₦airaland Forum

All experts in the house, please have we had any venture into rearing broilers in cage systems. if yes, what is success rate and potential challenges. Quick responses and contributions will be highly appreciated.

Boss13:
Thank you so much. I made a terrible mistake. I contacted dubious and incompetent installers. The batteries I have now cannot charge more than 50V through solar and sometimes I use external charger which charges it to 53.7v. However, immediately I put on my load, it drops instantly to 50V. I have been told the batteries are fairly used and sold to me as new ones by wicked Alaba traders. The trader has promised me new ones tomorrow.

I have spent so much and I cannot concentrate any longer. My inverter went off this morning by 6:01am . I need assistance

All hope not yet lost.
As previously stated in one of the posts, charging 48V system with 50V is total waste of time and your external charger barely putting out 54V to the batteries will never get the batteries fully charged. The more reason battery voltage dropped to 50V moment the system is loaded.
Search for pbase solar on facebook, you will get his contact details there.

Boss13:
You sound like a professional. Because of the stress and the money I have invested, I decided to go online to study. I noticed that some guys connect only the solar panel to the inverter via solar charge controller and they only have power when there is sunshine.

Anyways I have a 12v batteries 150amp. I screamed to my installer that I need mppt and they said mppt will cause overheating/overcharging or something else but they discouraged me. My Solar panel charges at 66volts but according to my installer, whose judgement I now doubt, said the controller regulates the charge to the volt of the batteries. Now my 150amp batteries seems to operate at 50v. I also have an external charger that tries to boost the batteries but immediately I load, it drops to 50v.

I am tired and frustrated. I currently used less than 10 percent of my inverter load and doing my calculation that is 500watts I believe

So far you've given out following info:

1) Number of batteries
2) Number of panels

Please shed more lights on this:

1) Type of inverter and voltage setting
2) Wiring arrangement for your panels
3) Wiring arrangement of your batteries
4) Estimated load - your daily total energy requirement
5) Pictures of panel installation and orientation
6) Pictures for your inverter and controller

cretin:
I DONT UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION?
yes..just as the batt bank is connected to the inverter as the time, thats the way the battbank shud be connected to the solar panels tru the charge controller??

so how how u been using it...if u didnt hook up the batt bank to the charge controller/solar panels??

going forward, i suggest you change ur charge controller to 60amp mppt...hoook up the battery bank properly to it...and observe the system for a while b4 changing it.

what is the voltage rating of ur charge controller?
what is the input voltage of ur inverter?
are ur panels 12v or 24v?...how are the connected?
send us a picture of ur charge controller screen during sunlight..lets see the harvest data

Also, knowing current total load you have on the system will be appreciated.

hrguru13:
To answer the qsns posed:

Load is minimal, just 1 TV, 3 fans and about 7-8 energy saving bulbs
Panels connected in series, 24v
I need to verify if d charge controller is pwm or mppt. Will revert.
Sorry, cnt give u d display pic at d moment because it has been disconnected
When it was on however, the voltage fluctuated between 24.4 and 25.7 on an averagely sunny day
Current was between 54 and 56 amps
D panels are well positioned and get hit maximally by d suns rays during the day. Will post a pic of d controller later.

Can you please state specification for the panels. When you said you get max 25.7v, is this the voltage from the panels or what your seeing from batteries.

Boss13:
Thanks, but I think I need a very good installer to save me

Whatever a good installer has to do will still depend on what your system is capable of handling. What is total load being powered by the system?

Boss13:
Please guys I need serious assistance. I don't understand how come I have 2050W (8 solar panels), 8 150AH Batteries, 5KVA inverter and I cannot still have 24 hours power supply. My batteries went off yesterday after 8 hours on 50volts. I am really pissed

Can you avail the gurus in the house with detail info about your setup.

1) Panel Wattage, Voltage and Amp
2) Panel current arrangement
3) Controller setting and type
4) Battery arrangement
5) Picture showing current panel arrangement

Cheers

Boss13:
Please, I need an experienced solar panel/inverter installer. Someone who is well experienced and can solve my problem. I have been weeping since. It's like being dumped into the ocean and left to drown.

I am not an an installer but die hard DIY person. You can contact PBsolar for better technical advice and installation. Search him on facebook please.

Thespecialone:
Good morning fam
Please the following goods arrived at our China office without name or number



918 278 218 675

210 755 534 712

300 136 423 455

We keep saying that you should insist your supplier writes your name and phone number to avoid stories that touch but that is not been heeded to.

If any belongs to you, kindly contact me via Whatsapp stating the tracking number, name of the courier and the content of the package.

