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One way to make such a system less expensive is to use a used battery that still holds a charge. I just replaced my car battery because it’s 6 years old and I don’t want any breakdown because of that. It still tests out fine with a load tester so I kept it and have connected it up to my 2 Trojan 6V (in series) that are hooked up to my solar panels on my camper. I really like the setup in this video as one learns about how to hook up to controllers etc. Great starter kit!
Overall a good video, aside from a few technical errors. The big one a couple of people commented on, the battery. But surprisingly nobody I saw mentioned the LED power supply is a Transformer and not a Inverter. But a good video nonetheless.
The use case scenario I keep coming back to is occasional power for a shed including overcast days. So, battery plus inverter. Solar + batt powers lights and recharges cordless tools, and “recovers” during the times when you don’t need lights or recharging of cordless tools. The concern I have is once the batt is depleted due to overcast weather the inverter shuts off, and when it comes back your cordless batteries on their chargers suffer another charge cycle and might not be available to use if the charger brought them down near zero before charging again. Make sense?
@@everydaysolar Hi Scott. I'm not 100% sold on my idea of charging and storing expensive cordless tool batteries outdoors. But it's either that, traipsing to my basement, or have them scattered all over the house as now (my garage is detached, not a lot of space or power running to it.) And like I said, if and when an inverter went offline, now the batteries go through yet another charge cycle when it comes back up. So I'd have to calculate how long a solar-setup battery or batteries would support an already-charged tool battery, if that makes sense ... for when the sun isn't available. I have batteries from 2aH to 12aH. The small ones will charge in 30-40 mins, the large pair for my M18 mower in Milwaukee's Rapid Charger require 2 hours. The Rapid Charger outputs 108 watts (18v at 6A) into the M18 batteries. I have two additional power tool platforms I'm on, but those chargers all consume less power. Only the two 12aH batts charge every week, or twice a week when the lawn is really growing. Everything else is mostly a drill/impact or occasionally the M18 string trimmer. They might get charged once every 2 weeks, or less if I'm not heavy on DIY projects. At any rate I'd be inclined to get an inverter for all of that + standard 120v lights.
@@thenexthobby This is an area where a little smarts can manage the inverter. For example, if you get an inverter which has an external control input for turning it on and off (not just a manual switch), and say if you had a Victron charge controller, then you could actually program the Victron charge controller's I/O output to shut the inverter off when the battery gets low and (more importantly) not turn it on again until the battery is near full. That way you could guarantee that the inverter isn't cycling and restarting the charger cycle too often. Power tool batteries also have significant capacity, often exceeding 100Wh, which means the shed solar system would need a fairly hefty battery. And there is another problem in that if you are running an AC inverter from the solar+battery, the inverter itself is going to eat 10-20W (depending) just doing nothing. That's 240Wh/day to 480Wh/day in losses by leaving the inverter turned on even if it isn't charging anything. So now not only do you need a fairly hefty battery, you also need a good amount of solar panels to ensure operation. 480Wh/day is roughly the full output of a 100W solar panel. So you would want probably three or four 100W solar panels or something like that, at a minimum. -Matt
Nice video! I'm hoping you can help me out a bit. I'm working on a wiring diagram for a solar setup in my sauna. As of now, i have 2 dimmer switches, a 5 gang toggle switch with led that will connect to (2) 12v sconces, and an overhead 12v led. I also have photocell connected to a 12v step light and landscape lighting on the path. All interior lights will only be used 1 hr a day, and outside will be on from sunset to sunrise. How do i size the charge controller and necessary solar panel output? Or given what i want to setup, could you recommend a count/wattage of solar panels, a charge controller and battery for my application? Thank you!!
Some of the PWM and MPPT chage controllers have the load output and the USB(5v) output. The load output has less current available than connecting to the battery. Do the charge controllers load and USB outputs, get power direct from the solar panels only, or do they also work at night taking power from the battery?
For sure, you can get the same kit with 8 or even more strips. They are primarily made for under kitchen cabinet lighting so pretty flexible configuration 👍
Set up a 110W panel with 12V deep cycle battery yesterday. Was charging great yesterday. Hooked up 300w power inverter and plugged in a fan . All worked fine yesterday. Today inverter is dead...
I have 3 100w ecoflow solar panels and an ecoflow delta 2. Can I add a lithium battery to it and charge it with the panels? Basically creating an off grid system
Well, more like protecting the battery and wiring from shorts that might occur. So you always want to fuse a battery's positive terminal as close to the positive terminal as possible, no matter what. That saves you from a fire or worse if you accidentally short the battery cable while messing with it. You want to fuse the battery EVEN WHEN the battery has a BMS and short-circuit protection of its own. You never want to be in a situation where shorting a wire... ANY wire, can over-power the wire and turn it into a line of fire.
