Testing My First Solar Panel And Power Station In Winter At Off-Grid Cabin | EcoFlow Delta 2
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- Опубликовано: 12 апр 2023
- Can the Alaskan winter sun provide electricity to my off-grid cabin? Can a portable power station work in bitter cold temperatures and replace my gas powered generator? What about during a snowstorm? I decided it was time to find out for myself, so I purchased the EcoFlow Delta 2 and a single 100-watt solar panel to harness the power of the sun and keep my noisy generator turned off as much as possible.
Delta 2 Power Station: us.ecoflow.com/products/delta...
Solar Panel: us.ecoflow.com/products/100w-...
EcoFlow website: us.ecoflow.com/?aff=704
#alaska #cabin #offgrid #ecoflow #solargenerator #homebackup #solar #solarpower #powerstation #offgridpower
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This panel can put out close to 100 watts ruclips.net/user/postUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.
Turn the panel horizontal and make sure the eve is Not shading it. Get the curl out (mount it on thin plywood or something stable) and angle it perpendicular to the sun. Anything "on" takes power. Any plugged in charger not hooked up draws power. It all adds up. Don't use it til you need it. That battry system needs inside. Cold and hot kills batteries. Any rooter system takes power all the time. Even the stove clock takes 120. This is great, really. It's another source which you can control. Get more panels and spread them out. Yes you will need bigger current carrying wires. It just makes it much more efficient. You have stepped into a new world. Now winter in Alaska is still hard winter. So a bank of batteries and use the generator to keep them topped off. That auto piezo type lighter draws power all the time. Cut the gas off and light it when you turn it on. Go old school on it. It burns a lot of gas over time as well. There is some radiation coming thru the clouds. Not much some. A new world. enjoy. Replace everything you can with efficient led bulbs whatever you need. You can try each draw individually, knowledge is Power. The saws, lot of surge amps so they will eat electricity. Run the generator or use battery power tools. Figure out what every device needs to run. Good fortune.
Awesome information, thanks for sharing!
Awesome info ;)
We been using a 48 V inverter with solar power for over 20 years at our remote cabin. We have an old small microwave with the wind up timer and bell. We also have a coffee maker than has a vacuum pot and on,y draws power for 11 minutes. We run our freezer all summer. We also have a 12v system for Rv water pump and the electronic ignition water heater. We even run a small washing machine on sunny days. Someone asked me what the payback is, I told him don’t have to bring much gas.
In the winter, I would keep you panels a pretty vertical. Our sun here in Alaska stays along the horizon. So you may need to be able to spin it to follow the sun. Try the solar tilt calculators. Summer will be different, but having it able to spin to follow the midnight sun would be beneficial.
@@serenitywoods9752 It only gets about 6 degrees above the horizon in the middle of the winter here. At out remote cabin I have them mounted on a 12x12 woodshed.I mounted them on uni-strut with hinges that allows me to tilt them. I mounted them close to the high edge of the woodshed so the snow doesn’t build up in front of them. I leave them vertical for a few months in the winter.
Bring the Unit inside. Or heavily insulate it from dropping temps. Can't wait to see how much of a full send you do with it! Stay safe!
There aren't actually very many videos that address how solar performs in winter and how you adapt for it. This kind of topic is needed and hope more people talk about it.
I noticed the same thing! I keep updating ya'll on what I learn over the next 12 months. Thanks for watching!
@@alaskacabinadventures Thank you.
The unit won't take a charge if it gets too cold. You are also stressing the battery unnecessarily by leaving it outside. It will still work, but you will wear it out much faster than if it lives inside. Modern batteries are happiest (and live longest) when they are at the same temps that make you comfortable, neither too hot nor too cold. It is totally worth the time/hassle to redo the wiring so it can live inside, given how expensive those batteries are.
I would build a small, ground mount system for your panels very near the cabin, and make it so you can change the angle of the panels and easily sweep off the snow. The height of the sun changes winter/summer, and so does the ideal angle for the panels. In the winter, when you have only a few hours of daylight, it will become very important to maximize the output of the panels and so you definitely want them adjustable.
Building the panel rack further away from your cabin will be more expensive. Basically, you don't need a lot of power and so a smaller, 12v system should be fine. But you are going to want to step up to higher voltages if you have to run wires a long way, and that is probably overkill for what you need.
Great reply! Thank you
he should go 48v ..battery can stay inside no problem..and if he s having a panel array around 250v +..he can go wiring 4mm or 6mm no matter what distance..i woldnt bother with changing angle of the panels..i got.many friends who just build a wooden frame and have like 4000w of fotovoltaic panels and 10.000w of Lifepo4 battery on 48v sistem
Congratulations! You’re in the infancy stage of solar. For sure you will be expanding from here! Enjoy. ☀️
Great idea Eco flow delta pro and 2 ecoflow delta pro smart battery (10,8 KWH and 400 W solar 3 panels
Distance and cable size impacts the performance. The longer distance use thicker cables and twisted vs solid for DC.
