The best video series I've ever seen about anything new that I know nothing about! I am so much more informed now. Thank you!!! Question for you - can you have a small solar panel and a big battery? I get that it might take more time to load the battery. The application I'm thinking of is to charge a big battery constantly and then use it for 3-4 hrs a night to watch tv, run a lamp or 2 and charge my phone and laptops with the intention of using my phone and laptops on their own battery power during the day?
+Leeanne Barr Wow, thanks! That is high praise! If you pair a big battery with too small of a solar panel you risk never being able to fully charge the battery. If it takes a 20w solar panel 10 hours to charge a 200ah battery (I don't know how long but lets just assume), then it will never be fully charged because you will never have 10 sun hours in a day (even in the summer the most you get of direct sunlight to the panel is 6-7 hours). If you added a small wind turbine to that then you might have a workable solution since a wind turbine can produce power 24 hours a day as long as there is a breeze. If you want to send me the power consumption requirements of your tv and devices and what city you live near then I can do the calculations and tell you what you would need.
+LDSreliance Oh. Thank you!! Well I went to this site - www.donrowe.com/usage-chart-a/259.htm - and estimated accordingly. I'd say for day I'd need about 265 watts and for night I'd need about 100 watts. Let's say 400 watts for the day to include a lamp or 2. I don't know how duration of use plays into this. Does this give you enough to estimate??? BTW - I can't do the wind turbine. Not enough wind. I live Downtown Vancouver, Canada. I'm in a condo with not much direct sunlight but I hope I can take advantage of daylight hours.
Leeanne Barr Duration plays a big part because it determines the size of the battery. If you use your tv for one hour that is a lot different from 4 hours. Yes, Vancouver is bad. It only averages 3 hours of direct sunlight per day for solar. So according to my calculations, if you wanted to run 400 watts of load for 3 hours per day you would need 800 watts of solar panels and 200 amp hours of batteries. The good news is that most tv's don't use anywhere near 400 watts. So if you run an LED lamp (10 watts), a 40" LCD tv (150 watts or less), and charge your cell phone and tablet (10-15 watts), you really only need about 175 watts instead of 400. That drops things down to 350 watts of solar panels and 90 amp hours of batteries.
oh god dude i love you! you are so cool and easy to follow man.please keep posting vids man...... you dont know some of us old schoolers are clueless until you break it down for us i mean it..you do a great job .thanks.
I watched all 4 parts. Followed everything completely. Thank you for taking the mystery out of solar power wiring. I especially appreciate the info about load centers. Up next, the "Will it solar" series.
+cdvmyerslbc2 Awesome. Hopefully you enjoy that series. I enjoyed making it and hope to bring it back this summer for at least another 4-5 episodes. Stay tuned!
Wow thank you, I really wanted to heat my small greenhouse 6ft x 12 ft but when I heard you say that running a heater should cost a lot I solar panels. This past winter it cost me an extra $200 a month really need a alternative way! Thank you
Unfortunately, electric heat is too power hungry to do that with solar without investing a fortune. I'd look at propane heat or some sort of passive solar radiant heating.
Hi. Thanks for a great series of videos. I'm a rank beginner, still don't get a lot of it, but these videos definitely help. Here's my question: How many solar panels of what wattage, and how many and what kind of batteries, do I need to run my deep freezer. It's a Frigidaire model FFC0923DW and these are the specs: Voltage Rating = 115V /60 Hz / 5 A; Connected Load (KW rating) @115 volts = .6; Amps @ 115 volts = 5; Minimum Circuit Required (Amps) = 15. Of course, this is running 24/7 and I live in the desert southwest with nonstop sunshine! Thanks in advance!
Lily, thanks for the comment! Assuming that the motor on the freezer actually runs 1/3 the time (since it kicks on and off all day) and it uses its full rated power (5 amps x 115v = 575 watts) then you are looking at needing 782 amp hours of batteries and 1,750 watts of solar panels. You could look at getting 6 of these batteries minimum (www.amazon.com/Vmaxtanks-Vmaxslr125-rechargeable-Solar-Inverters/dp/B00ACNO2AO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1470328027&sr=8-4&keywords=solar+battery) to meet that amp hour requirement.
I love your stuff. I respect how you are very careful to explain why doing a particular thing isn’t financially reasonable. May I humbly make a request? That when you get to one of those points in your video and you explain that--you take a moment and say--“well what if money were no object?” And very quickly describe what you need to do and roughly what it would cost. I’m not a rich man but they were times watching your presentations when I thought I might like to do something for a friend and I just needed that little bit more information. I’ll just give you an example. I have one 100 W panel. I live in Arizona where there is virtually Sun all day every day. What could I do if I had an unlimited supply of storage batteries?
Thanks! I am glad you like it. No, you can't connect directly to a battery unless you really know what you are doing and are going to manually charge the battery yourself.
Thank you for this series of videos. I started my day wanting to get a solar set up for a pop-up tent trailer for camping. Had absolutely no idea what that actually meant, so I started digging around online. Watched a couple Aussie videos and realized I stepped into a hornets nest of stuff I was clueless about. I saw some great set-ups, but had no clue what I was actually looking at. Your videos gave me an idea of what I was seeing as well as an idea as to where to start in my search for solar power. I can see now that I won't be running the AC unit as I had previously thought, but it's still a good idea to power the lights and electronics, as well as keep the batteries charged up without needing to fire up the generator every time. Now I just have to tear into the tent trailer to see what the inverter and load center is rated and see if it needs to be upgraded along with the battery when I get some panels and a controller. Thanks again!
