Just out of curiosity why hasn't anyone experimented with Wind Turbines.

These past few weeks Sun shine was a huge luxury here in Port Harcourt.

In the month of Sept and October some days it rained or was cloudy for 6 straight days
With very poor solar yield. Even today 16th of Nov its still raining in ph.

I had to improvise and maneuver to make sure my batteries don't fall below 12.3v but even at that on 3 occasions the batteries fell to 11.9v and 12.1v before sunrise.

My battery bank is 48v 600amps (12nr) with a solar array of 7350w (15nr 250w & 12nr 300w) and 2nr Outback Charge Controller FM80

These has necessitated my research on wind turbines but it seems to have very poor reviews.

I want buy 2nr 1000w FuSystems wind turbine paralleled to give 2,000w.

Please those who have used wind turbines please what is experience.

earthrealm:


Are you in the woji /transamadi axis?.
Could refer you to someone

eleme axis. Woji isn't far, the person can always come down. Pls do refer the person.

I thought you're one of the old members here.

The issue of wind turbine had been dealth with long long time ago when many of us were finding it hard to maintain healthy over nite voltage. But nowadays lithium brands have been helpful.
Pls Check out may be you may find it helpful.

https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta/305#62133575

nonoski:
Just out of curiosity why hasn't anyone experimented with Wind Turbines.

These past few weeks Sun shine was a huge luxury here in Port Harcourt.

In the month of Sept and October some days it rained or was cloudy for 6 straight days
With very poor solar yield. Even today 16th of Nov its still raining in ph.

I had to improvise and maneuver to make sure my batteries don't fall below 12.3v but even at that on 3 occasions the batteries fell to 11.9v and 12.1v before sunrise.

My battery bank is 48v 600amps (12nr) with a solar array of 7350w (15nr 250w & 12nr 300w) and 2nr Outback Charge Controller FM80

These has necessitated my research on wind turbines but it seems to have very poor reviews.

I want buy 2nr 1000w FuSystems wind turbine paralleled to give 2,000w.

Please those who have used wind turbines please what is experience.

nonoski:
Just out of curiosity why hasn't anyone experimented with Wind Turbines.

These past few weeks Sun shine was a huge luxury here in Port Harcourt.

In the month of Sept and October some days it rained or was cloudy for 6 straight days
With very poor solar yield. Even today 16th of Nov its still raining in ph.

I had to improvise and maneuver to make sure my batteries don't fall below 12.3v but even at that on 3 occasions the batteries fell to 11.9v and 12.1v before sunrise.

My battery bank is 48v 600amps (12nr) with a solar array of 7350w (15nr 250w & 12nr 300w) and 2nr Outback Charge Controller FM80

These has necessitated my research on wind turbines but it seems to have very poor reviews.

I want buy 2nr 1000w FuSystems wind turbine paralleled to give 2,000w.

Please those who have used wind turbines please what is experience.

You have a lot of PV power even with the poor weather that you have experienced in Port Harcourt. I have a client who I monitor his system and his numbers have always been better than what I see here in Lagos. He has 18kwh in lithium ion batteries. You have 14400 Kwh useable (50%). What do you consume during the night?

queenfav:
Please, I need contact of a very skilled and honest solar installation technician that's based in PH. I need a second opinion on what the person who installed my solar did.

I'm sure the charge controller you are looking out to determine whether you battery is full is basing the it's percentage on the battery voltage which is unreliable. My axpert inverter does that. Your battery will have different voltage based on the load applied to it. So a 100% battery when you put a sufficient load on it will suddenly drop to like say 80% and when you remove the load it rises back to 100%. For an accurate battery % reading get a battery meter that has a shunt to calculate amps going in and out to determine the battery percentage. I recommend the fangpusun bmv 700 on aliexpress.

Namzy:

I'm sure the charge controller you are looking out to determine whether you battery is full is basing the it's percentage on the battery voltage which is unreliable. My axpert inverter does that. Your battery will have different voltage based on the load applied to it. So a 100% battery when you put a sufficient load on it will suddenly drop to like say 80% and when you remove the load it rises back to 100%. For an accurate battery % reading get a battery meter that has a shunt to calculate amps going in and out to determine the battery percentage. I recommend the fangpusun bmv 700 on aliexpress.

Link pls

For those hoping to go the path of lithium batteries, an independent testing lab in Australia have been conducting series of test cycles on lithium batteries and the results published periodically.
http://batterytestcentre.com.au/
Interesting how Chinese brands of lithium are coming out strong giving the premium brands like Tesla and LG a run for their money.
Pylontech batteries reporting a State of Health (SOH) 86% after 1,470 cycles
Latest report for September 2019 can be read here http://batterytestcentre.com.au/reports/

[b][/b]Hello House!