Dad gave me some great advise;
Learn from your mistakes, but better yet,
learn from the mistakes of others!
You’re doing great, it’s early days yet!
Bring the power pack indoors,
get more solar panels!
A ground mount array,
I find is easier to clear of snow.
Learn how not to waste electricity!
Play safe, & enjoy life!
Everyone who gets into solar panels, off-grid power generation, batteries, etc. becomes acutely aware of how much each thing draws. It's really eye-opening to see how little some "essential" items use, and how demanding other things can be. The phantom draws, like a stove that is plugged in but not in use, can also be very surprising. The great thing about all of this is how you can tailor your energy usage by gaining this knowledge and finding alternatives, like lighting a stove manually with a match or not plugging it in unless you're using it. Also, making coffee the old-fashioned way can be more appealing, once you realize how much energy an electric coffee pot uses. The biggest surprise for most folks is how much energy can be used when heating and cooling stuff. Three of the most demanding appliances in a normal home are the hot water heater, A/C compressor and the clothes dryer. In homes heated with propane, natural gas or wood, those three things typcally use more electricity than all other draws combined! This kind of information is invaluable in an off-grid cabin. How little electricity can you use? :)
I entirely agree with you. I'm finding it a bit frustrating actually that you have to fight for every gain. Especially I'm having trouble with the idea that large watt usage devices make the inverter shut off from having the power dip trip it. (I think this is why people convert from 12 V to 24 V?)
Very cool. Some thoughts: 1. In general lithium batteries are good down to 15f for charging and can go lower for discharge, so be more cautious about charging temp than discharging temp. If you can keep your battery inside, do it. 2. I have heard of people using solar looking for older propane stoves that rely on battery sparking to light rather than the newer stoves like yours purely for power consumption reasons, but I don't know the reason why the newer stoves are power hungry. 3. When cloudy, solar power is negligible so your experience is typical, your eyes adjust to lower light conditions and fool you a bit. 4. Even if you only charge off the generator, you will still save some fuel by not having your generator idling as much. 5. With your amount of snow I would go for ground mounted panels, they're just much easier to deal with than roof mount when you want to clean snow off. 6. In northern climates, we sometimes set the angle of the solar panels quite steep to optimize for winter power and just leave summer be inefficient, because you will have a surplus in summer. 7. The length of wiring is a concern when panels are farther away. Configuring your array to output close to the max voltage that the battery can handle will minimize current as well as losses. ie: hook multiple panels in series rather than in parallel. 8. Feel free to ask in r/SolarDIY on Reddit, we try to help each other as best we can, and is a better format for lengthy explanations. 9. You will get hooked on solar, I guarantee it :) 10. Snow definitely helps with solar harvesting, bifacial panels while expensive are a good fit for northern climates because the reflection onto the back side of the panel from the snow can give you 10-30% more power during the winter when you need it most. 11. MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving (Idaho) has good videos showing a panel setup you might want to emulate and Maximus Ironthumper (UK) is kind of a mad scientist with solar and might give you some ideas. Good luck, and thanks for the content! I just started winter camping in -25 this year because of you and others :)
Fantastic info, thank you so much!
Lithium batteries are good but they are higher fire risk. And he's in ALASKA. Lithium batteries won't work in freezing temperatures for his area. It could actually cause him danger to try Lithium in alaska. Look at the temperatures for which Lithium batteries won't work, etc etc, and then look at where he's at. Others are missing this also. If he were to gamble on that and think he's safe and then end up with no ability to produce heat that could be a bad situation.
...
Lead acid batteries will work in cold conditions. But they also have some issues of their own.
Ok I have that same Eco flow box. I have mine hooked up to 4 260 watts panels up on my roof south facing. I purchased a MC4 extension cord for the panels about 40 feet.
I keep my unit indoors because like others have said the cold kills the battery much faster. As far as your oven goes. It should only run at 400 watts while it’s preheating to whatever temp you set it at. It does have a electric coil. Once it’s at the temp it should drop down to 5-10 watts. (Propane stoves)
You need to get that solar panel flat. Those bendy type of panels in my opinion are for vehicle roof mounts. Harbor freight sells a great 100 w hard panel for 100 bucks and you could use both to bring in more wattage. Until you’re ready to do a full system. At least that’s what I’ve done.
Biggest thing I can say about it. Is don’t let it get below 5% especially if it’s outdoors in the cold. Made that mistake and killed it had to send it back and have them replace it. (Good warranty) but it was still a pain because I missed my silent power maker!