+Terry McGhee Awesome, Terry! Glad I could help. I am glad you watched the videos before running out and buying a kit or something. It sounds like you now have a pretty good understanding of the basics. Stay tuned to my channel as I just launched a video series called Solar Basics that is going to go over different components of solar panel systems in a little more detail. Thanks for watching!
Helpful video. Is it the solar panel continuously charging up the battery bank while loads are running? My goal is to leave the appliance running 24/7.
Yes, the solar panel will continue to feed the batteries while there is light. And as long as the input from the solar panels exceeds the output that the loads (appliance) are consuming then you will be charging the batteries. Once the input falls below the output, the battery bank will be discharging.
There's nothing like a keep it simple video. Clear and unhurried! Thank you. I wonder if you guide me on something no one seems to be able to give me a good answer on? I want to run a 1500w induction motor circular saw occasionally for about 20 min at a time once or twice a week at most. I know I could use a generator but I don't like the noise or the pollution. If I mounted a 100w 24v solar panel connected through an mppt controller inverter via LIFEP04 150amp battery would I have enough power to run that saw for about 20min including the headroom to start the saw which I was told could be 3 times the 1500w needed to run the saw? I'd greatly appreciate your response. Thank you once again for an informative set of videos.
Great man. An excellent and clear demonstration for understanding solar energy usage for beginners like me. Thanks very much hope more and more video as raised by FAQ.
I have learned so much from these videos. I am becoming corageous enough to give it a try for my RV. At least enough to get the house batteries charged.
+Used RV Homers Yeah, that would be really easy. You could even do it with a pair of jumper cables for your car, a solar panel, and a charge controller. Just lean the solar panel up against the RV when you are boondocking, connect the red and black wires to the charge controller, and connect the charge controller to your house batteries with some jumper cables (you will need a small piece of wire to connect to the controller terminals labeled "battery" and then clamp on the alligator clips on the jumper cables to that). Simple setup in 5 minutes and easy take down.
Some cheap controllers have to be connected in a certain sequence to avoid damaging the electronics. Unfortunately, they usually come with bad documentation so sometimes you don't know that it needs to be connected that way.
Great videos. I just acquired 17 260W Suniva panels but am having trouble figuring out a 220V charge / inverter for off grid. I would also like to know about series and parallel connecting for panels (how to)? Can you pigtail? Do you just connect panels directly into each other?
Good video. I'm going to build a portable system for camping, etc., but still plan on using it at home to power low-draw stuff, iPad, Pods, LED light. My question is what happens when the panel fully charges the generator battery but is still connected to the battery? The panel is still generating electricity, but there's nowhere for it to go.
+Mike Masztal Good question. No electricity is generated in that case. Here is a good explanation I borrowed from elsewhere: "The photons from the sun have energy and momentum, but not "electricity". Essentially, a photon (solar or otherwise) striking the solar panel can create an electron-hole pair (EHP) and, if the EHP is within or near the depletion zone, the pair will be separated by the built-in electric field. This results in a separation of charge and with that, a voltage across the panel. If there is an external circuit connected, there will be an electric current through the circuit. But, if there is no external circuit through which an electric current can circulate, the electric field due to the separated charge opposes further separation of charge; the generated electron-hole pairs simply recombine rather than separate. Electric power is the product of voltage and current. If there is no external circuit, there can be no current and thus no electric power can be delivered by the panel, i.e., the "electricity" is never developed and thus, there is no need to consider "where it goes"."
Mike Masztal Oh it does. I thought you were asking where the electricity goes generated by the panel if the controller cuts off the power. The charge controller will either shut off the charging current or switch to a float program where it delivers a small trickle of power to counteract the natural discharging of the battery as it sits.
i have a oscillating car fan that run directly from my solar panel its just that the power it makes is not constant..theres so much sunshine here makes it fun to use...and led strip lights direct from 10watt panel still works even when raining...:-):-):-):-)
Very cool. Yeah the power from a solar panel is not constant voltage so that is why most devices need to run through a charge controller to smooth out the power and have a battery connected for when a cloud passes over or something.
Very educational video. Thanks for sharing. I'm living in a newly constructed home that came with included solar. My mother in law asked me about batteries. Does a residential setup of about 5 panels require battery packs? I believe it's run through my local power company's grid so I didn't think so. If I do have them, I can't find them anywhere.
+Tim Bruno No, your system is a grid-tied system and 95% of the time they do not have batteries. That is one of the good parts of grid-tied is that you can save big $$ on batteries and charge controllers and other devices. It is much simpler and less maintenance. However, if the power company experiences a power outage so will you. Your solar panels will not work when the grid goes down, even if it is sunny outside.
I understand that when a panel gets hot it can begin to degrade. How much of a problem is this in areas like South Florida where summer temps can easily exceed 100F?
Thank you for these videos. How can I determine the thickness of the wire required? How do we calculate the loses encountered in the system in order to minimize them?
+Toni Laderach Good questions. The gauge of the wire is determined by knowing how many feet of cable you need and how many amps of power you will be running. You will also need to know the voltage of the system (usually 12v) and that will play a big part in your losses, too. 12v will lose a LOT more voltage over a distance than 24v or higher. That is one of the only drawbacks to a purely 12v system is you will have to use thicker wires and keep your wires as short as possible.
Question. (1) Can I charge the Battery that is in an Elect scooter. ( can take it out of the scooter and plug it into the wall. It is the size of a 12 V car battery. (2) can I charge hand tools that use a rechargeable battery? [I want to thank you for your simple explanation om how to hook up to Solar. Thanks.
