₦airaland Forum

I assumed the batteries were 200ah, four 250W solar panels will adequately charge it, 3 would work but i'd rather go with 4.

3276reliance:
4*250 =1000 watts to charge 2 batteries? You did not even bother to ask about his batteries Ah rating. O ga o

Well going through your post, what I'll say is this:

1. For a start it seems your batteries are getting weak and you should try o replace them as soon as possible

2. 1 50W solar Panel is way to small to fully charge a 12V/150AH battery. At full power, it'll take the Solar Panel about 6 days to fully charge your battery (and this is highly unlikely), so it'll take a bit longer than that.

3. You need to hook your solar panels up to or charge controller or what you'll be doing to the batteries is more harm than good.

Hope this is helpful to you Sir.

BasedOnB:
Hello everyone. I'd appreciate some help here please.

I have a basic inverter set up which i've been using for a couple of years without hassles. My inverter is a falcon series 800va 12v sukam inverter, and my current battery is a 150 Ah 12v monilite ('Networking') battery. The battery doesn't last for long anymore but i still get 3-4 hrs on the average from it with my led tv/decoder combo after a full charge (PHCN).

I recently moved to an area with non-existent PHCN supply, and so i decided to incorporate a solar panel into the set up to charge the battery. I got a 50W 12V panel and connected it to the battery. The problem is the battery doesn't last long @ all. I didn't use the battery for about 5 days in the hope of getting a full charge. After 5 days, the battery didn't last for 2 hrs after loading my led tv (45W).

Right now, it doesn't even last enough for me to charge my phone. It is that bad. Please what could be wrong?

The guy that sold the panel to me said i need to get a solar charge controller to charge the battery, but i seriously doubt if it will have any effect whatsoever. I feel the battery isn't just getting enough energy from the 50W solar panel. Is the solar panel too small for the battery? The inverter isn't a solar inverter, but i've been using it since 2012 without issues.

I would appreciate your responses please.

Well depending on the current rating, but for 30Amps it goes for N100K and for higher current ratings, it goes up to N155K for 60Amps

timifakay:
What of price of an MPPT?
I've come to realize the 192v charge controller isn't usable as the batteries are 26ah, meanwhile smallest charging current for that voltage rating I saw is 30a.

I'm sorry sir, I don't really deal with PWM Controllers

timifakay:
Do you have any idea about the cost of a 192v charge controller?

Both options should work perfectly sir.

timifakay:
Hello everyone, I'm in a fix here and I need your inputs.
There's a 192v UPS but power supply is very terrible and I plan to install solar panels but I'm in a fix on what to do of the following options:

(1) Connect the panels and charge controllers to charge the batteries directly ie by connecting the charge controller to the batteries which then supplies power to the UPS for use. And is it advisable for the UPS to simultaneously charge the system anytime there's ac power supply in the form of NEPA or when generator is on during the day? OR
(2) To get an inverter and connect to the charge controller and supply the house; without batteries (all appliances are plugged to the US except lights), don't wanna get another set of batteries because the UPS battery bank is enough to provide all the needed power.


The UPS is 6kva and has 192v back up of 26ah batteries- 16 pieces- (16*12v = 192v) all connected in series.
If recommending to get an inverter, what rating will adequately power the 6kva inverter and charge the batteries?
The proposed solar array is 1000w.
Are there charge controllers capable of delivering 192v to batteries in Nigeria, how much do they cost?

I'll appreciate any replies and if anyone can propose another system configuration it will be given due consideration.

Both will charge the system at the same time sir

youngestland:
good day house

please how does it work solar and grid power when both are on
which charges the battery at the time?
or do I have to be switching when grid (nepa) light comes on

That's the challenge with PWM controllers, most of them don't clearly state the State of Charge of the batteries. But going by the Charge Controller display, you have a 12V system installed, you'll have to look for the display that shows current going from the solar panels to the batteries and it should read 12.4V+

akbahbah:
Please how can I know if my solar panel is actually charging my battery looking at the display page of my charge controller. No sign indicates charging. Just noticing this.

How much will it cost to install this round a 1 acre farm & will that be advisable??

