to first look at the panel and do some background check on the manufacturer. Most of the panels sold in Nigeria don't have a traceable production company. The few that have website from they site you will not this is not a serious company. I will not name names so as not to soil the market potential of some of us into sales of solar panels.

Tier 3 don't mean a panel won't work or it is bad. In fact some tier 3 panels serve and serve. Yet it is important for one to note the risk he is taking.

Back to your question, if u searched online and do not see any trace of the panel manufacturer, most likely it is a tier 3 panel or as a good friend on here would call them.. "Black China"

Barezzi:
I have a 2 month used 60A Fangpusun mppt charge controller for sale at a giveaway price of 150k.
For that lucky chap, my used 220w mono solar panels, 6 pieces, are up for grab. 40k each(shipping not included).

Kindly drop your contact so can reach u back stage.

Reprobate:
in another news just observed that phcn have silently increased the energy tariff to 31.27/kwh from the 24.08/kwh it was before, against the directive of the senate against any hike!

Even that is dirt cheap by international standards.

Reprobate:
so still on my quest for an energy efficient compact freezer, I decided to contact LG Africa to provide more details on their product,
their response was timely, but failed to answer my question
why is it that most customer care rep don't go the extra mile to answer customer questions

if lg stated the freezer consumption in kwh/yr on the website, it would have even made sense, as they don't usually state the wattage too.
guess one has to physically locate the product and read off these values from the sticker.

Welcome to my world. I go through hell just to buy energy efficient appliance. I remember trying to get a washing machine. I spent days online looking for washing machine with watt or energy labels. I found zero. I had to physically go to the store (Game, LG, shop right, Park n Shop) and physically check the energy label attached to the devices before making purchase (pain of living green)

I am in the market for a fridge and I might consider one of the inverter fridge. If anyone uses one of those I would appreciate if you could share your experience and energy consumption.

SolnergyPower:
Good day friends.

Does anyone has a 48V Solar Charge Controller for sale? New or Used, PWM or MPPT.

Budget: Less than 50k.

I think I have a couple

RipVanWink:
your harvest is too poor, 8.4kw, ur panels are 3kw already..using the 5hr sunshine rate and factoring in losses and inefficiencies..your harvest shud be above 12kw daily, i harvest about 6.2kw daily from my 1500w panel array 4 x 200ah battery bank. another reason might be that your load is small and your bank small too, methinks an 8 battery system is beta suited to your 3000kw panel array

Harvest depends on consumption. There are days I generate less than 500wh from my 880 panels and days I go as high as 4kwh its all depends on how deep I discharge the batteries and how high my consumption is vis a vis the weather. I think OP load is light compared to his setup the important thing is for the battery to reach float on a daily basis. A light load means batteries are unlikely to be deeply discharged.

babaegun:
Morning guys,

Anybody using WattPlot™ Monitor for Solar Power Generation?

Is there any open source software for monitoring solar power generation?

https://openenergymonitor.org/ or if you cc logs your harvest. some allows you to export your harvest to something like csv which can then to uploaded to pvoutput.org

Reprobate:
so I want to buy an energy efficient freezer, that is affordable, most dc or solar freezers I have seen are quite expensive 300k and above. what of lg, Samsung or thermocool, who knows if they have an energy efficient product that is affordable?

I think scanfrost is quite good. Just get a chest freezer, most freezers nowadays are quite efficient and would serve you without issues. the biggest issues with DC freezers is maintenance. hard to find someone who could easily fix em when they are down.

efuro:
Gurus in the house have spoken and I agree. While option A remains the best.If As A DIY FREAK with good rated cables & want to drive heavy equipment as stove, iron, water pump, etc. I will prefer option B
Reason: my DIY study of 60A fungpusun mppt revealed a considerable drop in cc temperature when trading off voltage for amps. to me it means the components of d CC are not stressed thus extending it's lifespan. ( But the problem is cable gauge to handle huge amps pushing through )

In addition, on a terrible day(s) when harvest drops considerably u will still have juice flowing to ur bank instead of depleting it further.

My view awaits correction from very experienced DIY enthusiast, particularly those with large arrays for us to extend boundary of knowledge.

Not in this case. Remember we are dealing with a 48v system here. A 48v would require at least 59.2v to be properly charged. If OP was using a proper offgrid solar panel with VMP >= 35v, VOC >=45v then option B might be acceptable (in which case the essence of an mppt becomes mute) he would still need to spend ₦ on fat cables. However most of the panels sold in Nigeria are actually Gridtie panels with VMP at 30/31 VOC at 30.* there is no way you want to run those in an Abuja weather. The sun heat will eat your voltage below the required 59.2 leaving your battery with a bigger charge deficit than Nigeria's national budget.

