emytech:


The boxes are:
1. PV Array Breakers
2. DC Breakers for CC output to batteries
3. AC Isolator (Breakers for load distribution)

For now all Lightning load (LED Bulbs), All Ceiling fans within d house(only turned on when needed), All TVs and Decorders, Home computing, video game, a refrigerator(Timer installed to operate during the day 10am to 3pm) are all connected.
Average loading- Peak bw 750 to 900W
Panels are connected 2-Series, 2-Parallel.
Planned using PC monitoring, but yet to get the RS485 to USB cable (software already installed on my PC).


Nice system you got, but do you really need a CHANGE-OVER SWITCH?

DMerciful:
That charge controller is too small for your setup as the maximum power it can handle is 780w. You'll be loosing 220w during peak sunlight. You need 40a controller.
Decent setup BTW. Pretty neat.

emytech:


The boxes are:
1. PV Array Breakers
2. DC Breakers for CC output to batteries
3. AC Isolator (Breakers for load distribution)

For now all Lightning load (LED Bulbs), All Ceiling fans within d house(only turned on when needed), All TVs and Decorders, Home computing, video game, a refrigerator(Timer installed to operate during the day 10am to 3pm) are all connected.
Average loading- Peak bw 750 to 900W
Panels are connected 2-Series, 2-Parallel.
Planned using PC monitoring, but yet to get the RS485 to USB cable (software already installed on my PC).


Nice system you got, but do you really need a CHANGE-OVER SWITCH?

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

jt2016:
How many KVA do you get in total?

DMerciful:
I'm not sure I get ur question clearly but let me try. My inverter is 1.5kva pure sine wave inverter. D solar array is 250w*3=750w. I have 200AH*2 plus 150AH *2 batteries. Average load is less than 250w except during peak perion when I need to use washing machine n fridge if NEPA is out for long.

darediamond:
First thing first, when choosing your Solar Panel, if you can not get 3-junction PVC , then buy only Monocrystaline Panels.

You need not to spend so much to get Solar Generator to Power your Electronics.

Original Mercury Deep Cell Battery made in Korea works well for me.

Unless you need power in the evening, you can preferably buy Grid-tie Inverter which is always all in one as it as been integrated with Maximum Power Point Tracker Controller to enable you get the most out of your Solar Panels. BuybMonocrystaline Panels always only.

You can still use battery with a grid-tie inverter mind you. Butbif you are on rigth budget, then G.T inverter will save you cost at the expense of no night power.

MPTT controller integrated in grid tie inverter makes sure that if your Panel is rated at 300w for example, you will at least be getting a minimum of 250 Watt of Power from your panel during the daylight.

Make sure the inverter you will buy have proper copper wound transformer and is as well integrated with Overload Protection, Short Circuit Protection, battery Low Voltage Protection.

I bougth my Panels from China as well as my Pure Sine Wave Inverter.

Pure Sine Wave Inverter is what you should always go for to keep safe your electronics from possible malfunction and fault.

You can buy your Pure Sine Wave inverter on Aliexpress. Mine is name I power. It is built to withstand Overload, reverse Polarity etc.and I have tested all this Protection levels and it works fine. No damage at all. When you mistakenly overload it for example, instead of it to affect it internal component like MOSFET, the inverter will Shut down on it own. Immaginne that!

You can buy your Panels from Chinese on Alibaba.com

Just negotiate with the sale rep per watt starting fro say 10Watt. But prepare he or she ahead to agree to the fact that the more wattage you buy, the lesser the price.
But presently, most manufactures are selling Monocrystaline Cellers per Wattage between 30cent to 55cent.


Solar Business is the next big highly lucrativevBiz you can go into now. You justvhave to avoid greediness in the biz to make it big time or do I say attract people at large to buy from you.

One Package you can bring in now is 120Watt Folding Monocrystaline Panel with 150W Pure Sine Wave Grid Tie Inverter with 5V 2A USB port. This Package is for Students.

You can even remove the inverter and go straight for Integrated Universal Laptop DC to DC Charger of 150. The integration therein implies that the DC to DC universal Laptop Adapter will have on it board MPTT Circuit which will be feeding the main Circuit of the Universal Laptop Adapter Circuit.

So Buyers of this Package will need no Battery at all to use the folding 120watt Monocrystaline Panel to get there Laptops Charged during the day anywhere they are.

The panel will have a shock absorbing carrier bag to ensure Smith mobility. It Advance universal adapter will have the major tips of Laptop brands like Accer, Samsung etc.

You can get electronics engineering company to newly manufacture this type of laptop adapter for you.

The adapter can also be made to have 2 USB output of 5v/2A each for fast charging assurance.

If you have the money go into this Biz now forget electronics as people lacks constant power supply to power there phones let alone other bigger ones.

Be wise. Be a problem solver not Problem creator.

oblo:
I would really be following this thread.

I am yet to upgrade my system to include solar panels yet but very soon.

I already have a Threshold 800va inverter ( I was told its same as sukam falcon series) . I have been using for over 2 years now. No single issues save for power fuse shorted a few time due to ultra low current from mains which I replaced and it biz as usual. I would recommend this for anyone with modest power requirements as they have served me well.