Experts in the house, can you please shed more lights on groupage shipping by sea. Please let us know the following:

1) Better shipping agents to deal with
2) Cost variation
3) Duration of shipping from when goods arrive in agent office in china
4) Potential issues that can arise.

Cheers

Experts in the house, can you please shed more lights on groupage shipping by sea. Please let us know the following:

1) Better shipping agents to deal with
2) Cost variation
3) Duration of shipping from when goods arrive in agent office in china
4) Potential issues that can arise.

Cheers

Boss13:
I have been looking for a thread like this since I entered one chance with a foolish incompetent solar installer. I am even tired of narrating my ordeal here, but it was not a pleasant experience at all.

At the moment, my solar panel does not charge my battery adequately, my inverter does not charge the batteries too, I have to get an external charger to charge the 8 150ampH batteries. The installer really robbed me off.

Lots of micky mouse installers out there with next to nothing knowledge about renewable energy.

Have noted grave errors such as:

1) Improper load or power requirement estimate
2) Inadequate battery sizing
3) Wrong solar panel sizing
4) Installing panels with voltage combination not high enough to charge batteries
5) Use of wrong CC

The list keep growing and it translate to loss of money and confidence by people that invested in RE without expected results.

Hello IBL,

Please do you pick up goods from St Patrick Logistics and how much will it cost to ship 10kg goods from their end to Port harcourt.

SolarMuntula:
Please Help
I have 16 x 100 watt panels, 8 x 200Ah @10hrs Luminous batteries, 1 piece 5 Kva Genus Sure Sine Wave Inverter, 4 charge controllers. Things are fine when there is sun. But when the sun goes down the inverter starts to beep. What could be the problem?

Please let us know the following:

1) Panel spec
2) CC spec
3) Inverter spec
4) Panels combination to each CC

[quote author=samnaija post=29684607][/quote]I'm a fan of American spec CC such as Outback, Midnite Solar and Morning Star. These have been tested and proven to be highly reliable and can withstand tough situations as far as it remain within specification. With current dollar rate, going for 60A to 80A CC (if you plan for expansion in future) may set up back around 80-120K. You can contact Richmond74 to help you on this.

You still have the option of some chinko type that has been tested by some users in this forum.

durodee:
Thank God for small mercies! if anything blows up now, nah to almost get heart attack be that! Lol!

Before gathering gadgets and equipment, it is onus on everyone to do some research, ask questions and seek opinions of people in order not to end up gathering stuffs that wont fit for purpose.

With the limitations of solar charging side as rightly pointed out by Barezzi, you are caught in-between if Voc for your panel stand around 35v, that mean connecting 2 in series is a No No unless the system has self shut down safety feature.

Way forward, get a suitable MPPT controller that can handle your panels and deliver needed fuel into the batteries and forget about solar charging side of the inverter/charger combination.

To properly charge your six batteries currently on the 3in1 inverter, you need to add more panels assuming your are aiming for 50%DOD.

bunmidivine:
Why don't you go to their warehouse. There are loads of unclaimed goods there which I saw with my own eyes. They just can't contact the owners due to some errors which aren't their faults. For example, some phone numbers are incomplete. Some peeps wrote 10 digits instead of 11 digits as their fone numbers. So how would they figure the number out and call the owner.

I had no issue with them at all. Right from January 1st, they sent me a msg to come pick my goods, which I eventually picked on Jan 2nd.

Pls go to their office. #my opinion sha

Despite all the set back, most of the logistic companies have put in best efforts to get the goods out. Was amazed to see quantity of unclaimed goods in St Patrick last time I was there just after Xmas. The lady in charge informed me that almost all owners were contacted and yet most refused to come for their goods. Mine was fished out out of the piles and if not the her diligence in knowing that particular item, it would be impossible to get the package.

Please make effort to be in their office with full description of your items.

nannymcphee:
Thanks, lets say minimum of 10hrs

Without Fridge = 5800W daily
With Fridge = 7000W daily

Considering inverter efficiency (90%)
Without Fridge = 6380W + 200W for inverter consumption = 6580W
With Fridge = 7700W + 200W inverter consumption = 7900W

Panels Estimate = with 250W panel - 6 pieces will handle your need

Battery Estimate
50% DOD

4 pieces of 200AH will be enough for both cases

You can go for 24V or 48V inverter for both cases

Without Fridge = 1.5KV inverter should handle your load

With Fridge = 2.5KV due to surge current while starting up


Other experts and merchants can have some inputs and possible price for the items.