Thanks for watching, Keith! Yes, you can charge most any battery with solar. You just need to have a solar panel and a charge controller. For the rechargeable power tool batteries, since they only charge with AC chargers, you would need an inverter to be able to provide AC power to the charger that the power tools came with.
I've watched all of your four tutorials. What is the role of the Load Center? I guess the answer is to distribute the output voltage. Then it might not be a necessary one if we don't use a power breaker in it. I have two questions, 1. Can I directly charge the battery from the Solar panel or it would be better to use a Charge Controller? 2. When the battery is connected to both the Solar panel and the output load (without any charge controller or load center) as a DC voltage then which output will I get the Solar or Battery voltage or both ? Is it a bad idea?
The load center is to take one output (power from your batteries) and direct that power to multiple loads through individual breakers. You are correct, it is not necessary. 1) You need a charge controller. See this video for more info about why: ruclips.net/video/JQo3hOyB2iE/видео.html 2) That is a bad idea. Solar panel voltage fluctuates with sun angle, clouds, and other factors. It could be anywhere from 13v to 21v. So if you hook your panel directly to your battery you will almost surely fry it unless you watched it all the time. But to answer your question, you will get the voltage of whichever is greater the panel or the battery. But that is a trick question because when you put a load on the battery/panel the voltage will drop slightly. So if your panel is charging your battery at 14.6v and you put a load on the system, it may drop to 13.2v.
If you're like me supplying the whole house isn't possible.... lol, the 1st thing I want in an Emergency is one room that has A/C - Heat along with a small fridge and the PC. A couple of small lights & I'm set but even this, "meets minimal" arrangement isn't cheap. Figuring for power losses across lines/devices plus the available use of about 50% of lead-acid batteries leaves one having to miser just to have comfort? Thanks for the series.... I learn little things in every one of them.
It is possible. But it is a prohibitively expensive investment that most people can't make. You will get a return in 10-15 years, depending on your cost of electricity from your power company. But most people can't afford to wait that long for savings.
@@LDSreliance~ That's a fact. I really believe the costs have been kept artificially high to prevent people from ditching the fat cats of oil/gas & other electricity manufacturers? I can't prove that but they've had control over electrical needs since day one & from my research I've read stories of peoples inventions being bought up & hidden or some met w/ worse for not selling out? You've got a nice video series. Do you have a Store? I've not even looked above yet sorry for that. I'm trying to design a system now. peace
Thanks. I do have a store (ldsreliance.myshopify.com/). I am in the process of updating it so currently the checkout system is disabled but you can email me directly to place an order (ldsreliance@gmail.com).
Aren't the breakers designed to limit flow that will disconnect if it exceeds the rating (20 A breaker) ? Breakers are a switch but more important it is a fuse. Fuses prevent wires from overheating and setting wires on fire (good demo) . Even on AC equipment, DC current may jump over the AC breaker, but it would still be halted by a correct rated DC fuse. On the AC side, don't you need a ground rod and bare wire into the breaker box? Your inverter needs to be grounded or you can't use a GFCI (required in most codes). Kill a Watt is a good plug in tester. Good Job keeping them safe.
Thanks for the comments. You do need a properly rated DC breaker to be safe. Or you could use an AC breaker and a DC fuse, I guess. Ideally on the AC side you would have a ground rod. But that is the same with a gas generator, too. Yet most people don't use them that way and there are very few issues. I am not advocating not being safe at all, please don't misunderstand, but for tiny off grid systems like this that aren't hard wired into a house or providing enough juice to kill someone, a grounding rod is highly recommended but you can get away without using one if you had to.
Thank you for your great videos and explanations. I wonder if you could go further from ideas to practical advice for people who want to use solar power for their homes, in several different scenarios like grid tied, battery back up and hybrid... Thank you in advance.
+Oren Yehezkely Can you explain a bit more about what you mean? Lets take an off grid or battery backup system for example. What do you want me to show you?
I'm getting a crash-course in solar, so I appreciate your posts. We set up and assist schools for the deaf in Africa, and the cost to get them on the grid is cost-prohibitive. These are shoe-string budget schools, and their electrical requirements (at this time) includes 2 laptops, 4-8 cell phones, and probably 6-10 12V LED light bulbs. They're thinking that a locally-provided 200W panel setup for about $300-$400 (including controller, inverter and 12V car battery ..all made in China, I'm sure) should do the trick - or so they're being told. But I've seen some of the "solutions" that some of these guys have come up with, and ...let's just say I'd rather study up the topic myself before being convinced to shell out some cash for it. Any suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Never use a car battery for a production system like that. It might be fine in a pinch but you need a true deep cycle battery for everyday use. To get a proper 200W system you are looking at $400-500 minimum. And then they need to factor in replacing the batteries every 5 years if they get premium batteries or 2-3 years if they get a cheap marine/RV deep cycle battery.
thanks again for your help. sounds like I will start small and slowly utilize solar as I can afford to build a system. again, keep up the great videos.
Hey I'm living in Guyana the country of many suns and water I'd like to know if I get a 100 WATS Solor what Volts of battery should i buy to use daily with a 32 inch TV and 4 lights and power bank to charge phones or use my blender on
Nice and useful videos sir I have a question If I gonna design a solar street light with 27 hours backup if the Load is 65watt and the Sun hours are 7h Then: 1:what battery size do I need 2:what penal size 3:what inverter size 4:if I use two penal(2*150) do I need solar combiner . . . .