Kindly send me AN E-MAIL, and I'll help you out with this. Lanjonath@hotmail.com, but if you want to run an AC, the final cost could easily run into a couple million naira.

steel5800:
To the gurus in the house, pls what is the cost implication of setting up a solar system to carry a minimum load of 2.3kva to a maximum of 3.5kva at any given point in time. Out of this load, there'll be a freezer of about 300w(0.375kva) that'll be always on and a low power consumption 1.5hp AC that'll be almost always on. The ACs' wattage is 880w(1.1kva) due to the low power consumption. Other appliances that make up the remaining power are normal household appliances. I'll like to go completely off-grid and will only use my gen for the pumping machine. The minimum load can even be as low as 1.8kva when everyone is asleep. Thanks

You are very welcome Sir.

Im2Busy2Bother:
Thanks a lot. I appreciate the time taken to answer my question.

okay Sir, the prices are canging everyday but currently,

Poly-Crystalline 200W: N41k-N44k
250W: N48k -N54K
300W: N63K+

Mono should be between N5K to N9K more expensive sir

Im2Busy2Bother:
How much is the cost of good quality solar panels (range from 200W to 300W)?

Yh, one more thing just came to mind but it's something most people who deal with Solar Panels don't know and don't pay any attention to, and that the no. of cells in the panel. It should be printed on the back and without this being printed this I strongly advise against buying the Solar Panel. When using an MPPT Charge controller, 1.8A or more per Solar panel, That is a lot when it adds up.

Oh, I'm sorry sir. I don't really understand your question, can you please explain?

Im2Busy2Bother:
Alright. Thanks. You didn't say anything about the cost implications. Hope you saw it on my original post

I'd stay away from them coz there are a lot of inferior ones out there, not up to the described wattage just a pasted sticker on the back. Tried to get a 250W Sunshine Panel some years back, the seller proli didn't know I would check what I was buying. On an afternoon of amazing sunlight, the so-called 250W panel registered just 180W. There are a lot of good brands, I just advise you understand the product and check coz there are a lot of refurbished panels out there & ones of inferior quality that even if you get em brand new, you'll proli never get 15yrs outta them

Im2Busy2Bother:
Why should we stay away at the bolded brands?

Which brand should we go for? ( It'll be nice if you can give the cost implications with respect to the wattage in view)

Thanks a lot

No they don't if you get a good one, should last up to 15yrs+

MikkyT1:
Nice thread....please I learnt solar panel get expired...it true? Cos someone intends dashing me one very big panel

I use Apollo, Vil, Gamatronics and a couple of others. The main thing to look at is the spec, because most manufacturers always a weaklink in their line of Inverters that won't perform exceptionally well. And as for Solar Panels, there are a lot of nice ones out there, what I'll advice is when you find a Solar Panel brand that works for you, stick with it. And stay away fro Sunshine and Joy Solar Panels.

SycophanticGoat:
Ok.. So which brand of inverter would you suggest that is affordable and has all one would need from it, ranging from LCD display, to load protection, etc..? Also, which panel brand and type is the best?



Cool! Thanks a lot bro! I really appreciate your kind contribution.. Only wish I could keep in touch in case I need advise at any point in time..

Oh honestly I have no idea why they aren't, but no I've never heard or worked with such inverters, the only thing about the battery I know can be adjusted on some inverters is the charging current

SycophanticGoat:
On the bolded.. I guess you didn't get what I meant.. I read that batteries last longer in service when discharged less. For example, a battery that's always discharged below 50% is likely not to last as long as that which never gets discharged beyond 50%. So I thought to myself, if that is the case, then why aren't there inverters that can be set never to drain the battery beyond 50% or 60% or 70% since this practice (especially 70% charge after usage-30% discharge) will make the batteries last longer..

Yh sure, I do the calculations myself. Batteries right now cost over N85k to be honest. ABout the regulating the battery usage, I feel the best thing is to have an inverter that has LCD display and moniter the battery levels, also switching off unnecessary equipment really goes a long way.

No you wont be able to connect the load directly to the controller because the controllers output is in DC. That's why if you notice on the charge controller display I posted right part reads 0.00A.

which inverter are you talking about? nd P.S I edited the earlier post you quoted and included some things

SycophanticGoat:
Yes.. So now I believe you can do the calculations yourself right?