Cheers

nannymcphee:
pls I need an estimate (plan 1 separately & plan 1 & 2 combined ) for solar panel, inverter, battery & installation

Location:Ph

my load

Plan1:
1 LCD (180W)
4 ceiling fans( don't know it's rating)
8 energy saving bulb(20W each, total 160W)


Plan 2:
1 fridge could be added to the above(120W)



Note: In plan 1, all will not be ON at the same time & PHCN should be assumed to be non existent

Thanks

For the items listed, can you state how many hours daily you plan for each.

JUO:
got it now. but even at that your load is still much

Quite agree with JUO as regard the load being too much for the present setting. If Samnaija is buoyant enough to add necessary gears to accommodate his requirements then he can go for it.

samnaija:
batteries are not up to 6 months, my controller wellsee has these interface charge off 53v, load on 49v , load off 47.2v . thats the settings i can see. i hope it assists.

If batteries less than 6 months old, you stand the chance of adding batteries of same spec to existing string.
Meanwhile does your controller has manual and can you possibly share it picture. Also, what is your battery specification as regard cycle voltage and float setting.

samnaija:
thanks again i am beginning to get a clear picture. you mentioned doubling battery bank, can i simply add the extra batteries to what i have presently connecting them together, also the panels.

- How old is your current string of battery? If more than 6 months old, not really advisable to just add up; you will need to go for new set of batteries completely.

- In your first query, you mentioned your batteries getting fully charged by 11am, does your controller has setting to rebulk if voltage drop below a certain threshold.

samnaija:
thnks, the float voltage is set at 55 volts thats all i can see on the charge controller. panels are joy solar panels 280watts (24volts) x 4. energy saving bulbs all round. i use 4 fans.

- How did you arrive at 55v float voltage. Is it battery manufacturer recommendation or just default setting on the controller

- Get your battery spec from the body or download to get recommended Absorption and floating voltage

- 2V difference in voltage to the batteries can make lots of difference to battery charging sequence

- What make of controller and battery are you dealing with

samnaija:
thnks for the response, freezer (140 watts x 5 hr), 3 TVS (290 watts x 8 hrs), 6 energy bulbs (120 watts x 8 hrs), 4 fans (400watts x 8 hrs) , 2decoder (20watts x 8 hrs), dvd player (180watts x 4 hrs), . this is ideally what i use, i dont use all the same time. thnks ahead.

- Your energy estimate = 8060W

- With your 200Amp @ 48V = 9600W which ideally you cant take more than 50% unless you want to bury the batteries early. This leave you with 4800W

- You need to double your battery bank if you must maintain the current load otherwise you need to do load shedding to increase duration

- With increase in battery bank, you will also need to increase solar array to charge the batteries and enough to maintain day-light load

samnaija:
guys i need advice. my system comprises of (4 )12v batteries 200ah in series. 5kva inverter, solar panels (4) 280 watts. i now want to join you guys in 24 hrs uninterrupted. my system carries deep freezer , tvs, fans, lights, computers. the problem i have is my batteries get charged latest 11am , i switch on the freezer and other gadgets. by 3pm i off the freezer. keep using other gadgets (2 tvs) till night, but around 7 pm my battery voltage drops to 49v. not to damage my 48v battery bank i switch off by then. help needed to be completely off grid . really help.

Kindly let us know the following:

1) Battery spec - Cycle voltage & float voltage
2) Panel spec
3) Setting on charge controller - bulk voltage, absorption voltage and time, float voltage
4) What sort of bulbs do you use - regular or energy saving
5) How many fans

iMerchant:
If they have some challenges they should at least communicate not mute.

Patrick isn't replying my email and favour is clueless about the whole shipping operation. I sometimes pity the poor girl when I called her because I have nearly rake for her once. I don call tire.

Simple update and feedback will do it better. Nobody is giving me that. I have to beg my supplier to extend my escrow payment confirmation time till January because she don deliver my goods na me dey delay payment now and I can't confirm payment when I haven't even receive the goods.

I can understand your frustration because I a in the same boat with you. Have three packages sent in through SP; first package was shipped to Nigeria since 21st November. Out of three items, able to get alert from Favour that one have been cleared. It has never been this bad with SP from my experience. Custom issue with overall inefficiency in the system actually delayed the whole process.

Just keep hope alive that all goods will get out as soon as possible.