This thread is very interesting and very educative, I must say it's really nice falling into this conversation.

I'm a diy hobbie with electrical knowledge and have been considering going off grid a very long time but because of the high cost of installing a standard solar system set up I've been sitting on the fence.

I've spent lots of time researching about solar, chargers, inverters and battery...
While I admit that almost everything that need to said about this topic have been said, I still believe there are other things left behind and would help deliver a better project if one is better informed.

I realized that one of the most important part of any grid tie or off grid system centers on the back up system which is the battery, it is the battery that makes your system worth awhile.
About 50% to 70% of the total cost of any back up system goes to the battery.

That is why the quality of the battery and the technology used is of great importance. It is on this note I'll be talking on the battery Tech's and spec's. As we all know, we have several battery Tech's out there ranging from sealed lead acid, gel, flooded, lithium iron oxide, lithium iron phosphate etc... With lead acid being the oldest and most used due to the fact of past glory and cost effective.

I can boldly say that amongst all these batteries, the lithium iron batteries are the future of batteries due to their safety and huge dept of discharge (DOD). Especially the lithium iron phosphate (lifepo4) battery.

As far as am concern the main disadvantage of this battery is the initial cost and complexity as it is not handled like the popular lead acid battery. On like other batteries, this battery require a special kind of charge sequence of constant voltage and constant current (CV/CC).
Because of this charge pattern it makes it difficult for any charger to charge it without damaging the battery so a special charger is required to charge it.

Before I go further I like to highlight some advantages of a typical lifepo4 battery
1. Light weight: about 50% less weight and less volume than a traditional battery.

2. High capacity: lifepo4 is about twice in capacity to a traditional lead acid of the same rabattery 100ah lifepo4 battery is like 150ah-200ah lead acid battery.

3. Depth of discharge (DOD): lifepo4 can withstand more discharge rate of about 80%-100% than traditional batteries which is just 50%.

4. Cycle life: They have a cycle life of 2000-5000 cycle at 80%-100% DOD respectively while traditional lead acid have only 300-800 cycle at just 50% DOD.

5. Large charging current: A well built lifepo4 battery can withstand charge current of about 50%-100% its rated current thereby leading to shorter charging time and charges at CV/CC.

For this reason I have decided to make my first project a lifepo4 battery pack and because of of the level of information and privilege I have I am sourcing every parts directly from china myself. Just to satisfy my curiosity and finally have a better power backup

This are the list of item I ordered recently and expecting for the project
1. 600w none charger inverter.
2. 20a lifepo4 charger
3. 12v 100ah lifepo4 battery
4. 63A automatic switch for switching between PHCN and inverter since my inverter is not connected to PHCN.

I'll keep on with update for this project with pictures when I receive the items.

efuro:
I thought you're one of the old members here.

The issue of wind turbine had been dealth with long long time ago when many of us were finding it hard to maintain healthy over nite voltage. But nowadays lithium brands have been helpful.
Pls Check out may be you may find it helpful.

https://www.nairaland.com/390522/solar-energy-complement-fta/305#62133575

I'm an old member here actually..
I installed all my solar system by myself with knowledge from here mostly.
But I couldn't remember if it has been discussed thanks for the link will read it.

chris81964:


You have a lot of PV power even with the poor weather that you have experienced in Port Harcourt. I have a client who I monitor his system and his numbers have always been better than what I see here in Lagos. He has 18kwh in lithium ion batteries. You have 14400 Kwh useable (50%). What do you consume during the night?

I have neva bothered to check the consumption in terms of wattage.
However it takes about 8-9kwh to charge the batteries to/Throu absorption from sunrise to 11:30am - 12:30pm before going into float.

Most often times one of the CC goes into float while the other maintains bulk charge.

However during the dry season uptill August my batteries neva went below 12.5v but now on some occasions it has dropped to 11.9v and its beginning to worry me.

I am thinking of changing this entire battery bank to Lithium in the future but I need it to last till mid next year

Anyone in Benin I can learn a DiY setup from?
Please quote me.
I am willing to appreciate monetarily

queenfav:
Thanks to timileyin1234, earthrealm, lanjonath and adrusa. My issue isn't the hours am getting, cos it's just one battery. My issue is the fact that it has never charged full with solar panels. My husband is seeing buying the panels as a waste of money, because with heavy sun and all, it doesn't charge full. Pls note also that the past two days, I turned off the inverter to allow it charge with solar, still it doesn't exceed 3 bars when I put on the inverter at night. Will definitely call the installer, cos it is clear that either the charge controller or d panels are ineffective.