Your videos are phenomenal! Planning on building a chicken coop and I want to use solar panels to power a few things. In the beginning, I'll need to power a heating mat and/or lamp 24 hrs a day for the first 5 weeks - "brooding". I've got a 45W matt that will maintain the temp I need. Because I have to run the heat all day and night, is the off-grid setup my only option?
Thanks for the feedback! For a chicken coop you would go off grid. The expense and headache of connecting to the grid with your electric company for such a small need would be too much. But you are going to need like 600 watts of solar panels to run something like that around the clock (and some batteries). That will vary some with where you live and what season of the year it is.
Jordan Haynes Read reviews on them before going to the store. All the brands are manufactured by only 3-4 companies and then Energizer, Duracell, Interstate, etc. just slap their name on them. So look up that brand and line of battery that the store you are going to carries and find out if they are good. For example, I found that the Exide batteries that Academy carries are pretty much junk. So I went to Batteries Plus instead to get a Duracell brand battery that was manufactured by a better manufacturer with a better reputation. I paid $10 more but it was worth it. Other than that, just look at the amp hours. Ignore the "reserve capacity" or "runtime" or any other statistics. All we care about is the amp hours at the 20 hour run rate.
Some charge controllers have built in timers. If you don't have that feature then you would put a timer in between the battery/cc and the load. Just wire it in series with the positive lead from the power source to the load.
I have read that you can build an RC network with resistors and capacitors to clean things up a bit but I have never tried it. Some say you can also use a transformer to do something similar.
As solar panels become cheaper and more efficient, it makes it possible to have a 2kw to 5kw solar system and be able to charge an electric vehicle or anything else for that matter. Great info on the videos but at the same time, perhaps a disclaimer about costs and system size opening possibilities would have been a good addition to the video.
nice video man..can i ask what is the type or size of wire i am using when i do the same type of project and what value of solar panel will be used when i'm using house equipment such as electric fan and ligh bulbs in ac supply...is there any specific values.?.i understand the ac and dc supply however the types and value wire im not familiar with it..do you have a sample computation base on the load we have used..thank u .I hope you can help me on my inquiry.
There are quite a few calculators and wire charts out there. Just do a google search for "solar wire size chart" or "DC wire size calculator" or something to that effect. You will need to know the length of wire you need to run and how many amps you will be transmitting through the line. I would recommend THHN wire for most solar uses unless you are going to leave it outdoors exposed to the elements.
I don't know if you are fermiliar with the Patriot generator or not but I have on for emergencies and I have 2-100 watt solar panels that I bought with the generator. I have never had too use the panels but I was wondering if I can use these panels in a stand alone system too charge regular batteries and run an inverter .
Yes, you can. I'm not familiar with the panels they sell but I am familiar with the power station. So I don't know if the solar panels have MC4 connectors on the ends or some sort of proprietary plug that only works with the Patriot power station. Hopefully it has MC4, which is industry standard. Then it would be easy to make some leads that can go to a solar charge controller, which will charge some batteries. You can then connect the inverter to the batteries and use the power year round.
Yes you can. You can connect the battery to the "battery" terminals on the charge controller and then connect the load center to the "load" terminals on the charge controller. The charge controller will then monitor the battery and shut off the load if the battery gets too low. However, you will be limited by the amp rating of the charge controller as to how many amps you can run through your load center.
I want to power up my 80W water pump for my fish pond, what is the suitable solar panel that needed. Do I need to have a solar panel more than 80W. What is the size of the battery?
I really liked your solar videos. I have a question. I have a 10 watt solar panel and I want to power two muffin fans. My quandary is that I want one fan to run all the time, but the second, I want to run only when the panel is producing 5 watts or better. Any thoughts on how to wire this with a battery? and without a battery?
You will not be able to power a fan 24/7 with a 10W solar panel. If you mean that it will run all the time while the sun is shining directly on the panel that will work. As far as running the second load only when the panel is producing a certain number of amps, you would need a microcontroller to do that. Even programmable charge controllers that I have used don't have that kind of flexibility built in to them. If it were me, I would wire both fans to the load output of a charge controller that has a feature called low voltage disconnect (LVD). That means that the charge controller will automatically shut off the fans if the battery drops below a certain voltage so that it can charge back up. When the battery reaches a higher voltage the charge controller will automatically resume powering the fans. This should translate to both of the fans running during sun hours as long as your 10W can keep up with 2 fans.
Great videos. How do I decide the amp rating of the charge controller? Sorry if its a basic question, but I'm just starting to learn and want to understand exactly how it all works. Your videos have been so easy to understand and follow, I'm very grateful.
Thanks for the support! The amp rating will be provided by the manufacturer. The smaller units will usually be 10 or 20 amps. I have seen a couple as low as 7 amps but there isn't much reason to go below 20 as they are very affordable and allow some growth.
I started with one 8A. panel and added 2 more. I had to donate the 20 A charge controller and buy a 40 A. 12 V. controller. My P.W.M. Chinese unit works fine! My maximum output is 24 amps on a very sunny day.I blew a 20 A. fuse!25 A. fuses are on order. I get a little voltage drop to the batteries with 25 feet of quality 8 gauge wires. I never measured it! I will now!!! =.3 volts.13.2 at panels,12.9 at batteries.OK. Thanks.
