₦airaland Forum

adrusa:
What kind of charge controller do you have and have you set the parameters properly especially, length of absorption, end amps, absorption voltage etc.

I use wpm controller, (picture attached)
About parameters I don’t think I know my way around that there are only 3 buttons on the controller can guide on how to set the parameters guess I have pressed the wrong things.

mctfopt:
What is the size and type of LFP you use?

Do you mind mentioning the size of the solar panels and type of charge controller you use?

What type of inverter do you use?

What is the size of the load connected to your inverter?

The above may help get a clearer insight what is happening to your setup.

40 amps (480watts) is the size of the battery
The size of the panels are 160 and 80 ways connected in parallel

The type of inverter is attached in the picture

Mainly the load I connected to my system are just one 32inches LG TV and 2 phones charging simultaneously

Thanks as I await your response

kiekie1:
Hello, you haven't really provided complete details & clear picture of your system !

Attached is the picture
Up on the roof I have a 160 and 80watts panels connected in parallel and the battery is 40 amps (480watts)

Good evening guys,

I’m a little bit worried about my LifePo4 battery that last 5 hours when I Do charge it with electricity. But when I use solar panel it doesn’t last up to 2hours.

Even The controller shows It that That the panel stops charging battery at 95% Instead of it to be at 100%

kiekie1 eleojo23 wilmaria14 GeorgeD1 ceaser your vast experience and suggestions are needed.

ceaser:
Sorry.

They're best connected parallel in this scenario, since the nominal voltages are the same - 18v.
Your 160 watts and 80 watts solar panel.

Thnks

mctfopt:
You mean 480 watt hour battery (40AH) 12v battery? Do you have an MPPT solar charge controller?

this is the charge controller I’m planning to use

funshyboi:
Good day guys I’m planning on joining 160 and 80 watts panels on my 480 watts battery (40amps) in other to increase my harvest, which connection do you think will Be better between parallel and series

Attached are the ratings on the two panels

ojeysky ceaser kiekie1 GeorgeD1 I need you guys response pls

Good day guys I’m planning on joining 160 and 80 watts panels on my 480 watts battery (40amps) in other to increase my harvest, which connection do you think will Be better between parallel and series

Attached are the ratings on the two panels

ceaser:
I guess you intend to type 480 watt-hour (12v 40 ah) battery and I'll wager it's those blue coloured lithium types. If I'm correct, you should get the functions of the four terminal wires correctly (2 input and 2 output) wires.

You also connected it directly to the 80 watts panel which isn't good for the battery. There should be a charge controller in between the two. You can get by with a small sized - maybe 10A to 20A - charge controller; one with bulk of 14.4v and float of 13.7v should be fine. If you also have a DC-DC buck controller with 14.4v output lying around, you can co-opt that too, better still if the buck controller has adjustable output voltage. The PWM charge controller should be able to provide you with info on your charging status. Some DC-DC buck controller, especially the ones with adjustable output voltage and current also come with voltmeter which you can read to guess your charging status.

About charging your phone, just get a cheapie car usb charger (shouldn't be more than 1k5), connect it to the output terminals of your battery and you're good to go. Of it's a PWM charge controller that you are able to lay your hands on, get ones with 5v usb ports included.

Thanks for the response
You’re right it’s 40 amps battery
And it’s the blue one

No it’s not connected directly I got a CC and attached is the picture

And pls can I get the picture of cheapie car usb charger

I asked the question because I want to know if during phone charging I’m not deceiving myself thinking the battery is charging where as I’m using the entire charge on the battery..

GeorgeD1:
as promised earlier, i have been on my 260ah 12pcs zenith batteries since 2012. it's been a remarkable
journey no doubt, especially given all the lament on here about lead acid batteries and their poor durability.
7 years and counting and my batteries seemed to just go on and on. at a point i almost became confused
as to why i was having such a nice time with lead acid while the general opinion was anything but pleasant.
maybe i was just plain lucky or maybe i was doing something right afterall...
the jury is still out on this...

Bros is it the same lead batteries vehicles use

wilmaria14:
It will charge as long as d charger is ok

Please what charger are you talking about?

sure I know my phone will charge when I connect the inverter to the battery,

what I want to know is will the solar panel charge the battery simultaneously as I used it for charging phone.

Hi experts, I have 80 watts panel on a 480 watts battery
The worry here is I want to charge my phone while the solar is still charging the battery, What’s the assurance that the panel is charging the battery

GeorgeD1:
as promised earlier, i have been on my 260ah 12pcs zenith batteries since 2012. it's been a remarkable
journey no doubt, especially given all the lament on here about lead acid batteries and their poor durability.
7 years and counting and my batteries seemed to just go on and on. at a point i almost became confused
as to why i was having such a nice time with lead acid while the general opinion was anything but pleasant.
maybe i was just plain lucky or maybe i was doing something right afterall...
the jury is still out on this...

You mean lead batteries like that in cars ?

odimbannamdi:
Regarding question number 1. I asked same question here, but no one answered. So i went on a quest to get answers from Youtube.