You can't judge whether your battery is full or not by looking at the display of pwm controllers. Check the battery voltage instead. By evening your batteries should be around 13.4v and above.

tonididdy:
Anyone in Benin I can learn a DiY setup from?
Please quote me.
I am willing to appreciate monetarily

Your DIY learning needs no physical presence Sir/ma. All you need is a thirst for knowledge, data for browsing and timeout for study/research, and willingness to ask questions while pushing the boundary. Most important, you must experiment/test/tryout the knowledge acquired. Challenges you encounter will bring out more questions which you would want answered.

My setup was done from knowledge gathered from various sites yet I never left my sitting room.

harizonal123:

Link pls

@queenfav.

I forgot to tell you wire used and distance of panel to controller could also be a problem. If possible, snap and post the specs of your panels, controller and size of wire used. And the distance of the panels to your controller. Compare with your Hubby's friend. I still believe you may likely not need to buy/replace anything. I have two pwm and one mppt controllers that are idle now due to the challenges I faced then. So I advise you hesitate before buying anything.
Let the house analyse your challenges. Pictures/drawings speak better. Panel specs are on a sticker at the back of the panels.

If i guess right, 450 watts you use will be three 12volts 150watts panels connected in parallel. My array is 600watts(150watts bigger than yours) in parallel and I use 60amps pwm controller with 25 meters dual core 6mm wire, one 200ah mercury battery. I have been advised to do series but i am too "lazy" now. I use it with TV at least 12hrs, lights and a 130 watts ox fan(sun hours only; I shall do vigil one day and see how it goes at night). With all these, it has never beeped low battery except once(still hasn't discovered why).

So check your load too and itemise them; you may be wasting energy. 4hrs!!?

And your load, have you changed to low wattage bulbs like say 5watts/8watts? And I hope you don't leave lights on in rooms while not there? Are you using ceiling fans/ stand fans that are high consumers? These could be reasons for what you are facing assuming the installer did a good job.

olaolu11:


@queenfav.

I forgot to tell you wire used and distance of panel to controller could also be a problem. If possible, snap and post the specs of your panels, controller and size of wire used. And the distance of the panels to your controller. Compare with your Hubby's friend. I still believe you may likely not need to buy/replace anything. I have two pwm and one mppt controllers that are idle now due to the challenges I faced then. So I advise you hesitate before buying anything.
Let the house analyse your challenges. Pictures/drawings speak better. Panel specs are on a sticker at the back of the panels.
If i guess right, 450 watts you use will be three 12volts 150watts panels connected in parallel. My array is 600watts(150watts bigger than yours) and I use 60amps pwm controller with 25 meters dual core 6mm wire, one 200ah mercury battery. I use it with TV, lights and a 130 watts ox fan(sun hours only; I shall do vigil one day and see how it goes at night). With all these, it has never beeped low battery except once(still hasn't discovered why).
So check your load too.ni

And your load, have you changed to low wattage bulbs like say 5watts/8watts? And I hope you don't leave lights on in rooms while not there? Are you using ceiling fans/ stand fans that are high consumers? These could be reasons for what you are facing assuming the installer did a good job.

wow, thanks a lot bro, will look into all you pointed out.

ceaser:


It's sold out. I assume it was moppednup by those that now resell at that 23k. Na wa o.

I though I could just hook up to it a laptop power bank that works with replaceable 6pcs unprotected 18650s and charges well on 18v 50 watts max solar panel or a direct laptop charger plugged to it.

I once used that on those solar fan with those useless 12v 4.5ah lead acid batteries. It ran 8 full hours at max speed on that power bank. And those fans usually have 15 watts motor. I can imagine the performance with just 10 watts fan.

How is the power bank performance? I won't mind getting it o. I thought I would get two of those fans by month end but with this jack up in price, I may only get one and save for the other. E good make person get money o, I for fon buy since.

queenfav:
Thanks a lot, u just gave me a fresh insight. My husband was saying it. The battery is Mpower, so far it holds up pretty well, I don't think that's the issue. I have asked the installer about the installation, he says even his newest apprentice won't fix solar panels wrongly, let alone him. It's left to come check the PWM charge controller setting. He was saying he has fixed for so many people, and they don't have issues with the PWM charge controller. Anwyays i have told him to come tomoro to go over the whole set up, especially the solar panels and charge controller. My husband is already thinking if we need to buy mppt. I won't want us to waste that money on it if we can use the PWM. The whole thing is just frustrating to me, hubby is already fed up, feeling like we wasted money on the solar inverter installation.