LDSreliance thank’s for all this information you are great instructor l like your videos l was lookin sm information In RUclips and l choose you’r video to me is the best for beginners that’s why l subscribe. Thank’s for this help
Please show us how to connect 2 or more solar panels and how to connect 2 or more batteries in series & parallel to charge controllers and solar panels.
Hello, I want to use a solar panel to charge my motorcycle and car battery during winter storage. What size solar panel, inverter and batteries do I need?
hi there ive got a water pump in my van powered by a 12v 9A battery - which is wired via a split charger to the main battery and gets charged when driving - what if I 'll add a solar panel on the roof as an alternative charge source ?! as If I don't drive al ot the battery gets flat would it be ok for the batttery to get charged from two sources at the same time ? The split charger I use now in my van disconnects the battery once is full or when engine is off to prevent draining the main / van battery thanks for your videos
+Stran I You can charge a battery with 2 sources at once but you need to have a charge controller that will manage that. Cars have alternators with built in circuitry to not overcharge the battery. But if you add a solar panel to the mix then you will also need a charge controller for that, too. You will not really charge the battery while you are driving but the solar panel would be great for keeping the battery topped off between drives.
I have a simple set up. Two 200 hundred watt solar panels to a charge controller. Charge controller to a bank of six 12 volts deep cycle batteries. I have the charge coming in one end of the battery bank and going out the opposite end where I have my power inverter. Is that wrong? Should I be doing it differently?
Question please: I have four 100w Rich rigid panels and eight batteries 12v (not Li ). I want to add two batteries but... instead of adding two more 100w panels for a total of six panels, can I add two 200w panels to the system for a bit more energy??
If you put the 200W on its own string with its own charge controller and just connect it to the same batteries that will work fine. But if you just add it to the same mix with all the 100W panels it won't work very well.
I was watching your video on the peltier water cooler and was curious if you think a solar off grid system could be used to power the peltier, pump, and cooler? If so , what wattage panel would be necessary and what amp breakers would I need to build it? Thanks in advance for any info...
+sirswerdna Yes, solar is great for peltiers because you don't have to waste any energy converting AC power to DC power. However, you will need a lot of solar panels and batteries to run one peltier around the clock as they are very power hungry. A better option would be to install a thermostat on the peltier so that it reaches a realistic temperature and then can be turned off and on automatically to maintain that temperature and decrease the amount of energy used. What size peltier do you want to run and where do you live? I can give you an estimate from there based on that info.
That was fast! I ordered a tec1-12705 50w 77w max peltier, I live in grid cm88wa(Northern California). The thermostat sounds like a great idea. I am building it to keep about 5 gallons of water at about 68 degrees through the summer-I tire of swapping frozen bottles of water and cannot justify the $$$ of a chiller. Your vides are great for diy'ers like me, keep up the great work. Thinking of running the peltier on one circuit and the pump and cooler on the other to help minimize energy costs. Even if solar won't power the system 24/7, any savings would help. Thanks again.
No problem. Happy to help. According to some quick calculations, you should average about 5 hours of direct sun per day in Northern California and if we assume the peltier will run 12 hours out of 24 and it consumes 60 watts of power then you will need at least 125 amp hours of batteries and 325 watts of solar panels. But my gut is telling me you will need more like 150-200 amp hours of batteries. I have played around with peltiers a lot and they always surprise me with how much more power they need than you think.
Wondering about the losses you mention in the charge controller. I'm designing a circuit to charge a 12 vdc battery that will run a deer feeder. The feeder timer trips a relay to turn on a motor. My timer puts out 10.2 v when I have 12 v from the battery. Will the losses from the charge controller further reduce this? should I only use the solar panel to charge the battery and then connect the rest of my circuit to the battery and not to the charge controller load to eliminate the losses thru the charge controller??
oh, I got plenty of stupid questions. Here is where I am lost with the breaker box and the inverter. I thought the breaker box was there to turn one direct load into many. If the inverter goes after the breaker box, why do you need the breaker box? How do I get multuiple loads out of on inverter?
You can do it either way. The main purpose for the load center/breaker box is to distribute power from one wire into many like you said. However, it is also a good safety device and allows for an easy on/off switch to allow you to re-wire things or manually shut off one device and keep other devices on. One scenario where you might put the load center before the inverter is if you had a set of 12v lights or a 12v fan that you wanted to run but then you also wanted to convert some of the power to AC for use with common household devices. Then you could run one breaker for DC power stuff and one breaker for your inverter.
Good video. Yup you can run just about anything on solar, but most things don't make sense to. It all comes down to cost and room. My system is sized wrong! Not that I do not know how to size a system, my wallet doesn't.LOL I know cooling will be a requirement and an AC did not even enter my mind. Cold air bothers me and I used a swamp cooler in my last place and it was so/so, due to humidity. It was fine for my needs. It is dryer here so I went w/ a very low amp DC swamp unit. I have not been using, as most days don't have enough sun, but hopefully those hot days will and I can run it some. No it will not be able to stay on 24 hours a day-only instead during the hottest times and it will have to stay on low. I have also heard of DC refrigerated units that use about 500 watts, but again that is a lot more than my little 60 or less watt cooler. I also run the fridge on propane-electric ignite. Had to give up the large screen TV, stereo, and fancy pump espresso machine: OUCH! in exchange for just using my macbook as the entertainment center. As budget allows I can add solar and goodies for them to run. Again I will pick DC goodies and have to pick the items that give me what I need w/ lower consumption. PS there was this guy who sold this mini swamp cooler on his site-low watts, but it was a window install only, so I went w/ another brand that consumed more. The guy's minicooler had an option w/ or w/ out a 60watt panel, as some buy the unit and hook direct to the panel only and run it when the sun it out [not for me as it can still be hot after dark], though it could integrate into a battery system.