JUO:
one month and counting without switching off my inverter. Thanks to Nairaland, richmon74, GeorgeD1, abunafiu and all Nairalanders

Congrat and welcome to real world of renewable energy where you can make impossible possible. I have been enjoying 24/7 power supply for almost a year and still counting. I am no longer at the mercy of noisy generators which I cannot even run for 24hr without major break-down afterwards. If public power supply manage to come-by, good. If they don't remember to supply my area, I don't give a hoot.

shithapuns:
i think am beginning to understand.......i only hv 2 unit of 200amp 12v batteries conected in series, n the major load on the system is my 130w haierthermoccol double door fridge that runs from 9.30am to 3.30pm [using timer socket], thus multiplying 200amp x 24 = 4600w wch is abt the max harvest i have ever obtained from my system, my CC is 45amps.....so assuming 5hrs of sunlight. at max input..i wud be harvesting 220amps, enough to rejuice my power bank if flat......................................going forward, it appears i have to increase my batt bank or increase the load on my system during the day, b4 my system would be able to draw in more harvest....

gurus pls comment on my theories.

2 unit of 200Amp batteries in series will give you potentially 4800W of which drawing down 50% (50% DOD) will be more ideal unless you want to kill the batteries early. With your fridge out of the equation at night, you have only 2400W to play with. Increasing your battery bank will surely add up to yield potential.

Barezzi:
I'm interested in ur battery spec.
How much are they??

Here is the battery spec. Got them via a friend shipping stuff from China.

ilenaira:
I sincerely hope so o. I'm just glad the panels are on the flat roof as opposed to the main house roof. When I cleaned them recently, the CCs recorded a big spike in PV input immediately.

As for fire protection, the cooling fan is to ensure things don't get too hot to reach that level. So, apart from an extinguisher (which is useless if no-one witnesses the fire), there's nada.

With massive set-up you have and good power management, that your generator will be completely useless. For almost a year running now, my generators have been redundant. Just occupying space; gave out one to create more space in the compound. The existing set up you have with the large battery bank, you can completely ask NEPA/PHCN to disconnect the service line from your house. Incorporate timing unit to necessary water heaters for hot water purpose and you can live completely off grid.

ilenaira:
That's great news. I'll keep a closer eye on it with logging but its good to know that the batteries can be fast charged when necessary.

First familiarize yourself with the controller and choose optimum charging setting taking into account best absorption time (considering your residual load). Some controllers require end amp value to ensure proper float setting. All these put together will ensure optimum charging without undercharging or over charging the batteries.

ilenaira:
@Barezzi, the CC I'm using is capable of 60A. In fact during the wet and cloudy month of June that I was home, the highest I saw was about 22A on each CC on a visual check that things were working. I'll make use of the logging feature to confirm.

On my short visit this month, I was too busy figuring out what the ****** I'd entrusted it all to had done to my inverter. The good news was that because I used dedicated CCs instead of the integrated pwm charger on the inverter, the batteries were on float. The bad news was that I could not make use of fully charged batteries because the inverter would not power up ( ******** had been fiddling with the connectors for the detachable display panel. and probably caused a short somewhere, why I trusted him in the first place I don't know)

The CCs have performed well so far, the only regret is they didn't tell me they were about to launch a snazzier looking version so mine looks dated compared to the new design below.

My set up of 3.6KW panel and 520AH batteries (2 string of 260AH in parallel) have been delivering above 30A charging current. This depend on draw down overnight on batteries and sun intensity.

life707:
@richmon74, i respect ur opinions and i hope to do business with you oneday but let me clarify a notion u have always portrayed here on this forum.

A notion about generating 120% of your solar panel rated power....i actually laughed the first time i saw such post and you have used it over and over to market ur products.

The cheapest 80watts panel( in white carton wch cost 9k) in alaba int produces 120% of its rated power as long as other parameters of installations are right. Well i am speaking of from my experience in the north(kaduna,jos n adamawa).

Also, as bodejohn pointed out being cheap doesnt denote poor output . The difference may be number of years that maximal yield may last.

Right now, am still observing a set of those very cheap panels and their performance ,wch is still good after 5yrs of installing them in a hospital lab In adamawa.

NB- my post is not meant to play down ur products but since this forum is for DIY guys, some people may not b able to afford highly priced products like yours and get totally discouraged about going green.

Also @ALL, the cheapest products aint the best in solar systems ....go for mid range product if you cant afford the highly priced ones.
Thank you

Richmond opinion will always be respected as far as renewable energy is concern. Panel technology is not too far apart today. Thanks to Chinese, access to cheap panels would have been impossible today. Panel efficiency is a function of orientation, cable sizing, placement angle, good air flow for cooling purpose and choice of controller. If these conditions can be achieved, no reason for low production.