₦airaland Forum

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Oga Chris,

I am assuming you want to switch over between Mains and Gen? If your inverter can already start and stop the Gen then I believe a suitably rated 4 pole 2NO/2NC AC contactor should do - you should be able to implement this solution for under 10k especially if your house wiring is single phase or 'naija looped 3-phase'.

Simply decide which power source has priority and put the live and neutral of that power source on the [NO] common side of the AC contactor and put the live and neutral of the power source to be overriden on the [NC] common side - interlink/bond the load side (goes to the house DB) of the AC contactor live to live bonded and neutral to neutral bonded and you are good to go. Only one power source will be able to feed from Common to Load Side of the AC contactor. You can even implement a Generator off function with the disconnect.

This is the device Niyi was referring to. It is quite affordable and reliable. It comes in two variations; AC or DC coil.

I have never had cause to replace any in the more than 10 installations I have used it for in the last 3years.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Please I am looking for a manual battery disconnect switch (not DC breaker) similar to the popular Blue Sea Systems but perhaps more robust.

The idea is to be able to flip/turn a lever and isolate an inverter or CC from the battery bank for maintenance without having to unscrew any cable from battery post or busbar

Someone is advicing me to use a large AC changeover (plenty copper) but I believe there has to be a more elegant way.

I don't want to use those red Blue Sea Systems disconnect switches because I have found them prone to failure

Niyi, I have been using this one for over two year in my 48v setup:

[url]https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-ON-OFF-BATTERY-ISOLATOR-KILL-SWITCH-BOAT-CARAVAN-RV-1250-275-AMP/152639983051?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D63b55e44ced14e53802aba8b83892ec9%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D371814840524%26itm%3D152639983051&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851[/url]

Trippledots:
I read somewhere that ac copper tubes for cooling can also be used for such purposes.

Btw, i asked some questions earlier. No guru talk anything.

Pls na, i de beg una

Yes Aircon copper tubes can also be used but the earthing stripe is better for high current rating.

Just lookout for thick copper tubes, compress it and cut to size.

hardywaltz:
Please I'm looking for where to buy a DC rated Busbar to connect 3 battery banks of 48v each (600amps total) a 5kva inverter 48vdc 35amp max charge and two charge controllers 80amps and 60amps.

Basically I need a Busbar that is rated 1000amps 48+vdc

On Amazon.com the price is over $120 don't know if we have local substitute here

You can make the Busbar yourself. Buy a thick copper stripe (the type used for earthing) and four appropriately rated busbar insulators. Cut the copper stripe to size and drill some 13mm holes into it. Fix the insulators on both ends. You have your busbars for less than N3k each.

NoMoreTrolling:
We are about to take the plunge by buying the BattleBorn 24v 50ah LifePo4 batteries direct from the U.S.A, wish me luck guys

They are claiming 3000-5000 cycles at 80% DOD and 100A max discharge current, sounds too good to be true, but I guess we'll see.

Will update the house

The quoted price of US$999 is too high for that capacity and chemistry. If you are a DIY person, I suggest you CALB LifePo4 batteries instead.

For the capacity of 1200WH (24V 50AH) you require 8units of CALB 3.2v 50AH batteries. You can easily get a 50AH CALB LiFePo4 battery at US$60 each or less. The CALB batteries are also rated at 3000-5000 cycles at 80% DOD.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
One side note - I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Canadian Solar 330w panels (assembled in China with Chinese cells to poke fun at KieKie who always makes that distinction). Sold at a bargain price by GennexTech, they effortlessly pump out an impressive amount of juice and mercilessly flog my second PV array made of Flames panels on a day to day basis - by my rough calculations 3Kw of GennexTech's Canadian Solar perform slightly better than 3.6Kw of Flames.

You should have told us the price of the 3KW canadian PV and that of the 3.6KW Flames PV for proper comparison.

I am sure the 3KW canadian PV is more expensive than the 3.6KW Flames PV if bought at about the same time. The Chinese tend to overstate the capacity of their gadgets.

Like I always say, you get what you pay for.

blessedjohn:
Can you please recommend one that's OK. I just bought the battery and I am not ready to gamble with it.

Get Victron, Morning Star, Midnite Solar or Fangumpsun

blessedjohn:
Please whats wrong with it? I'm new to solar.

There is nothing wrong with it. It is just that people want to buy a tricycle and expect it to perform like a Ferrari.

They buy a N10,000.00 PWM CC and expect it deliver same performance as a N200,000.00 MPPT CC.