It runs everything in my house. I have the new style French door refrigerator, deep freezer, front load washer, propane stove, blenders. Power tools. Never had a issue running anything as long as the peak is no more that 1500 watts.
Bring that ecoflow indoors. Lifep04 don't like cold and will stop charging if too cold
Love the Ecoflow products, just invested in Delta 2 Max and a 400w panel, plus the advantage with Delta range is you can add aditional battery for even more storage! Enjoy.
If your ecoflow was indoors it would have greater capacity. It should turn off when the temp is too low. It can output power at lower voltage than it can charge at.
In another creator site, he recommends using the power stations to power the house . Use a generator and or solar to charge the battery. Generators even on eco mode often make more power than needed to operate appliance. Having the battery in between will absorb that lost power. Many of the power stations can be linked together so you may be able to link another ecoflow to have 2000 w to last the night . As others have said bring power stations inside. Have fun
After winter blackouts (I am from Ukraine) I can say you that you can build the system much cheaper than Ecoflow. 6kW 48V inverter starts from 300$, wall mounted LiFePO4 9.6 kW less than 2k$. It will run your cabin probably during a week.
For solar - you can have near 10% of rated power in winter. In your case it's much easier to have solar in the summer and run a generator for a couple of hours once a week
Great info, Thanks!
Hey there,
about you question of the distance you can run the cable:
Long story short: As short as possible is best for efficiency.
If you like to dig a bit deeper, keep reading :)
There are two major things to consider. First how many amps do you have to run through the cable. This depends on the total maximum solar power you have (like right now 100W). P=UxI So 100W divided by the voltage of your panel (probably 12V) will tell you how many amps.
So as more panels you add (parallel circuit), as more power (watts) you will have and so for more amps to flow through your cable. Depending on the maximum allowed input voltage that’s allowed at the ecoflow, you may also be able to have some panels in serial circuit which would only increase the voltage, but not the amps (so the ecoflow input voltage is the limit and not the cable).
Eventhough your cable is pretty thick, you would always want to minimise the length of the cable, since every meter of cable is like a resistor and will produce a certain amount of heat, so energy you lose.
So you would like to keep the solar panels as close to the ecoflow as possible (couple of meters) and if needed run a 230V or 110V cable to you final destination.
Just imagine transferring your 2000W at 110V will result in about 18A, at 12V in 166A which would be ridiculous, your cable you’d literally burn.
If you have a plan for setup, let me know, happy to assist / feedback from a electrical point of view!
Perfect! Much appreciate your detailed reply!
Interesting video ! I think solar is a no brainer for you and that's meant in a good way. I was reading through the comments and there's a lot of good, helpful info from viewers.
Attach the panel(s) to the front porch with a hinge and piece of plywood. Then when it snows you can fold them under your porch and in sunlight you can adjust the panels to be directed to the sun the best.
Good idea!
One idea is get a coffee carfe to hold hot coffee. Also build or get panel rack for yard with better panels.
It is nice in a emergency to have that generator to charge the batteries. Ive seen many builds where panels are far from the home. But then cables were buried. Nice explanation of this setup.
Personally I would wire up with electric generator inside cabin.
Or a mud room built on existing porch. 👍👍👍
Great info, much appreciated!
Use a "solar weatherproof entry gland to run your cables inside to the unit. It is made for wall barriers for solar cables. I have the very same unit with a 160watt panel for my cabin in the Tennessee mtns. I have a 5cf freezer i run 2hrs on / 4hrs off, a 32in roku tv, a 12" rechargeable fan...just bought 2more for back up....love them runs for 8hrs on one charge, also 3 lamps with usb rechargeable light bulbs. I also have a Yzoni magnetic portable light that is usb, along with a small anker 140 battery bank to charge all of my usb items. Usb is your friend. I also use a 1200watt generator to top off when needed. Also, indoor/outdoor remote solar lighting is a must. It always amazes me when i visit friends as to how much electricity they consume and then complain about the bill. I offer suggestions, but it falls on def ears. Enjoy the ride of peaceful bliss. ❤
Get some more solar panels! You should have at least 4 x 100 watt panels hooked up. Then you should be ok.
I would recommend a solar panel rack with solid panels and you may not need to make it adjustable since the sun will always be low in the sky. I agree that the roof is not the best place with snow. With wires, distance builds resistance and lower output. Bigger wires help, but at low voltage they would have to be huge for long distances. Inverting the output to 110 at the source will travel further with less resistance and smaller wires, but I would keep it as close to the house as possible. There are lots of RUclips videos on solar you can watch if you have any spare time.
I have three power sources on my camper but ignoring the built in lead acid batteries, I use two 2200 watt inverter generators to run my AC in the summer and 3 100 watt solar to charge my power station. When solar is not available, or enough, I use just one of the generators to recharge the power station. My power station is a new addition and I am not sure if I can use multiple ways of charging like I do with the camper batteries. I boondock a lot and got the power station to be able to use the generators less, and have a portable power source to use in my truck. (You have probably learned by now that you need the power station inside and warm to charge and provide power more effectively.)