Dont believe all you are told by workmen, noone will tell you he is incompetent. Ask your installer the size(amps) of the pwm. You can also check yourself. It should be on the pwm, snap and send to the house.

olaolu11:


Dont believe all you are told by workmen, noone will tell you he is incompetent. Ask your installer the size(amps) of the pwm. You can also check yourself. It should be on the pwm, snap and send to the house.

the PWM is 30a

harizonal123:

Link pls

Bmv 700
US $39.96 | accessory 700 for MPPT controllers 5a 10a 15a 30a 50a4 45a 60a 70a
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/q4vm4C7O

earthrealm:


Its still available..both the UKA &Qasa fans..
Seems i would buy both now and see
Check for dabamat seller.

Edit: just bought both fans now

See this bros o. You still wan buy this new stock finish again! Make I giddy up.

But tell me which is better deal spec wise between the UKA and Qasa.

Thanks.

FAIRLY USED 200 AHMS INVERTER BATTERIES NOW AVAILABLE!!

I have some set of fairly used tested okay inverter batteries . Feel free to come , test and pick-up yours if interested for ₦45,000 (LIMITED STOCK) . We also waybill to any state as usual !


Location: Lagos mainland

Contact,
Smartcell global services
081-350-31951
WHATSAPP::: https:///2348170385620

ceaser:



See this bros o. You still wan buy this new stock finish again! Make I giddy up.

But tell me which is better deal spec wise between the UKA and Qasa.

Thanks.

The both ain't same size / capacity , guess the qasa should be better in performance ! One of them doesn't come with battery ! Outside jumia sales, you can also get an all on one AC/DC spec with solar panel input & LED light as i recently procured.

nonoski:
Just out of curiosity why hasn't anyone experimented with Wind Turbines.

These past few weeks Sun shine was a huge luxury here in Port Harcourt.

In the month of Sept and October some days it rained or was cloudy for 6 straight days
With very poor solar yield. Even today 16th of Nov its still raining in ph.

I had to improvise and maneuver to make sure my batteries don't fall below 12.3v but even at that on 3 occasions the batteries fell to 11.9v and 12.1v before sunrise.

My battery bank is 48v 600amps (12nr) with a solar array of 7350w (15nr 250w & 12nr 300w) and 2nr Outback Charge Controller FM80

These has necessitated my research on wind turbines but it seems to have very poor reviews.

I want buy 2nr 1000w FuSystems wind turbine paralleled to give 2,000w.

Please those who have used wind turbines please what is experience.

You have a lot of rain, have you explored mini hydro turbines to charge your batteries?

dataking:


Please which of the series diagram is the best for running 4 batteries in Series.

Thanks so much.

hi, please can you share which software you used to draw up your sketch?

many thanks

ceaser:


I installed a standalone setup for a 200 watts motor AC gate opener.

1000 watts surge pure sine wave inverter
28 amps AGM battery
10 amps PWM SCC
2 pcs 50 watts solar panel connect d in parallel.

hi, can you share specs of the motor you used? and maybe some pixs of how large (size) a gate it was opening?

many thanks

Anybody interested in lifepo4 battery brand new made from 32650 cells any voltage and ah rating is welcome...you can quote me with your contact

This one is personally built for me

simydan:
Anybody interested in lifepo4 battery brand new made from 32650 cells any voltage and ah rating is welcome...you can quote me with your contact

This one is personally built for me

How much?

olaolu11:


Dont believe all you are told by workmen, noone will tell you he is incompetent. Ask your installer the size(amps) of the pwm. You can also check yourself. It should be on the pwm, snap and send to the house.

the PWM solar controller is 30A,its Roy solar product.

Namzy:

How much?

12v 100ah is 135k
24v 100ah is 240k

You can get different configuration for voltage and current

queenfav:
the PWM solar controller is 30A,its Roy solar product.

hahahaha, that useless cheap roy charge controller, am yet to hear any good news about that product

kiekie1:


The both ain't same size / capacity , guess the qasa should be better in performance ! One of them doesn't come with battery ! Outside jumia sales, you can also get an all on one AC/DC spec with solar panel input & LED light as i recently procured.

How much and link,pls?

earthrealm:


hahahaha, that useless cheap roy charge controller, am yet to hear any good news about that product

Seems Roy cc is the choice of many installers. I have been seeing it at most locations I visit. What is its attractiveness, is it that cheap? The 60amps I got from aliexpress has no name, is under 10k and is serving well.
If your assertion is right about it not having good review, why is it common in houses? And why go for something that's not good because it is cheap.