Lipo is NOT LiFePO4, or LFP. Lipo is lithium polymer, which is not a good choice for a simple storage battery. It's also not a good 12v substitute battery.
Well, its certainly cheap, but I don't think its a good idea to use some of these combinations of devices. Even if the purpose is to make the system as cheap as possible. There is such a thing as being too cheap and this really fits that critique. At the point where you consider doing all of that it is just a better idea to simply buy a small power station instead. For example, that 12V 35Ah lead-acid battery has a usable capacity of around 210Wh. Well, ok. An EcoFlow River 2 power station has a 256 Wh capacity and integrates a far superior set of features together except the solar panels themselves for $240 on Amazon. So you get a MPPT charge controller, 256 Wh LiFePO4 battery, AC outputs, DC outputs, USB-A and USB-C outputs, and three ways to charge it up, along with serious safety features on all ports, all for just $240. -- Even if price is a goal, there is such a thing as going "too cheap". When DIYing systems, even if you want the initial system to be cheap, it is also extremely important to make the initial system able to scale without having to throw away any of the existing gear that you spent money on. You can't do that with this system. Not really. For DIY, in modern times, from scratch, there are some minimums. The bare minimum is MPPT charge controller and at least a 24V battery system voltage. The higher voltage gives you huge expansion capability without having to replace existing gear. And generally speaking, LiFePO4 and the ability to parallel no less than 4 batteries (though starting with one is just fine). And also wire it with expansion in mind... means generally using busses and screwing the pieces into a backplate to keep everything neat. Any smaller than that and it doesn't make sense to do anything other than buy a small LiFePO4 power station.
I have about a dozen 68V/195W solar panels that I’m trying to set up a power system for. I can’t seem to find a controller that’s the proper size for them. Can anyone give me any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
@@EverydayHomeRepairs As many as I can or need to for a 120v off grid back up systems I think I may have 20 panels. (I started replacing some of the old connectors with MC4s). I would also like to be able to use a couple of them with my ECO Deltas if possible but connecting them directly didn’t work as the voltage was too high.
@@billsedutto8824get an MPPT charge controller. Connect 10 pcs in parallel. Connect the battery out to your eco Delta pro. I have some glass KANEKA panels with similar specs
@@billsedutto8824 68V 195W panels? Must be old panels! What you are probably looking for is a string inverter or a hybrid inverter. So look for an off-grid hybrid inverter with solar inputs that can handle a few hundred volts (500-600V maximum is typical). There are many. EG4, Growatt, Sol-ark, etc. At least a dozen brands that would do what you need done. They won't be cheap, but 20 x 195W is 3.9kW ... well past the "cobble it together" stage. With 20 panels you are probably talking two strings of 10 panels each in series. Actually no... at 68V it would have to be like three strings of 7 panels each. roughly. Makes things a bit more complicated.
@@junkerzn7312 Yeah they are older. They have the old connectors which I started replacing with MC4s. I got them at a garage sale for $500 and though I’d take a chance. Previous owner was using them in a grid tied system but I’m only interested in off grid. I think you are correct about the 2 x 10 setup. I’m pretty sure that how he was using them. Appreciate your help and will look into those recommendations. Thanks!
Calculate Solar Cost For Your Home - geni.us/solar_reviews
Beginner DIY Solar Parts List: geni.us/cwvLjG
Solar Panel Mounting Angle Calculator: geni.us/z8r7
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.
One way to make such a system less expensive is to use a used battery that still holds a charge. I just replaced my car battery because it’s 6 years old and I don’t want any breakdown because of that. It still tests out fine with a load tester so I kept it and have connected it up to my 2 Trojan 6V (in series) that are hooked up to my solar panels on my camper. I really like the setup in this video as one learns about how to hook up to controllers etc. Great starter kit!
Thanks for the feedback Mike 👍
Excellent information! I'm trying to help someone get set up with a basic 12 volt off-grid system, and your tutorial is PERFECT!
Great, happy the video helped.
Thanks for showing this simple set up. It’s doable and functional.
You bet!
There are some foldable panels that have USB ports right on the panel. Rockpal Rockpower 120w is an example
Nice, thanks for the feedback!
Overall a good video, aside from a few technical errors. The big one a couple of people commented on, the battery. But surprisingly nobody I saw mentioned the LED power supply is a Transformer and not a Inverter. But a good video nonetheless.
Thanks for the feedback 👍
You make its clear bro❤
Thanks!