My twin 200ah 12v batteries I got from an auction of obsolete items from a bank I worked with before. Ritar is the brand name and though they were already not retaining power like before they still served my modest power needs for almost two years before they started not retaining a charge for long.[center][/center] for the price and state of use when I got it..them don try jare

Would have to get new batteries when I do upgrade to solar. I would lean towards getting same Ritar brand having used and experienced how robust they were. Infact my generator dey gather dust that time..it really was still is a fuel and life saver.

Infact one of them I revived when it stopped taking a charge by opening and filling the cells with "battery water" from my neighbourhood battery charger.. its charging now though retains power for only 30 to 45 mins with the tv on.and .up to two hours with just my low wattage fans working.

---

.

I now spend more on fuelling to charge..hence my resolve to go solar ASAP.

jt2016:
OK what I was asking is, since you have 1.5KVA I was wondering if a total load of 1KVA was possible assuming you have gadgets totalling 1KVA will it carry it?
Anyway in another development, Let me ask you the following perhaps you can advise me better..
I am planning to procure a used Japanese Hitachi Inverter + battery and then use a locally available solar panel in Nigeria.. what do you think about this? any advise?

olabakefish:


@darediamond, do you currently have the setup you just described and how effective is it..

darediamond:

I walk the talk.

DMerciful:
It can power 1kva conveniently. I bought my solar panels from Alaba and of course they were imported from China. I don't really know d Hitachi inverter nor d battery but while I'm OK with used inverters, I am not OK with used batteries. Can you share the model of d Hitachi inverter?

jt2016:
It has three-phase 200V class inverter and the below were seen therein

(1) built in charger
(2) Applicable motors produce output 004: 0.4kW ~ 4000: 400kW
(3) Input power supply specifications L: Three-phase 200V class
H: Three-phase 400V class
(4) (5) function and structure F: with panel
F: with built-in noise filter
(6) version No. Two

darediamond:

I walk the talk.

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

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

chris81964:


There are so many variables. So lets eliminate them and then we can get to your problem.
1. How many amp hours are your batteries?
2. What is the size of the controller connected to your 200 watt panels?
200/12 =16 amps. It has to be at least that size. If you have a 100 amp hour battery it will take 6.25 hours of direct sunshine to charge them at the full 200 watts. You know that will never happen because we average less that 4.5 hours a day at this time of the year. And after losses you will never see 200 watts.
3. What is the load total for all the devices you connect to your batteries?

Look at your batteries and there are two numbers that represent you bulk and float voltage (cycle and standby use). 13.1 during the charge cycle is below that number. Your batteries need to see 14.4+ V daily during the charge cycle. Some need to see close to 15V. Read what it says on the side of the battery. You don't get to those numbers your batteries are not fully charged and would eventually fail because of sulfation.
There is nothing wrong when the battery drops from 13.1 to 12.5 when you take the generator or charge source off.

Learn about your batteries and you will get results.
Good luck.

They call me Dr. Solar. Visit my YouTube channel and watch myths about solar
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
=PLaeqSGWbXO1e5X-1ev7hMORUIWJ7LHgIE

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.

chris81964:

There are so many variables. So lets eliminate them and then we can get to your problem.
1. How many amp hours are your batteries?
2. What is the size of the controller connected to your 200 watt panels?
200/12 =16 amps. It has to be at least that size. If you have a 100 amp hour battery it will take 6.25 hours of direct sunshine to charge them at the full 200 watts. You know that will never happen because we average less that 4.5 hours a day at this time of the year. And after losses you will never see 200 watts.
3. What is the load total for all the devices you connect to your batteries?
Look at your batteries and there are two numbers that represent you bulk and float voltage (cycle and standby use). 13.1 during the charge cycle is below that number. Your batteries need to see 14.4+ V daily during the charge cycle. Some need to see close to 15V. Read what it says on the side of the battery. You don't get to those numbers your batteries are not fully charged and would eventually fail because of sulfation.
There is nothing wrong when the battery drops from 13.1 to 12.5 when you take the generator or charge source off.
Learn about your batteries and you will get results.
Good luck.
They call me Dr. Solar. Visit my YouTube channel and watch myths about solar
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaeqSGWbXO1e5X-1ev7hMORUIWJ7LHgIE

davodyguy:

144 batteries

omotech:
Is dis what u do for a living?

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.

iLoveTheSun:
@1kinggy: May I ask, where you are located?
This is John, residing outside of Nigeria, but I am eager to learn the regional environment, i.e. climate conditions, solar insulation, and to understand the market needs. I have access to a solar insulation simulation software. I've been in the solar business for the past 9 years in Europe. Hopefully, I can give you some advice.
Do you have more data on your batteries?

My personal advice: get high-quality solar modules. A 12 years product warranty, or 25 years performance warranty is nothing, if the manufacturer/importer goes bankrupt, that happened to most European manufacturers by the way.
For my first commercial solar installation (28 kWp), I chose the "cheapest" module available from a brand manufacturer: 160 Watts(peak) Sharp, but for my 2nd solar installation (24 kWp) I took US Sunpower with 305 Watts(peak) per module. Now, in Europe I only sell QCells (German), LG (Korean) and BenQ (Taiwan) with Sunpower cells. The biggest problems we had are with small manufacturers who simply disappeared from the market.
Good modules have an annual degradation of less than 0,5%. Bad modules

regards,
John
p.s. this is my very first post on nairaland. Don't know how I landed here, but this is quite an interesting thread!