Good choice with Eco Flow, I love mine! You will definitely need more solar panels and more battery banks. For Alaska I would do solar racks down by the ground so you can get the snow off.
Hello, if you’re gonna have a small solar panel system, you may want to consider an old satellite stand from an internet/tv. You could put it in the ground and install a frame on it to install the panels. It is adjustable for the seasons and easy to clean snow off. Like your videos.
Great idea!
Just a thought for you from someone that lives in Tennessee and has my home of 2800 sq ft completely powered by solar only. I have a 7000 watt pure sine wave 48 volt inverter and 2 3500 watt 120 volt. And 48 volts is the only way to go. I buy my solar panels from santan solar out of Gilbert AZ. I use 3 sets of chevy volt batteries as they are already at 48 volts out of the gates. Each set is good for 366 AH. So 1098 AH powers everything in our home. Of course I have ductless mini splits throughout the house and 2 linear refrigerators and 2 linear inverter freezers and everything on gas I could get on gas. But it works flawless over the past 4 years now. I have 26 400 watt panels and it works wonderfully. Just remember that at 48 volts you get to use smaller gauge wires saving you money. When the power goes out our neighbors hate us 😆 🤣 😂
You need to watch ambition strikes. They have a dump truck made out of an old army truck. They put equal flow power station in that truck check it out. It's also got a solar panel's own top and then look at all their systems they've got a good system going
Cool, ill check that out!
Besides adding multiple panels and creating a solar array, OP might want to also consider a couple of wind turbines to supplement his energy production efforts. The beauty if wind turbines is that they work 24/7 provided there's a breeze. That being said, when the weather is the worst, it usually means the wind is blowing so even in poor weather conditions the system will continue to generate power. Combine solar and wind together and you have a near perfect system.
I think you should have no problems using solar to meet your power needs. I would keep the Ecoflow inside. I would add enough solar panels to recharge the battery to full over 5-6 hours, while using your normal demand. This would reduce your generator usage to high demand and poor weather periods.
Very nice! I know what you mean about it being existing. Just last week I took my first step into solar power… a tiny folding big blue 36 watt panel and a inui power bank. Just using it to charge flashlight batteries, phones & tablets etc. But I’m already looking at a larger set up. The xtar sp100 panel is on my list!
Good start, it's great to make a one-time purchase and generate your own power. For your location, I'd recommend looking into bifacial solar panels. They can collect solar energy from both sides so are great for snowy locations. You can also run them at steep angles which is again a good fit for your area. They'll shed snow better and be more efficient year round compared to traditional panels. With enough panels, you might not even need a bigger battery. Since you have the generator, that works as a good backup for those prolonged storm systems.
Perfect, great info. Thanks for the reply!
Something to consider is a row of panels along the front porch on hinges and adjustable struts like a mobile home awning. This would extend the porch a few feet, the hing will allow you to fold it down for cleaning and the struts adjust for sun angle. Your cabling from outside to inside will be shorter. And keep the power station inside or as close to the recommended minimum temperature because freezing will shorten the battery life not whether it will work or not.
Good call!
There are some pretty good charts for running wire to PV panels. If you get a charge controller that handles a high voltage and steps it down to battery voltage you can use smaller wire to get the same wattage as running panels at a lower voltage and higher current. The igniter on the oven is a big heat coil. I have an old oven with pilot lights at our cabin. They now make propane ranges that just uses a small battery power igniter for the oven.
Great info! Thank you Chris!
The moment you said 1kw & coffee pot 😮, eg4 6500 and eg4 5100 watt battery! With a 1k array
Very interesting! I enjoyed this video very much. KC Don 😉
Folks with solar panels are like folks with chickens...you think 1 or 2 will be enough then you get hooked. Haha. Enjoy the journey !
25' extension @ 12awg cable and rigid panels are best and you will need 400w min.
We use a similar unit for our off grid cabin but for mostly weekend trips. We can usually get full weekend using only for lights and sometimes TV. Recharge at home.
👍🏻🇬🇧🤠💯extremely exploratory Matt 👀 for the alternative power cool ,informative content as ever my friend 🤘😉Hope your well and warm up there 👍🏻🇬🇧🤠Overland Dave
Honestly for a stationary setup where it gets very cold just use flooded lead acid batteries (golf cart batteries). If you live there over pannel the setup. I think for that cabin a 1,000-1500w inverter should be fine.
I recommend using as little power during the day until system is near or full …. Then be frugal at night.
Been on solar for a bit now up in Fairbanks, they’re not too friendly to us in winter, but March-September they’re mint.