+Prima Donna Going Off Grid Wow, I would be interested in seeing how well a swamp cooler can run off a 60 watt panel. Do you have a link to it? I can't use it here in Texas but I would love to read more about it.
+LDSreliance OOps I was wrong. The larger unit had a 60 watt and the small unit I wanted had a 30 watt. I know the smaller unit used less amps than the one I got. Here is the link to the smaller unit and the others are on the guy's site. Looks like he is moving ahead w/ them from last year when I spoke with him. www.westernharmonics.com/Online/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=67&products_id=186 The one I went with is: www.turbokool.com/ and the specs are below. The low setting as you see could be used for the few hottest hours of the day off my current system I have now! Of course that is if the days are ALL sun. I had a house size cooler on the roof of my place, when I was in NM-did not work as it should due to serious humidity. I am talking a steam-bath full of mosquitoes. Still it took the edge off so I could be comfortable. One of the two above companies sold a unit to a happy user in FL, and one of them tried using the unit themselves in one of the humid southern states-they found as I did, not so great but took the edge off the heat. The most the use of that big swamp cooler ever added to my utilities was: $19 a month-hard to believe. I am looking forward to see what this one will do now that I am in a dry climate. I have to wonder if it will cool the bedroom, which now on the colder days, is hotter than Haites, if I want to not freeze in the living room-the hot air is drawn up there. I keep the bath door open to block the hall and the bath warm.LOL
Prima Donna Going Off Grid Wow that is crazy. You are a trooper to endure all of that. I would have broken down and bought a bunch more solar by now lol. Those dc swamp coolers are nice but don't put out much CFM. They would probably take the edge off an RV or tiny home but 500 cfm doesn't even cool down a closet in a normal house under normal air conditioning requirements.
+LDSreliance OK so that is why that big house cooler did OK, because it was heavy output. I was on the grid then and 600 sq ft. Now that I am off grid, it's 216 sq feet so the turbo cool should work. think maybe that is why so many go tiny for off grid-easier to heat and cool. I was going to expand if I could ever get the money, but that is a long shot. But I have set it on my list of goals. It would have been better if I could have saved more before having to move-my original plan, but then they wanted the rental back and I was forced to do it all on credit cards or be homeless. I am happier with this now anyway.
Thank you for your videos. It's been a long time since I've last reached out to you. Something recently came up and I figured you were my go to guy when I first started. On my old system, I used a Stanley battery charge when I would hook up on my shore power. My question is this: Will charging my battery bank while the solar system is on, damage my battery? I recently saw a guy have a inverter/converter combo with his system. His inverter/converter was pretty expensive. Now that I am building a new system for my bus, I wanted to make sure using a separate battery charger like I did before was safe. Thank you in advance for you help.
Yes, you cannot have two charging sources going at the same time unless they are designed to work in conjunction with each other (which is rare). You can easily wire a switch, though, that will allow you to switch to shore power for charging when available and then switch back to solar when nothing else is available. Here is an example of such a switch: amzn.to/2EsYMHD Ignore the labels on the front. Look at the picture of the back of the switch and then it will make sense.
I knew I could count on you to clear things up. Thank you! Btw, that is a great product and will definitely be ordering that. To clear up what that person did with shore power and inverter/converter. When he plugs in to shore power, does his inverter/converter know to shut down the solar system? Is that how that expensive interver/converter works?
This was the video I was watching: at minute mark 14:19 it shows the diagram. The shore power is connected directly to his inverter/converter. ruclips.net/video/wl9lAP7FXhc/видео.html&lc=z22wxh0yjteecnfy504t1aokglfzys32lypdrsddcrdzbk0h00410.1517279523268677 This is the inverter/converter in mentioned: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L0K910/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AWPBFTW0ZXVPR&psc=1
Yes, that inverter has a built in 60A transfer and also doubles as the battery charger when connected to shore power. So it is designed to handle both tasks. That is why it is so expensive compared to a normal inverter.
One more question. With two, 100 watt arrays, each came with its own controller. Should both arrays be connected in parallel to one controller or should both arrays each have its own controller and then combined in parallel to the batteries?
You can operate two charge controllers on the same battery(s). In fact, some applications are better that way like on a sail boat. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing so. The disadvantage is cost since it is cheaper to run one controller than two. But since you already have two, that is a moot point. The advantage is that each controller can optimize the charge from each panel individually and not lose power say, if one of the panels is partially shaded or has a huge bird dropping in the middle of it.
Ok so here is my question. I am setting up 25 watts total of landscape lighting at a sub division entrance. I am gong to be using a transformer of course to convert it to 12v. Could I plug that transformer into the solar kit if I were to buy a 100 watt kit?
You would not need a transformer if you were using solar. Landscape lighting is usually 12V and so is solar. So all you need is the solar panel(s), battery(s), and charge controller.
+turth never Hide I have found out you need a big inverter for a fridge. If your fridge is a 600 watt fridge then you could probably get away with 1000 watts of solar panels and an appropriate amount of batteries. But the inverter will need to be at least 2000 watts and probably bigger than that because the compressor motor on the fridge draws a lot of amps when it starts up.
Only difference is you need a charge controller that can charge lithium batteries. They are more rare and more expensive but there are several options out there.