Wow! This was quit helpful but do kindly give a probable estimate of battery prices (the ones you mentioned apart from Mercury which I know the price range). Also, have you ever come across the type of inverter I asked you about?

On the charge controller, since mostly, controllers aren't connected to the inverters, how can one regulate battery usage?

Is it possible connecting the load section of charge controllers to inverters rather than connecting the inverter directly to the battery bank?

The Max for the i-tracer I've seen is 60A, nd that costs N155K.

As for batteries I'll be honest with you, Indian batteries are the best, but even at that a lot of batteries get damaged during shipping, some wear quickly when they aren't charged efficiently or are frequently discharged to 30%, you can only tell if a battery is good after using it for about 4 months, best is to get one that comes with 1 year warranty, so you know if anything goes bad you'll get a brand new one without spending a dime. I use M-Power (Gel-Lead Acid Hybrid) it's very good and comes with 1 year warranty and also Fullriver, FullRiver is my no.1 choice buh it's a bit pricey and it also comes with Warranty. Mercury is also not bad but there's no warranty on it, so I only use it on request. I have a client who has use the FullRiver batteries for about 2years and 4 Months, sure the backup time has reduced coz of the aging battery buh on an average(On a Sunny Day) he still gets 20 hours daily. I installed 4 Batteries and 8 250W Poly-Crystalline Panels for him with a 2.5KV Inverter.

As for the inverter it's not like you can't load it over 70%, but inverters loaded over 70% are more fault prone so personally I dont advise it, keeping it under 70% helps prolong the inverters lifespan.

For the steep roof, what I do with all my installations is to install the panels on a mounting rail, that also helps improve its efficiency. So the rail is attached to the roof and the solar panels are mounted on the rails. See attached pics.

SycophanticGoat:
So like how much will mppt (i-tracer) with the following ratings cost: 50amps, 60amps, 80A and 100A? Also, how do you cope with too steep a roof? How do you install panels in such roofs? Mine is almost flat so I didn't have a problem climbing it..

What batteries do you install for clients that last pretty long in service...?

Also, can one get an inverter that will allow a user set usage values (from the battery bank) to say 50, 60, or 70%?

Some Solar Project I've done

Lol..yh it's expensive but worth it. It brings out the best from your panels and the main advantage is it charges your batteries way better. Most batteries break down quickly when the charger isn't efficient nd thats why I shy away from pwm coz most of em are cheap products with no brand name.

Buh mppt's are sick bro, it'll let you know what you're generating, the current, State of charge of the battery and everything. And there's this product I use, Ep-solar i-Tracer (LCD Version), It goes the extra mile to equalize your batteries on the 28th of every month. will upload some pics, buh trust me it's a worth while investment. Buh make sure you install a breaker to protect help it from burnouts.

SycophanticGoat:
Really? Cool I learnt this. But I don't really think I can load it that much. This means that I should have been OK with the initial 850Va I bought before...



Price of MPPT is crazy bro! 50Amps of even a Chinese one can get me two 200Ah batteries..

Even apart from night time, there are times during the day where for about 10 to 30mins, the clouds get in the way of the sun's rays, meaning the generated electricity would drop during such a period and without a battery to step in, a system of such design wouldn't be effective at all.

SycophanticGoat:
As a matter of fact, this is possible. You can use solar panels, charge controller and inverter without battery backup. The major drawback is that you can only use such during the day when there's enough rays to go from the panel to your household appliances. In Nigeria, we mostly depend on power at nights so it's basically useless here without the batteries. In developed countries, people mount solar equipment for feed into the grid while they get paid for it. Those people do switch to solar power whenever they want to do some heavy stuff during the day, thereby reducing their utility bills.

oh okay, still wondering why you aren't going for an mppt controller though

SycophanticGoat:
I use 2 of 300W solar panels with a 50Amps charge controller

If you run a 1.5KVA you'll loading the inverter to over & 70% capacity, to preserve the lifespan of the inverter, it's better to go for a 2kVA especially if the light bulbs are 60W

SycophanticGoat:
For the items listed, even 1.5Kva will do the trick but I will always advice people to go for higher inverters in case they'd wanna increase load in the future. Your TV should not be more than 350w, if the bulbs are energy efficient then let's peg their total wattage at 40w (some bulbs are as low as 3w), laptops usually are rated about 50-70w. Let me peg yours at 70 each, means total will be 140w for two laptops. Modern fridge should not be more than 300-400w. Total power rating is about 940w, let's say, max of 1,000W (1KW). Dividing this value by 0.8 will convert the Wattage to Va. This equals to 1,250Va (1.25KVa). Adding 20% for surge, we will have 1,500Va (1.5KVa)

In terms of battery capacity needed, will get back to you..