Oversize them. If you don't use much electricity that should not be an expensive solution
@@erminmax I’m not too sure what you mean by “oversize” but I’m guessing it to mean more that I need. I currently have 8 panels which produce 0.73kWh at peak. These are for my home, which is on a grid tie system.
You get the best Solar charge on totally Sunny Days. The less sun. The Less Charge . Good Video on that Stuff.
Eco is rated very High. Good panels are a must . All the Best. And yes, a Gas generator and Solar are a Good Combo- if you can Afford it..
Thanks
Better late comment than never. Just saw your channel and video today. You totally want that unit indoors. The "electronics" part can likely withstand any temperatures, but the battery has lower limits and will be damaged by extreme cold, especially charging in the cold. As well as battery capacity will diminish when super cold. Solar panels should be perpendicular to the sun for max input. If you go with permanent mount, tilt up as high as practical so snow sheds off them, even completely vertical. Scooping snow off of panels isn't fun, and the Alaska northern latitude would almost dictate that for winter operation anyway, since the sun doesn't rise very high in the sky. Summer operation may need two sets of panels pointed in opposite directions to capture the wide-ranging sun angles. Yes, I believe light reflection off of snow adds to the recieve power, experience from my system. I seem to get 50% panel output if you can see any type of shadow. If moderately overcast, I still get about 10% panel output rating. Distance limits between panels and your unit aren't an issue, but oversizing the panel cable to counteract voltage drop is a thing that should be considered. Higher voltages associated with bigger systems require special DC rated cable insulation. Things get more complicated if using multiple panels and wiring in series (higher voltage) or parallel (higher current). It all depends on the rating of your solar charge controller. Good luck to you.
You will definitely want the battery inside the house! Keep it out of the cold as much as possible.
Might look into those "solar blankets" that might work better.
With solar input of 60V/15A max you can get a single large residential panel in the 400 watt range that will let you grow as your system grows. A single 400-500 watt panel (over panel) will max out the Delta 2 for $300 range and get you the higher voltage you need to get distance away from the house.
Didn't read through all the comments, and you have probably figured it out already, but the app allows you to set the AC input charge rate between 200 and 1200 watts. So, you could bump up your input charge to better match the output of your Yamaha.
I just discovered today that my Delta 2 by itself shows in the app 200-1200 watt AC input control, but my Delta 2 paired with the Delta 2 Smart Extra Battery shows in the app 200 -1500 watts. 😂
LOL watching some Ol Dick Proenneke! Us something you can expand with some more solar. I use the Bluetti AC200MAX with the B230 batteries (2 Max) which each one is about 170ah ea so just over 500ah for the system. 4 panels of as large as you can go BUT 145v/15A max (900 Watts) and 60v/8A on the 500 Watts side (An adapter is needed for that. Great video!
Greetings from Brisbane Australia,thank you for the solar info you are giving it’s what I’ve. Been looking for as I have , a 180watt panel on for a 100watt battery for camping .
I would definitely put the stove/oven on a cut off switch if it's pulling a ghost load for the thermostat. Same for the TV as they do pull a ghost load.
Incidentally, I'd also invest in a couple of battery backup bulbs (at least one for your generator shed). I use these in my house. When the power goes out, the bulb will burn.
Great info, thanks!!
If the right wall of the cabin gets all day light…..secure them to the wall of the cabin….that way snow wont pile up on them and the cabin eave will help prevent damage!
keep the ecoflow inside run the power from the eco flow to the building & run the generator to the eco flow it will modulate the power a lot better stop surges on appliances & create a secondary trip point
It will help ya anyways, especially during the high season.
I am new to solar aswell ... I was using a 100 amp lithium batterie in my ice fishing house keeping it inside an warm it doubled the time I can use it ...
Looks like you've got a good start at solar. With the wood stove going maybe putting pot of water till it gets to 200 degrees. Take off before boiling for pouring in coffee maker a little at a time. It might save some battery power. Or..... you can get 100 degree water and pour into coffee maker and turn power on. It should save your battery still.
I have a harbor freight 100 watt system in my 8X10 cabin with an older boat battery that keeps up with my needs.. Basic lighting ,cell phone charging and occasional tv ..
Hi ! Excellent Solar Tutorial for " dummies". Very thorough . Um, off-gassing of the batterie INDOORS may be a concern for your health & wellbeing ( check on it ). Super glad it's quiet. Change is good.
Lithium iron-phosphate batteries do not off-gas. That's only a concern with lead-acid.
What he said!
All this juice on demand at a cabin fun!
alllll these juices
Try and mix up the renewable energy intake by adding wing generators if you think wind picks up nicely where you are located
Attach several of them to your roof and assign each station to particular tasks. Those panels do not cost too much so bring the power stations inside I sell solar so I think you are doing very well but get more. If you could match your system consumption on a regular day and installing additional reserve backup systems, you would have all the power you need 24 hours per day. That's a fact. As far as the snow goes if you can just get a long pool cleaning pole and break off the snow. The panels are not glass so that would be the easiest.