I do not need battery back up , just want to run my 240v .75kw pool motor while the sun shines . Have good light here . What size panels will I need ? And a converter ? Any help is cool . There a few here with the same issue :-)
Scott, do you know how much power that motor consumes after it is running? A lot of motors like that require a big surge of power to start up but much less after they are running. Anyways, if it really consumes 750W at all times then you will need 1,000W of solar panels to run that motor. That will leave 25% head room for losses. You will need an inverter that can provide 240V such as this: amzn.to/2r9fyDL. You will need a charge controller even though you won't have any batteries. You cannot connect 12V solar panels directly to an inverter. Since it will need to handle up to 80+ Amps (or high voltage) here is one you could look at: amzn.to/2raqW2K All of that is expensive, I know. I would be surprised if that motor actually runs on 750 at all times, though. Do you have a way to test it?
Hi, I recently purchased a solar panel with both male and female MC4 connectors on it. I also purchased a controller. My question is this. The controller only has "set screws" to connect incoming and outgoing power. The power out from the solar panel is via a MC4 connector. How do I connect the panel to the controller ?
You can either hack off those MC4 connectors if you never plan on doing anything else with the panel or you can buy a pack of MC4 connectors and connect them to the ends of 2 short pieces of wire. I would recommend that because then in the future if you decide you want to disconnect that panel and do something else with it you will still have those MC4 connectors on there and those are the standard connectors in the industry.
I have a 205 watt solar panel with 68.8 VOC. How can I lower the VOC so can use it to charge my portable power station with a 14.2 -30V input voltage range?
+Akami McCallum There are expensive electronics you can buy that will do that. Usually it is an add-on for the more expensive charge controllers. They will have an LCD panel that provides monitoring and statistics on the system.
Hi if you add (for example) 2 12V batteries in series it will be 24V and will the charge control support this and will it not affect the inverter if its input is 12V tks
+ayubowewa Good question. A lot of charge controllers can handle 12v or 24v. But you do need to check your specs beforehand on the model you own or that you intend to buy and make sure it can. As for inverters, I don't know any that can handle both 12v and 24v. And the 24v ones are rare. So you can buy a 24v inverter or you can use a voltage converter to step down the voltage from 24v to 12v before it gets to the inverter. I shot a video on how this works: ruclips.net/video/0V5p8JMynIk/видео.html
Good work you are doing, thanks ...... but i have a question here, 1. i have a 4 solar panel system of 130watts /12volt and 7.5amps each, with two panels in series and all in parallel, giving me a total of 520watts/24volts and apprx 14.5amps, 2. i dont have a solar charger controller but want to power my inverter direct using a 24v - 240v set-up transformer to feed the inverter from the solar panel, which has an inbuilt battery charging system, 3. the inverter is a 2.5kva sine wave inverter, with 2(two) 200ah /12volts battery, can this work? connecting the panel to the transformer directly before loading while the inverter charges the battary ?
I would like to do a grid tie in and plug it right into the wall can you do a video on that that would give back to the power company and lower my bill
+northof29 I will put that on the list of videos to work on. It will cost a lot of money because I would pretty much have to install a grid-tied system but it may be worth it.
+LDSreliance I have seen a video like that (I don't recall the name). I believe that what he showed is connecting the power that is coming out of the inverter to the socket. It does not feed the whole house but it gave some power back...
Oren Yehezkely Oh, I see. The famous "plug-in" grid tied inverter. I have seen people using them and they were fine. However, those are illegal in the United States and you could seriously hurt someone by using them. If the grid were to go down and your solar system is feeding energy into the grid you might hurt an electrical lineman that is working on restoring powerlines to people. Another reason not to use those is that your power company might actually CHARGE you for the power you are producing. If your meter cannot run backwards and your state does not allow net metering even though you are contributing power toward your bill, your power meter would read that as usage on your bill and actually charge you for your own power.
+T&N games Not really, as long as your solar panel(s) does not exceed the amp rating of the charge controller. If you are just using one solar panel you should be fine. I would never use less than a 20 amp charge controller just because you don't save much, if any, money getting a smaller one. And 20 amps will handle even a large solar panel or several smaller ones. Just make sure the solar panel voltage (12v or 24v most commonly) can be handled by your charge controller. I am pretty sure yours is 12v and most any charge controller can do 12v so you should be fine. As for the battery there is some complicated math to how big of a battery you need but if you are just starting out you can just use most any cheap battery that matches the voltage of your system (12v or 24v). You will almost for sure destroy your first battery when you are learning how things work so don't rush out and get something expensive.
Thank you for the educational videos. I just subscribed. I have one question, is it possible to take out the Load Center? So its, Panel to CC to Batt... CC to inverter to an item (TV). If its possible, what bad effects could there be?
Of course. The load center is just if you want to divide the load into multiple loads. Or it can be used in reverse to combine multiple solar panels or strings of solar panels into one input for the charge controller.
Great info, can I wire my loads (inverter, USB, etc) directly to the battery and not use the load terminals of the charge controller? So, I have my solar panel and battery wired to the controller, and my loads wired directly to the battery with individual switches.
Yes, and there are certain instances where that is preferable. However, you will not benefit from the "low voltage disconnect" feature of the charge controller that saves your batteries from discharging too far by cutting off the power to the loads when your batteries' voltage drops too far. Most inverters will do this, too, but they often cut off at a lower voltage that might harm the batteries.
Can you run lines from the battery (apply the load to the battery for an pure sine inverter) instead of running a line directly to the charge controller for that device.