Option B should only be considered if the battery is a 24v system.

Also note that while option A requires 3 panels in series. The output voltage of 90v is about twice that of the system battery voltage at 48v hence the heat issue you complained about won't be a problem since the dc to dc converter is working at the recommended optimal PV voltage to Battery voltage ratio

peaceland:
@DMerciful, @bigrovar, @earthrealm, @efuro

Good morning all,
Thanks so much for the prompt responses.
I am grateful. Agba yin a dale o (may you the elders live long. Amen).
To answer some of the questions raised.
- Attached below are the pictures of the Charge Controller and the Inverter
- My understanding (based on papers) is that the charge controller is MPPT, 12/24V, 30A. The Inverter is 1.5kva, 24V. The panels are
supposed to be 250Wp, 24V, Poly.
- I also noticed that I was promised 2 units of 60A, 150VDC & also 2 units of 30A, 150VDC but it seems I have only 1 unit of the 30A. Not
sure what that implies really. I have an isolator ealier installed in the house before now.
- It appears the options are to increase the panels. The installer claims I am having good harvest but the initial plan was to have just 2
panels which I was advised to increase to 3.
So I have 3 more questions sirs:
- Based on the information above and the attached pictures, what are your observations and advice?
- If I scale down to 2 panels rather than scale up to 4, what are the risks?
- VIP: I noticed that overnight, with inverter on & no light or points on within the house, the loss of power is enormous from 4-5 bars down
to 1 bar by the morning. I complained about this too to the installer but now I don’t trust anything he says. What is likely happening.
Should I switch off when going to bed or what can be done to conserve power or reduce consumption by the inverter/waste.
Thanks all
MODIFIED: The pictures taken this morning around 6:50AM. already on 1 bar, as at when i switched it on/switched off the gen yesterday night was on full bars and no light (other than the inverter was on till around 430am today (3-4 LED points).
Thanks

As stated .. Ignore the soc from the controller. Epsolar are notorious for their false negative state of charge bar. You could charge that battery to full and a minute later its reading 50% full. They used some wack algorithms for the controller soc. Your battery seem to be doing fine.

2 panels might not be enough to adequately charge those batteries. Advise is to use 2 for how and upgrade once cashflow allows

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.

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.

earthrealm:
got the battery early oct 2016, so still fairly new, not upto 1 yr,
my next plan is to hook up my WATT METER to the inverters output and hv the total consumption in watts, so i can have a clearer picture and compare notes with folks running a similar setup on this thread.

Your batteries seem fine if the main concern is load voltage. Lead acid batteries experience voltage sag once load is applied and flooded are worse for it. What matters is the rest voltage. Rest voltage is the true reflection of state of charge in the case the battery rest for 3 hours with no charge no load. My setup is a 2 12v 220AH mercury tubular battery connected in series. My inverter pretty much runs 24/7 due to horrendous gird power situ in my area. Just got off a 20 days zero power situ.
Anyway with an average night load of 150w 17:00 (when solar panels charge diminishes) to 07:00. Or 1300wh later battery voltage is at 24.9 with load. Once load is removed battery voltage jumps to 25.1.. I would be concerned the day my battery rest voltage stays at 24.4 (never happened in over a year of use)

why am a bit concerned is that when i had 2 x 200ah sealed batt with 1.4kva luminous, when new, it lasted 3 to 5 days of almost same load, though 6pm to 11pm daily usage, the mustpower 4 x 200ah flooded batt setup barely lasts 2 full days noon to 12am usage and voltage will approach 48v, and lower

U need to come up with objective figures like watt watt hours. If I discharge my battery at C100 they will last longer than if discharged at C20. The previous figure you posted regarding consumption showed u discharge your batteries at close to C20. U might want to reduce that figure to put battery peukert effect in your favour. 150w on ceiling fan is too much when same figure will run 5 rechargeable fan at high settings. 25w in this day and age does not qualify as energy safers and if u hit some cash. Consider deprecating that TV. My LG 43 inch uses just 20w. Your ceiling fan consumes more electricity than my deep chest freezer.
Also note that u have established that those batteries are having serious charging deficit. Flooded batteries love their absorption performance would fall off the cliff if denied for long.

The attached image shows my night load. 2 fan, 2 balcony lighting points. It stays like so till day break.