You always get what you paid for or even less than what you paid for.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
My Oga!

I was not theorizing but quoting the EP Solar manual nearly verbatim plus a healthy dose of field experience.

The question is to what degree can I oversize my solar array with the EP Solar 60a CC and also is a 2.4kw PV array too much for my EP Solar 60a controller when operating at 24v nominal battery voltage given that the max useable array wattage on the label sticker is 1600w?

The EP Solar manual says that the maximum array size for any given nominal battery voltage is determined by the formula LBatt x PV Array VmP. LBatt is maximum battery current (set at 60a for the EP Solar CC under discussion) while the VmP will vary depending on the panel configuration chosen. For safety, I assumed a 2 in series panel config for a 24v system and a 3 in series panel config so you can oversize up to 3.6kW for a 24v nominal system and 5.4kW for a 48v nominal battery system. I am assuming each panel can do 30vDC VmP to stay within safe sizing limits.

I will attach the referenced page of the manual to this post when I get home tonight.

I never said the array cannot be oversized to 3.6KW or beyond. I only said that oversizing by a factor of 100% of the CC capacity might not be beneficial since most MPPT CC will just clamp output to its rated capacity and ignore the excess available power.

NiyiOmoIyunade:
To answer your questions, the EP Solar Max Array Size is determined by the formula [LBatt x Max Array VmP] so with a 60a controller, LBatt (Max Battery Current) is 60amps while your VmP (conventional two panels in series for a 24v system) is ~60v. 60amps x 60vMP gives you 3.6kW as the max array size with EP Solar 60a when used in a 24v system. Based on this and actual field experience you will be very okay with a 2.4kW array and safe up until 3kW of PV panels even (allowing a common sense margin of safety so we don't reach the actual 3.6kW limit)

A 60A MPPT CC will output a maximum of 60A at the battery voltage not Vmp. In a nominal 24v system, the theoretical maximum array size is about 1,440W (24V X 60A). If you factor in cable lose and other inefficiencies, the array size can then go up to 1,800W.

Although, most good quality CC will handle oversized array by simply clamping down the output current to its rated capacity, oversizing by a factor of 100% might be too much for the CC to handle.

Pharyn:
CarPort for 24 Modules.
VE EasySolar with remote monitoring, setting and after-sales support. The inverter "screen" is practically before me anytime I want to see it from anywhere in the world.
Trojan Batteries (AGM).

I want to use this opportunity to appreciate some members of these forum for their contribution to the success of the project.
NiyiOmoIyunade
Barezzi
Dapsyra (supplied Abuja artisan contact and local market descriptions for the work)
pranil (Professor Anil) for all the remote settings and WhatsApp tutorials. The man can share information like... Thank you sir.We also had a swell time right inside Dapsyra's automated home, running offgrid with Lithium batteries (LTO) and programmed to respond to different instructions. We also met Mrs Dapsyra... What a wonderful Family.

Nice work Pharyn, keep it up. It was a pleasure having you and your crew in my abode.

mcTrinity:
IS "ROY SOLAR" THAT BAD

For some weeks now, there's been some bad reviews on Roy Solar charge controller....


well, I won't outrightly say it is good or bad. Nevertheless, I have 2 Roy solar I've been using going to 3 years now and no issues whatsoever.

see attached pictures. one is for East facing panels and the other for west facing panels. the CCs always absorbs at 14.4, boost charge at 13.8 and floats at 13.5v. And the two are almost always at synch, in terms of their reading (1st pic)

I have a client that was using Roy solar on 8 batteries with 4 pcs of Mpower 250w panels on a 48v system. Back then, I've seen about 21A on a sunny day. Though after 2 years he upgraded to 16panels with MPPT. for those two years, the ROY served him and his batteries aren't dead. Have 2 more clients like that.

oga Niyi made a vital point in his last reply about "Source"
As long as RE is concerned and as long as this nation is concerned, substandard and rebranded products are everywhere. it boils down on your source.

I knew a man that, after 8 years, changed his Deka 12v/210Ah battery. he still bought Deka and after 5 months he said I should come and help him check his batteries that they are no longer performing well. Two of his 6 batteries (24v system) have deviated.
he's using magnum MS4324.
same load, same inverter, same usage...