Great noob instructional video, thanks! I even ordered the Sidekick collapsible work table from Amazon. 🙂
That little Sidekick table is super handy.
The use case scenario I keep coming back to is occasional power for a shed including overcast days. So, battery plus inverter.
Solar + batt powers lights and recharges cordless tools, and “recovers” during the times when you don’t need lights or recharging of cordless tools.
The concern I have is once the batt is depleted due to overcast weather the inverter shuts off, and when it comes back your cordless batteries on their chargers suffer another charge cycle and might not be available to use if the charger brought them down near zero before charging again.
Make sense?
Makes sense to me, what size batteries do you have for your cordless tools? 18V and 5 Ah, larger? How often do you charge each battery?
@@everydaysolar Hi Scott. I'm not 100% sold on my idea of charging and storing expensive cordless tool batteries outdoors. But it's either that, traipsing to my basement, or have them scattered all over the house as now (my garage is detached, not a lot of space or power running to it.) And like I said, if and when an inverter went offline, now the batteries go through yet another charge cycle when it comes back up.
So I'd have to calculate how long a solar-setup battery or batteries would support an already-charged tool battery, if that makes sense ... for when the sun isn't available.
I have batteries from 2aH to 12aH. The small ones will charge in 30-40 mins, the large pair for my M18 mower in Milwaukee's Rapid Charger require 2 hours. The Rapid Charger outputs 108 watts (18v at 6A) into the M18 batteries. I have two additional power tool platforms I'm on, but those chargers all consume less power.
Only the two 12aH batts charge every week, or twice a week when the lawn is really growing. Everything else is mostly a drill/impact or occasionally the M18 string trimmer. They might get charged once every 2 weeks, or less if I'm not heavy on DIY projects. At any rate I'd be inclined to get an inverter for all of that + standard 120v lights.
@@thenexthobby This is an area where a little smarts can manage the inverter. For example, if you get an inverter which has an external control input for turning it on and off (not just a manual switch), and say if you had a Victron charge controller, then you could actually program the Victron charge controller's I/O output to shut the inverter off when the battery gets low and (more importantly) not turn it on again until the battery is near full.
That way you could guarantee that the inverter isn't cycling and restarting the charger cycle too often.
Power tool batteries also have significant capacity, often exceeding 100Wh, which means the shed solar system would need a fairly hefty battery.
And there is another problem in that if you are running an AC inverter from the solar+battery, the inverter itself is going to eat 10-20W (depending) just doing nothing. That's 240Wh/day to 480Wh/day in losses by leaving the inverter turned on even if it isn't charging anything.
So now not only do you need a fairly hefty battery, you also need a good amount of solar panels to ensure operation. 480Wh/day is roughly the full output of a 100W solar panel. So you would want probably three or four 100W solar panels or something like that, at a minimum.
-Matt
I appreciate the insight, Matt. Thanks.@@junkerzn7312
Clear and precise! Cheers
Nice video! I'm hoping you can help me out a bit. I'm working on a wiring diagram for a solar setup in my sauna. As of now, i have 2 dimmer switches, a 5 gang toggle switch with led that will connect to (2) 12v sconces, and an overhead 12v led. I also have photocell connected to a 12v step light and landscape lighting on the path. All interior lights will only be used 1 hr a day, and outside will be on from sunset to sunrise.
How do i size the charge controller and necessary solar panel output? Or given what i want to setup, could you recommend a count/wattage of solar panels, a charge controller and battery for my application?
Thank you!!
Some of the PWM and MPPT chage controllers have the load output and the USB(5v) output. The load output has less current available than connecting to the battery.
Do the charge controllers load and USB outputs, get power direct from the solar panels only, or do they also work at night taking power from the battery?
Would this setup power a 30-40 watt fish tank pump for aquaponics.
Hmm interesting 🤨 nice idea for a shed, might need more extensions for the clip on light
For sure, you can get the same kit with 8 or even more strips. They are primarily made for under kitchen cabinet lighting so pretty flexible configuration 👍
How about connecting a socket to the dc output and plug the adapter
Set up a 110W panel with 12V deep cycle battery yesterday. Was charging great yesterday. Hooked up 300w power inverter and plugged in a fan . All worked fine yesterday. Today inverter is dead...
And the inverter light on charge controller is blank. What would make inverter burn out so quickly?
I have 3 100w ecoflow solar panels and an ecoflow delta 2. Can I add a lithium battery to it and charge it with the panels? Basically creating an off grid system
Hmmm, I don't think you are going to be able to connect up a separate battery to the Delta 2 resulting in expanded battery capacity.
You mention it's "lithium ion"... I think you meant to say "lithium iron phosphate" or "LFP"
Absolutely correct, that was a mistake on my end. Thanks for the feedback.