For cost..

Batteries cost between 70something to 100K for Indian products but will cost higher for American brands.
Inverter (2.5KVa) will cost about 60 - 90K

My firm can help with this sir, kindly email me: Lanjonath@hotmail.com

inthack:
I have 3.5inverter with 4batteries, I need solar panel and i need to change 2batteries, is there a way i can get your contact to reach you?

You'll need 4 250W Solar Panels
1 40A mppt charge controller
Solar Panel Mounting Rails
1 Lightening protector

the described system should fully charge your batteries with 6 hours of god sunlight.

and that's about it. feel free to email me: Lanjonath@hotmail.com

1kinggy:
Please what do i need to add a solar system to my inverter assembly.
I have a 1.5KVA Luminous inverter and 2 x SIMBA batteries for my home.

You'll upgrade the system to a hybrid system, it's a quick, straight forward process. However an engineer will have to visit your site because the inverter DC input Voltage is very necessary to the Solar Panel configuration.

masseratti:
For people that av inverters already plus batteries, how can We connect solar panels and at what cost, mine is su kam, 1, 5kv inverter am not so sure the configuration.

What I'd say is this, err... 1 200W Solar Panel isn't enough to adequtely charge your two batteries, they look to me like 100Ah batteries. Try adding 1 or 2 more Solar Panels to the system. I haven't been on site to fully analyze your system but here are my estimated right now.

You have 1 200W solar Panel which has an estimated Imp of about: 7.45A
Assuming the current is constant (which wont be the case depending on your controller): 100/7.45 at 24V= 13.4hrs. It would take 13.4 hours to fully charge your batteries. and each day has 6-7 hours of good sunlight, so going with six hours it'll take 2.2 days to fully charge your batteries.

I'll also implore you to have someone check your batteries because with the way the voltage drops, there must be something seriously wrong with them.

P.S your installation is very messy, the technician really botched the job.

feel free to email me: Lanjonath@hotmail.com

inception101:
Hi, nice thread. I had mine recently installed. 2.4kva with 2 btl sollar batteries and 1_200wats solar panel but the truth is i'v never enjoyed it since day one as I stay in d east and I paid for for transportation and installation all d way from ibadan and yet the thing has been a real pain and regrets ever since. Imagine leaving d house since morning and coming bak and d so called solar doesn't last 30 minutes with ma laptop, ceiling fan, ps4 and one or two bulbs on(with out load, it reads 12.7 and when fully charged with gen it reads 13.1 but as soon as u power anything it goes down to 12.5 and below drastically). It's so disheartening. Pls what's d way forward

Kindly give this a read sir:
http://www.tindosolar.com.au/learn-more/poly-vs-mono-crystalline/

pragmatistm:
yes you are right. It was the Google keyboard that changed it to noncrystalline. I meant monocrystalline.

Err..the number of hours it will last for partly depends on the number of batteries and solar panels you have installed. But typically (based on your system design) it should take 6 to 7 hours to fully charge drained batteries with solar power alone.

buharisbae:
sychophanticgoat y ain't u replying anybody ?? I just wanna ask how many hours does the solar last after being charged fully and how many hours does it take for it to be fully charged for a 3 bedroom flat with 3 fridges 1 led tv 5 fans 13 bulbs 2 electric kettle and others sha. anybody pls answer

I feel it can be suspended for a while, but not skipped. Its better to keep it in mind and install it later, coz trust me, if a lightening surge does occur not a single piece of equipment will be spared. and that costs way more.

darocha1:
You have stated a good point but i think its a step that can be akipped if the client isnt so bouyant

Funny enough, something just came to me. Over the years, I've been to a lot of sites and seen people (some after the damage was done) who have solar systems installed without their engineer installing lightening surge equipment's to protect the entire system and the home against lightening surges. Would just like to know how many people in the house have this installed and how many had their engineer skip this process.