Perfect, thank you!!
@@alaskacabinadventures Also as a neat trick, Did you know that a grow light can power solar panels? If only the input to power the grow light could be done with the solar panels. Blue ultraviolet light is the best light for solar, so the sun lamp has to emit blue light. Imagine photovoltaic panels with deep blue light fields at night on people's homes able to produce solar power at night as well as during the day.
You shouldn't keep it outside. The cold will kill the battery both in that it will have a significantly shorter lifespan especially charging it when its cold but also you'll get less power out of the battery. Below 0 degrees C changing can kill the battery first time or at least significantly damage it. The BMS should limit charge current when cold but why risk it. Anything below 10 degrees risks damaging the battery and if it doesnt damage will at least shorten lifespan.
Welcome to solar!
great vid! can't wait to see the next step!
Definitely keep the power station in doors cold is a battery killer. Higher voltages resist distance better, but it is a concern. make sure cables are properly sized to prevent voltage drop. I would invest in some rigid panels. over panel just a bit and max out your charge input on the delta 2. Also consider the expansion battery and you should be good through the night.
Solar generators (SG) are sensitive to temperatures (too cold or too hot). Not wise to keep it outside. 10AWG gauge MC4 cables will be fine. I have two 40 ft cables connected (80 ft) to reach my home. No degradation in power at all. It’s def fun exploring solar.
Any appliance that generates heat will pull major wattage. A small electric heater on a low setting can pull 380 watts. High setting easily 700/800 watts. So it will juice down your SG quickly.
BougeRV just came out with a great 200 watt solar panel that rolls up. New technology but I think 3 of them would hang perfectly on the 3 posts in front of your cabin. Def worth looking into.
Good luck and have fun!
Nice video. Greetings from Jamaica.
Love your channel. I just found it. Thanks for the review on this product I am currently in the market to buy one of these.
Thanks!
Get solar panels made with CIGS technology. You gotta see em to believe it. They are very flexible and handle shade and damage extremely well.
Hiya mate. I have an ecoflow delta as well. but the earlier model. You really need to look at the detailed instructions about how much solar input they can handle. Mine only allows 400watts (yours might be higher) of input, and also only small panels. Up to 160w panels. So I can have 3 linked together in series. (not in parallel). In summer in australia, with my 160w panel (angled towards the sun) i got max 140w. but in cloudy times, yes much less. Mine is only for backup purposes, but yes can easily power fridge and some lights, my work computer. with enough juice to run coffee machine for a few mins, the electric part of my instant gas hot water. The other good part, which you briefly mentioned, is those ecoflow's charge quick from 240 (here in australia) or your generator. takes me 1.15mins to 1 1/2hrs to charge fully from empty from normal power. Enjoy. (just make sure you dont reverse the + / - , which you shouldnt with those connectors anyways). oh.. and looks like a great cabin. well done.
You can keep the entire system inside by putting solar panel inside on a widow sill facing outward. Yes there will be a slight power drop off when using an extension from panel to solar generator. Dr Jansen PhD physics
Perfect, thank you!
I would build a solar panel stand up off the ground on a pole that you can pivot in multiple directions as the sun moves.
Building a battery bank and buying a seperate inverter and Charge controller is more cost effective if you decide to go bigger, also it would be able to handle a larger solar input, I would probably get two 300w panels for the Delta, since I think that is the maximum it can handle, also I build a mount for the panels and position them properly to catch as much sun as possible
In Alask I think you want your panels vertical, certainly in winter. Not only does the snow fall of faster, you are more directed towards the sun. In summertime that is less important.
Just found the channel. Really enjoying it. I have a propane stove at my house and the burners are lit with piezoelectric sparking. I don't know how this works, or if it takes electricity from the grid to use, but that was the first thing I thought of.
Tom from Quebec Canada
You need a winter fridge ( ice house)
a craftsman with your skills can build easily a tiltable rotating solar panel stand, and get a gas stove that uses rechargeable aa batteries.
well, i thought you'd do something fancier than a string, bungie cord, and a tree, but, hey, it works!
The idea is to turn things on as you need them and if you don't need it turn it off, like the stove and even the fridge. The longer the cable run the more you lose from the solar. Keep the battery at least 50% charged and try to keep it fully charged. And the cold will kill a battery, bring it inside.
I have the delta max 2000 and I can go weeks off grid in my camper. On cloudy days I will use a gas generator for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening to charge my unit. I just purchase the delta 2 1300 for some added watt hours. I love eco flow
Solar is fun!