LifePO4 is not the same as Lithuum ION correct ?
Hi, why do you need a fuse if you’re using a charge controller?
Cheap protection for any over current scenarios.
Well, more like protecting the battery and wiring from shorts that might occur. So you always want to fuse a battery's positive terminal as close to the positive terminal as possible, no matter what. That saves you from a fire or worse if you accidentally short the battery cable while messing with it.
You want to fuse the battery EVEN WHEN the battery has a BMS and short-circuit protection of its own.
You never want to be in a situation where shorting a wire... ANY wire, can over-power the wire and turn it into a line of fire.
Solar powered golf cart build video please
Man, that sounds like fun 🙌
Always avoid sealed lead acid The amperage can be enticing But youre lucky to get 50% cycles always go lipo ✌🏻🙏🏻👍🏻🇺🇸 End of life on lipo is still 80pc
Lipo is NOT LiFePO4, or LFP. Lipo is lithium polymer, which is not a good choice for a simple storage battery. It's also not a good 12v substitute battery.
Well, its certainly cheap, but I don't think its a good idea to use some of these combinations of devices. Even if the purpose is to make the system as cheap as possible. There is such a thing as being too cheap and this really fits that critique. At the point where you consider doing all of that it is just a better idea to simply buy a small power station instead.
For example, that 12V 35Ah lead-acid battery has a usable capacity of around 210Wh. Well, ok. An EcoFlow River 2 power station has a 256 Wh capacity and integrates a far superior set of features together except the solar panels themselves for $240 on Amazon. So you get a MPPT charge controller, 256 Wh LiFePO4 battery, AC outputs, DC outputs, USB-A and USB-C outputs, and three ways to charge it up, along with serious safety features on all ports, all for just $240.
--
Even if price is a goal, there is such a thing as going "too cheap". When DIYing systems, even if you want the initial system to be cheap, it is also extremely important to make the initial system able to scale without having to throw away any of the existing gear that you spent money on. You can't do that with this system. Not really.
For DIY, in modern times, from scratch, there are some minimums. The bare minimum is MPPT charge controller and at least a 24V battery system voltage. The higher voltage gives you huge expansion capability without having to replace existing gear. And generally speaking, LiFePO4 and the ability to parallel no less than 4 batteries (though starting with one is just fine). And also wire it with expansion in mind... means generally using busses and screwing the pieces into a backplate to keep everything neat.
Any smaller than that and it doesn't make sense to do anything other than buy a small LiFePO4 power station.
Yeah, I agree the power stations from the major players are a compelling price point for the lighter demand use cases like this.
Good video
Thanks!
I have about a dozen 68V/195W solar panels that I’m trying to set up a power system for. I can’t seem to find a controller that’s the proper size for them. Can anyone give me any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
How many panels do you want to string together?
@@EverydayHomeRepairs As many as I can or need to for a 120v off grid back up systems I think I may have 20 panels. (I started replacing some of the old connectors with MC4s). I would also like to be able to use a couple of them with my ECO Deltas if possible but connecting them directly didn’t work as the voltage was too high.
@@billsedutto8824get an MPPT charge controller. Connect 10 pcs in parallel. Connect the battery out to your eco Delta pro. I have some glass KANEKA panels with similar specs
@@billsedutto8824 68V 195W panels? Must be old panels! What you are probably looking for is a string inverter or a hybrid inverter. So look for an off-grid hybrid inverter with solar inputs that can handle a few hundred volts (500-600V maximum is typical). There are many. EG4, Growatt, Sol-ark, etc. At least a dozen brands that would do what you need done.
They won't be cheap, but 20 x 195W is 3.9kW ... well past the "cobble it together" stage. With 20 panels you are probably talking two strings of 10 panels each in series. Actually no... at 68V it would have to be like three strings of 7 panels each. roughly. Makes things a bit more complicated.
@@junkerzn7312 Yeah they are older. They have the old connectors which I started replacing with MC4s. I got them at a garage sale for $500 and though I’d take a chance. Previous owner was using them in a grid tied system but I’m only interested in off grid. I think you are correct about the 2 x 10 setup. I’m pretty sure that how he was using them. Appreciate your help and will look into those recommendations. Thanks!
Where’s the wagos?
WAGO lever nuts don't make it in every video I do 😂
Isn't that a lithium phosphate battery, not lithium ion? Lithium ion is much less cycles than phosphate. (@6:00)
Yep, you are correct. I misspoke as the one shown is LiFePO4 👍
LiFePO4 is a type of Lithium-ion battery, as there are different types of chemistries which fall in the Lithium-ion category.