There is a simple calculation: Divide the size of your solar panels by the voltage of your system. So, of you have a 600watts panel system on a 12v battery bank setup, you should use a CC with a minimum rate of 50A (600watts/12v)

Thanks for this

ojeysky:
Hybrid 2kw 125k
380w X 4 panels 200k
Battery LFP 100AH 24v 300k or You do 2x200AH lead acid at 250k to 300k depending on brand

The above should power your machine for at least 3hrs on full battery. Double your battery and double your panel (with an extra external CC) if you need more backup time

You will definitely be my plug when I’m ready thanks

ojeysky:
1&2 if you want 1kw then you can get 1.5kw of panel 250w X 8 or 380w x 4. Get a 2kw hybrid inverter, it will serve as CC, will provide electricity to your gadget and will provide charging via utility as well not just through sunlight

3. The panel voltage may exceed the battery voltage and there will be noting to tell the panel to stop charging the battery which could result to overcharging

Thanks very much for the response
Please can you highlight the rough estimate to set up this system

And can this system power up a pumping machine

ojeysky:
1. Your budget and required generation from the sun
2. I prefer hybrids but some prefer standalone
3. Assuming the generation is 80w for 6/7 hours yes but that is not practical the power will drop and peak according to sun rays.

Yes you need a charge controller if you want to charge with sunlight. That said, some people connects panel directly to batteries, I don't recommend that. Not safe for you and your backup system

1, Let’s say I have panels supplying 1000 watts generation

2 hybrids will serve as CC and and can still be used to the battery with electricity right ?

3 can you lay more emphasis why it’s not safe

Thanks

1, Good day guys what determines the choice of charge controller to go for?

2, which is better, should I go for hybrid inverter or just CC

3 I have a friend who’s with 80watts solar panel with a LiFePO4 battery capacity of 480watts. Does that mean with 6/7 hours of sun the battery will charge to its full capacity

Do I need I still need a charge controller for this system thanks

Abeg what happened between Neo and Vee After the party, I woke up and found them arguing and shouting

ojeysky:
It does that but more importantly it has solar charge controller inbuilt the inverter

Ohh, now I know why it comes expensive

ceejay80s:
Total cost:,
12v 40ah valve regulated battery= 6k,
Used 650va ups with no battery in it = 1,500 ,
Red & black wire = 50 naira,
12v 20amp smart charger = 7k ,
TOTAL= 14,550
If u have extra cash , u could add one more battery

How much will this thing cost now in 2020

Morning guys I want to get something clear.the term hybrid inverter does it mean it can be used to charge the battery with electricity while it can still convert DC to AC.

ceaser:
Bàbá get your stuff from Lagos. It is cheaper that way and it will be shipped to Ilorin or Ado Ekiti for a token.

Sadly most resellers in those places you mentioned are terrible opportunists, offers may be better in Ilorin though. If you decide to get from them, be prepped to pay as much as 10k to 12k difference in price. Also you will have less choice of products.

I know someone who promised to break that monopoly in Ado by selling at reasonable prices. I'll ask him if he has stocks. Which ones would you need?

80watts

Who sells solar panel around ilorin or ado ekiti here ?

mctfopt:
Hard to get a deal such as that, you can always buy a charger. By the way somewhere someone mentioned a dealer. I've seen lifepo4 chargers advertised here too.

I will appreciate if you can tag me the seller

dapsyra:
You can charge all batteries from any power source, be it Solar, Windmill, PHCN or Generator provided you have the right charger.

Thank you
It’s getting the Right charger giving Me worries now

mctfopt:
All lifepo4 can be charged with either an appropriate battery charger and of course by solar.

Will the charger comes with it ?
And may I know if anyone sells here

Good day guys. I need a battery that I can charge with electricity instead of solar panel. Who sells here

ceaser:
You can try out the 60 watts and 80 watts panels connected in PARALLEL to your controller. Your load of 32" TV (maybe with conservative power saver of 35 watts and decoder of 4 watts makes a total estimate of 39 watts. Total panel capacity of 140 watts may get you by on very sunny days, especially if you will have to simultaneously use the appliance as you recharge it thru the panels.

thanks very much

ceaser:
Problem is I don't know how that Nairaland PM thingy works.

I can assure you that whatever grey areas you may encounter will be addressed by the many eggheads here.

the Thing is I have 80watts solar panel charging that kind of battery at my parents place so I thought 60/80 should do the magic here at my place too but I’m surprised When you said 150 watts won’t that be too much. I’m just curious please don’t mind My naivety

ceaser:
I guessed as much that this was the battery you were talking about. I didn't know these things are still being sold. Used to have it as part of a modular set up powering a 65 inch TV (set to maximum power saver which consumes 46 watts), a startimes decoder (4 watts), DC standing fan (15 watts) phone charging all on a 300 watts PSW inverter. With all those loads, by 11:30pm the battery still hangs at around 12.7v.

Two of it paralled as a pack that is enclosed in those large PVC electrical casings. It was charged only by two units 150 watts panels connected in series to an MPPT charge controller. It reaches full voltage by 11:30am. I can't say how it performs now that it's had another owner for a while.

So for your LG TV, put it on max energy saver. Get two units 150 watts monocrystalline (connected in series on a 20 amps or 30 amps MPPT controller OR parallel on a 20 amp PWM). Set the float voltages at 14.2v and hook the battery to a modest sized 300 watts (600 watts peak) pure sine wave inverter. You may still be able to subsist on a single 150 watts panel though, but don't expect miracles on days the sun is a little upset.

The battery is on "different port BMS", so you should connect the charging wired to your CC and the power wires to the inverter.

Your battery capacity is just around 32 AH at 12v, so don't expect all the backup hours I get on the 60 AH pack.

Thanks very much for the apt explanation
I just sent you a DM please accept my message request

Dam5reey:
What is your Daily usage in Watt hours?

Example mine is 4kwh, So I must be able to generate 5-6Kwh daily if I rely only on Solar.

What I’m planning to use it for is 32LG tv and DsTv decoder. That’s all for now