I once shared on this forum how I bought original sunshine panels and few months after that I bought another set for upgrade only to discover the new ones were rubbish. same brand, same nameplate, same size... different cable and different connection box

SOURCE!!!

so those that complain about the Roy, I believe, they must have gotten a fake one. I don't know why it didn't serve them.

it's been serving me and just last 3 months, I dumped the mopower 900VA/12v for mopower 1600va/24v. changed to 24v system and the same ROY controllers are serving. just waiting for the batteries to die so I can move to 48v,,, with MPPT of course (Lolz)


so Vulcan,
like someone advised, read up on MPPT and PWM... the gurus here have explicitly and argumentatively explained their differences. it's either you google their differences or you start going back on the pages and actually read their practical differences based on various experiences.

But anytime, anyday MPPT rules...

In summary, I'm not saying you should go for Roy or not go for Roy. just sharing my PERSONAL experience.

cheers

To buttress your points, I have Roy Solar panels that I have been using for about three years and they are performing like champions. My daily harvest is at par or even better than from so called premium brands.

babaegun:
Sweet Solar Harvest in Abuja today.

Yes oh, lady solar came visiting today.

ebocoms:
Good day all,

Please I need help in connecting VAC1100A DC 120V 100A LCD Voltmeter device (picture attached) to my present setup to read what is going in and out of my batteries. I want to replace the present watts meter in the picture. The wiring look different. I want to know where to attached the CC cable and the battery cable.
My present setup is attached. Thank you.

All connections remain the same except the negative (-VE) of battery, CC and Inverter that will now be connected to the shunt according to the diagram below.

abunafiu2:
This one all of una dey blow grammar..... makes me look like I never attended CCNA classes.
If Bigrovar steps in now... na to scatter d whole thing now.... with his own highTech analogies.

always nice to read some off Solar tips from you guys.
love y'all.

Uncle Dapsyra, oya contribute ya own join d matter too oooo

My brother, they took the words out of my mouth. Other knowledgeable members had said all there is to say.

If you sell your existing batteries before you buy new ones; what will you use to power your inverter?

dezo:
20 pieces of used monbat batteries (12v 200ah) for sale. Bought in january this year, receipt still available. Price 65k each. Discount for bulk purchase.
07065316182.
Reason for sale- upgrade to LTO.
Thanks.

Congrats on your migration to LTO. It is a giant leap indeed.

Please tell us more about your LTO batteries.

mcTrinity:
please, anybody has Ola28's number...

it's urgent

thanks

0905 728 5592

NiyiOmoIyunade:
Many thanks Sir.

So with 15kwh to 20kwh sunset to sunrise consumption you are in effect flattening the batteries or nearly doing so daily.

What is your cycle life expectation for these batteries under your average DoD conditions?

15,000 cycles

NiyiOmoIyunade:
These are very lovely dashboard indicators my Oga Dapsyra.

When I look at your power generated 23kwh vs. consumed 3kwh - does this mean you flogged your 21kwh battery bank about 18kwh overnight? This is like 85% DoD.

Though you are using the much vaunted LTO batteries - I am curious to know what kind of overnight loads are consuming 18kwh?

Lastly what monitoring app is giving you such colorful and vibrant dashboards?

The consumption figure is in KW not KWH, representing instantaneous power not energy. I was consuming 3kw steady (running 2 Aircons, fridge and freezer) when I took the snapshot.

I consume between 15KWH and 20KWH from sunset to sunrise depending on who is at home. I run aircon overnight on it.

The LTO batteries are capable of 100% DOD without any adverse effect. It can be discharged to 0v without damaging it, though that will reduce the cycle life.

The app is an android app called Classic Monitor by Graham Ross. It works with only Midnite Classic CC.

Final harvest for the day is 28.2KWH

Harvest is very good today in Abuja. 22.9KwH already in the bag as at 2:57pm and still waxing strong.

sinistrian:
Well, at least you got your panels cleaned for free

Thanks for showing me the bright side of it.

Today will go down in history as my poorest harvest since I ventured into renewable energy more than 10years ago.

There was just NO SUN in Abuja today. It rained almost all day.

I managed to harvest a meagre 3.000kWh ==> an efficiency of 0.667kWh/kW.

I have never had it so bad!

dejidotun2000:
Hello people.

I need your help on this one.

A friend's Genus 1.5kva proton Q inverter spectacularly blew up FETs in December.
he had put on his 3.5kva generator (which he had previously used several times to charge the inverter batteries) and heard multiple explosions and saw the proverbial smoke.

The inverter was repaired and recently, the FETs blew up again. He believes it was a result of high voltage from his public utility transformer because he changed from a phase that had a low voltage to another phase before he heard the FETs blowing up.

please what can be done to prevent the incident from happening again ?