The gas gen and solar gen complement eachother well.. I would think twice about leaving the battery outside exposed to the cold and elements.. It will perform much better when kept warm
Thanks!
The Ecoflow inverter will consume some of the solar power, so you may notice that your one 100w panel will stop producing below a certain, low wattage.
My Delta Pro does the same thing and won't charge if the solar input is below about 50 watts. I expect the inverter on the Delta 2 will have a lower draw - and thus lower threshold before it begins charging.
More panels is the obvious answer to the minimum solar input, but there are things you should keep in mind when building an array:
If you set up an array, use panels with the same spec, otherwise the lowest spec panel will limit the whole array - Depending on whether you use series or parallel, either the amps or the voltage will be the limiting factor, respectively.
The Delta 2 max solar input is 500w, but it's up to you to decide how you want to structure your array to reach that max potential - series/parallel.
Arrays in series (strings) add only the voltage of each panel together.
Arrays in parallel add only the amps of each string together.
Ecoflow generators can limit the amps (and thus the wattage) down to their specified max themselves, but they cannot limit the voltage.
Be careful not to go over the max Voc of the Ecoflow generator - that will fry the unit. Also be aware that cold temperatures increase the Voc on solar panels.
The 100w flexible solar panel by Ecoflow is listed as 20.3v (at ~77F). Here's what it will increase to in colder temps:
30F = 22v
20F = 22.4v
10F = 22.8v
0F = 23.2v
You can over-panel (which is useful in winter), but you should use a parallel array so that the amps increase, and can be automatically limited by the Ecoflow generator in good weather.
A parallel array is also less prone to partial shading of the array - one shaded panel in a parallel string won't limit the output of the other strings, but a shaded panel in series will limit the whole string.
The down side of a parallel array is that you need to start calculating and paying for increased thickness of the wires to handle the increased current.
A series array is good for keeping the voltage high over long distance wiring, and doesn't require as thick a wiring to handle the current, but will suffer greater losses with partial shading.
Bring the power station inside! Super super bad on the batter to run it that cold.
Just watched your video and really liked it. I'm sure others have already told you that that battery chemistry is not supposed to be charged below 32° f otherwise it will greatly shorten the life of the battery and damage it. Also I'm sure others have told you to bring the battery inside to keep it warmer and just run your cord inside the house and plug into it.
Thank you for the reply, I am keeping it inside now until the weather warms up. I seems to have a smart charger in it, and won't let me charge when it's below temp.
Running lithium batteries in a camper van, I can tell you that you def want to keep the power unit inside and warm.
if the distance your looking to run is super long think about using a full bridge rectifier to convert from dc to ac for the long run then back to dc at the inverter. ac is better for long runs and the wires wont need to be nearly as large.
How interesting!
i am very jealous you get to do this lol....!! although im still kinda young
You might look at also adding a small wind turbine to provide charge to the Ecoflow, that would at least allow you to add some charge to it at night (and the day) if there is any type of wind there.
Your's is an Excellent, first try novice solar experiment. Your accomplishments and your observations make you well on your way.
I live in a sunny 😎 locale Southern California and dabble in backyard solar power experiments and I am an also retired electrical engineer.
My Solar power interest is limited unlike your off-the grid, is camping electricity & survival power after SoCal has the expected San Andreas Earthquake.
My objective to be able to power a 600 W Microwave Oven that is likely to draw 1000 Watts. But I also have generators too.
Comments
1) First your observations of device wattage usage in my experience are right on. Suggest you might want to buy a Kill-A-Watt meter $25 to $30 available over the Internet to conveniently measure power of individual devices. (But that 400 Watt Propane Stove draw is a mystery to me. That is equivalent to cooking with a large electric Crock Pot. You might want to pull the plug on it when not in use. Clock & timers use under 10W.)
2) Don't know what you paid for your flexible 100 W solar panel. But I know flexible panels aren't cheap. Suggest checkout Harbor Freight's single 100 W rigid solar panel Reg $129 but often $99 during quarterly/holiday sales. It's been rated superior to an expensive name brand 100 W panel. Harbor Freight also has a solar panel combiner $20 that allows you to connect four of the 100 Watt Solar Panels in parallel to a single output. So you would have400 Watts at 12.5 to 13.5 Volts.
3) Your early reports of of 25W to 38W was no surprise to me because maximum solar power is only achieved on CLEAR, BRIGHT, SUNNY SUMMER DAYS AROUND NOOTIME.
4) It may surprise YOU to know that NO SOLAR panel produces it's advertised watrage power at 12 VDC. Advertised power rating are manufacturer's fixtious testing ratings. In your case a 100 W panel produces on clear sunny day about 5.5 amps output is for 18 to 22 Volt Open Circuit (eg no load) reading or ~100W.
But your solar battery load is only 12.5 VDC. where Watts = Volts × Amps = 12 VDC × 5.5 Amps = 66 Watts.
5) So I was surprised you later reported a maximum of 80W from a 100 W solar panel. When in my experience it should have been about 66 Watts. This is what you earlier measured.
An approximate rule of thumb on bright, clear sunny day APPROXIMATELY 1000 Watts of energy falls on 1 square meter or 1.19 square yards. My 100 Watt Solar panel is NOT 1 square meter. It's a smaller area as I suspect yours is too.
Internet says (Most 100 Watt size solar panels have a power conversion rate of 15-20%. More expensive 300 W & 400 W have higher percentages. Also solar panels will ONLY produce about 25 percent as much energy on a cloudy day as they would on a sunny one.)
However, when you measured 80 W you mention that it it was more sunny and it was difficult to see due refection off the snow. Now that snow reflection might provide the higher explanation for the higher 80 Watts. (The Internet says snow can reflect up to 90% of the sunlight light that strikes it.)
An approximate rule of thumb on bright, clear sunny day APPROXIMATELY 1000 Watts of energy falls on 1 square meter or 1.19 square yard. For discoss
Internet says (Most 100 Watt size solar panels have a power conversion rate of 15-20%. Also solar panels will produce about 25 percent as much energy on a cloudy day as they would on a sunny one.)
If would make sense if you could position a mirror to perfectly reflect additional 2x sunlight on your solar panel to receive ~2000 Watts per square meter. Then one would expect a higher solar panel wattage output.
So the bright refection off your snow I feel is responsible for your higher 80W generated.
But my advice is to only expect 66 Watts maximum for a 12 Volt 100 Watt Solar panel. If you were to buy 4x panels from Harbor Freight and expect a maximum of ~265 Watts not 400 Watts. Unless you have bright snow reflection.
6) You chose a Lithium Phosphate battery that is an excellent choice since YOU are off the grid.
Because
a) You will use and recharge it daily and you expect it to last 4+ years or more. I chose to buy used recycled lead acid automobile batteries G24 approx 70 amp-hrs. Why recycled lead acid auto versus deep cycle batteries? Answer my intended use and lower cost. I only intend to use them in emergency a say at most a dozen or two times. My use is not for off-the-grid living..I buy them for $20 to $40 each, versus deep cycle lead acid batteries costing $120 to $200 each. Whereas Lithium Phosphate batteries $300 to $500 each.
b) They say Lithium Phosphate and Lead Acid Deep Cycle batteries can be discharged down to 80%, but manufacturers also say it will shorten it's lifetime. Most manufacturers suggest that you only discharge down to only 50% for longer life.
For my auto recycled auto batteries it's suggested to limit discharge down to only 50%. Also auto batteries typically have a recycled life of 2+ years. My luck with recent auto batteries have been 6 to 8 years. For longer life limit discharge to only 20%. Eg daily starting and recharging autos.
But unlike lead acid batteries & lead acid deep cycle lead acid batteries with their fumes, Lithium Phosphate batteries are clean and can be stored indoors.
Well that's everything I know. Hope it helps.
- Paul
- in sunny, warm 🌞 SoCal
Again, thank you so much for the detailed and informative replies Paul! Much appreciated!
You might also consider a wood stove thermoelectric generator.
set up a ground-level solar array for that unit in a clear area with 400 watts. that way you can simply sweep the panels to remove the snow.
I think this will be the ticket...Thanks!
Have you considered Peltier generators? They generate electricity when you heat one side and cool the other. You could tile the outside of a metal chimney and turn waste heat in to electricity. Especially when it's so cold outside.
Never heard of em!
@@alaskacabinadventures there are campfire gadgets that charge your phone that way. It's just a sandwich of two tiles. When one side is hot and one side is cold it generates electricity. Might be perfect for your situation with the hot stovepipe and the freezing air.
A lot of good info for sure. Have you checked into unplugging your oven and only plugging it in when you want to use it. I have also heard there are gas ovens that require no electric too. 👍
It only pulls when I turn the oven on. But still, it's too much to use, going to be looking for a new oven I guess.
How much wind do you get there? Have you thought about a windmill, as a back up? Would you be able to use a windmill to charge a battery? I’m a city girl, and love seeing the new projects you’re building, and enjoying going back to see the beginning of your journey.
Thanks! I get almost zero wind at the cabin, which is usually a bonus!
To not ruin your view, an array on the east or west side of the house, just forward or aft of the house to keep the shade from getting on the panels would probably be good. You could make a pergola, lean-to, gazebo, etc., or just have the array by itself.
You may want to look at Thermovoltaic devices like fans(on stoves which circulate the heat) and generators (cost?). Vids here on RUclips.
The unit needs ti be in a warm area. You will need to bring that wiring inside somehow. Second thing is never deplete you power station below 20%.