Let him install a good quality servo stabilizer between the mains/gen and inverter.

zeestone99:
Jst one simple question that was asked(size of array), everyone is debating wit long post, I dnt undastand u ppl and y wud it b difficult for sum1 to say he X number of panels.

In DIY fora, the internationally acceptable convention is for members to list their gears/equipment in their signature so that others can read their posts in conjunction with their equipment list. This practice, if adopted in this forum will put members' posts in better perspectives and reduce misconceptions.

bigrovar:
Just finally moved to my own modest house. Decided to finally take a chill pill on the race for the higher wattage and settle for efficiency on the consumption side. This allowed me to set aside some funds for putting a roof over my head all glory be to God. My 1.84kw panel is all the electricity I need for now. I will connect to the grid once am done with some finishing touches to the house.. I generate enough to provide me 24 hours electricity that meets every basic needs refrigeration, laundry, light, TV, kitchen stuff.

The house runs on LED spot lights the highest being the single 12w kitchen lights. Over night amps draw before sun rise is 75AH from a 24v 200ah battery. I had time regig my setup.. Power drill was a life saver.

Congrats Bigrovar. You have reached a milestone that everyone wants to achieve. Remember to also invite us for the house warming party. Cheers.

durodee:
My system and yield. I am a DIY person with multiple solar installations for personal use. This is a 24v setup with Prag 2.5kva inverter, 4 Monbat 200amp batteries, 60 amp EP Solar CC and 6 solarworld 255W mono panels. Good yield for a 1.53kw setup. Location Ogbomoso.

6.3KwH harvest from a 1.53kw array is quite impressive. That is an efficiency of 4.12KwH/Kw.

"Rain or shine: new solar cell captures energy from raindrops" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/13/rain-or-shine-new-solar-cell-captures-energy-from-raindrops?CMP=share_btn_wa

10 module of Toshiba SCIB™ Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) batteries for sale

Each module consist of 24pcs of 2.3v 20AH cells arranged in 2 rows of 12 cells each.
1.1Kwh total, 550wh each section of 12 cells. Tested at 22Ah

Voltage ranges for each row of 12 cells.
32.4V Maximum
27.6V Nominal
18V Minimum

Both rows can be wired in series for 20AH, 55.2V nominal
or
Wired in parallel for 40AH, 27.6V nominal

Module Dimension: 24cm x 27cm x 14cm

Super Charge Ion Battery 20 Amp Hour Cell Cell Specifications
Nominal Capacity 20 Ah
Nominal Voltage 2.3 V
Operating Voltage 1.5 to 2.7 V
Operating Temperature -30° to 55°C
Charging Method CC-CV
Long Life Cycle Characteristics – 15,000cycles. Exceptional long life is achieved by using new oxide-based materials.
Inherently Safe – The battery’s advanced safety features include Toshiba’s proprietary lithium titanate technology which prevents thermal runaway.
Fast Charge Rates – Capable of full recharge in <10 minutes (160 A, 8C charge rate), SCIB™ batteries increase customer up-time and productivity and enable efficient capture of regen energy.
Greater Usable Capacity – The battery provides up to a 100% usable range of SOC without compromising cycle life. This allows the customer to use more of the rated capacity and therefore use a smaller battery.
High Output Performance – SCiB™ batteries offer a power density nearly equivalent to that of ultra-capacitors. This ensures sufficient power output (160 A continuous) for high power application needs.
Superb Temperature Performance – The battery excels at temperatures as low as -30°C and up to 55°C. This provides excellent application performance in extreme environmental conditions.
Production – Producing the batteries on a state-of-the-art automated high volume production line ensures that the customer receives the highest quality battery and stable supply to meet the most demanding application needs. Made in Japan.

The batteries were used in the Honda FIT Electric Vehicles.

N236k (US$650) each

Lady Solar paid an unscheduled visit to Abuja today.

My 4.5KW Chinco Solar Array harvested 20.9KwH today. That is an efficiency of 4.644kWh/kW!!!!

See live data here: https://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?userid=46221

pranil:
But if you are looking for long life even zinc bromide is also promising with relatively modest charge requirements and ability to maintain battry life even at fully discharged state

https://redflow.com/products/zcell/
https://redflow.com/resources/victorian-couple-live-off-grid-dream-redflow/

warranty of 10 years or 3650 cycles

At US$56,000.00 (N20.5M) for 20kwh, I would rather stay with LTO