Yes that is the method you would use if your charge controller's load output is not high enough for the loads you want to run. You lose the low voltage disconnect protection, though, so keep that in mind. Here is a video I shot on this topic: ruclips.net/video/k8aVnRpoRLc/видео.html
Great videos thanks. A couple questions though, what exactly does the charge controller do? I'm thinking of running the wires from the solar panel straight to the battery as I do not need to use the load function, I will be running everything straight off the battery. Is this possible or do I still need a controller? Also, will the solar panels keep charging the battery until it's full automatically or do you need something to cut it off when it's fully charged? Thanks.
You can do that but you risk destroying your battery or causing a fire. The solar panel will supply a high voltage to the battery regardless of its state of charge (as long as the sun is out) and basically it can "overfill" the battery. A charge controller monitors the battery's charge state and when it gets full it switches to "float" which just provides a tiny flow of electricity to offset the slow discharge of the battery.
question for you. I want to run a pretty standard Hydroponic system on Solar. that would be a pretty good pump (to get the fluids up the A frame I use, and a couple of air pumps - maybe a timer. all these usually run on AC - does it make sense to just use standard materials or try to look for DC pumps?? Can you show an example of running a small hydroponic system using solar??
I have wanted to run a hydroponic system, too, but never had the time to set it up and get it going. On the AC vs DC question you are going to lose about 20% of your power converting it from DC to AC. So you can either get 20% more solar panels or look for a DC pump. If the DC pump is twice as expensive as a comparable AC pump then just get the AC pump. You can certainly get all of it DC if you look hard enough. Then you don't have to purchase an inverter, either. But again if everything is a lot more expensive don't do it. I wish I could do a video and show you but I just don't have the time or money to invest in a proper hydro setup right now.
How do you check the input/output to and from the panels? I have several chargers but feel the output is inconsistent. Also not sure how to check what is a 10,000mAH vs 20,000 mAH etc?
The solar panels would have to be under load to check their output. You can't just put them out in the sun and use a multimeter to read the numbers. So typically I will use a simple voltmeter/ammeter combo like this: amzn.to/2uYc2zF mAh is a measure of battery capacity. Some batteries you can check the capacity with a battery tester. But all batteries should be rated by the manufacturer so you can look up the battery model specifications.
Go,d job. I think alot of people over estimate how much power a solar panel can put out. Having built my own electric bike, I know how much power it takes to charge my batteries. To fully charge my batteries for about 12 miles of riding, it takes 45 amps at 12 volts for 90 minutes. That's about the entire output of 10 100w panels.
Yep. I hear ya. I am trying to educate people that solar is exciting and fun to play with and can be a great asset for preparedness and independence but it is not magic and takes a lot of money and effort to produce any meaningful amount of power.
I have an ADEMCO VISTA alarm system in my farm. It works with AC using a transformer 16.5VCA 25VA and has a 12volt 4AH backup battery. This year for two different reasons I have not have electricity for 4 hrs or more and the battery died and I did not have an alarm working. Watching your videos I´m thinking about solar. Maybe a grid system that will replace the AC coming from the house or can I use the battery of the system to store the energy? I don´t know really. What do you recommend? Thanks very much.
Yes, you could use solar for that. But you would have to seriously upgrade the battery since it will now be your power source instead of the house AC power and will have to run the alarm for 18+ hours every day when the sun is not shining directlyl. Simply connect your solar panel to a charge controller and then connect the charge controller to your battery. The battery will also remain connected to the alarm system and will actually provide the power for your alarm system.
Very well. Just a question. If I upgrade the battery, the alarm system will draw just the current that it use and it will not be damage. Let say I use a 12v golf cart battery as an example
Yes that would be what I would recommend. A big deep cycle battery that will never discharge more than 10% overnight when the sun isn't shining and you need a big enough panel to provide power to the alarm AND charge the battery back up to full each day. If you tell me the power specs of the alarm system (how many amps or kWh it consumes) then I can help you size things properly.
Hi again ldsrliance. The only information I have so far is that the transformer it uses is a 120 volt with 2.3A and the console receive 12 volts dc and uses a max of 600mA. With this information, I think, the system will need a minimum of 276 watts. Will this help you in some way to tell me the solar panel needed? Thank you
There is basically no way that thing draws 276 Watts 24/7. If it did, it would require 15 large deep cycle batteries and 3,200 Watts of solar panels to power it year round, including 48 hours of backup power for rainy days. Do you have a Kill A Watt meter? That will be the best $18 you ever spend if you don't. amzn.to/2nkpoUC Plug that in front of the transformer and let it run for 24 hours and then push the kWh button and see how many kWh you have consumed. You can also view the watts consumed in real time. We will need that before we can put together a proper system.
In part 1 of your video collection you said you would tell us how to wire the off grid system with multiple batteries but you didn't put it in any of your videos. So my question is how do you wire more than one battery to the system?
I always love your tutorials, I have question. What's minimum voltage that man starts suffering with DC voltage. I always thought that DC is safe to work any any Voltage is it correct?
Yeah you can't get hurt by a AA battery or something because they produce such small amounts of current. But a car battery or something larger like that can do some damage.
@@LDSreliance I agree, also I'm working on building a solar car. I was confused in selecting a solar panel could you please suggest me to choose the right one.
Good question. Are these batteries wired in series? In other words, what is the voltage of the battery pack? How many amp hours total is the battery pack?
+LDSreliance actually I'm looking for the best one and most dependable to charge a Thrunite TN 32 Flashlight. It holds 3 - 18650's. The charger is separate. The charger is a Thrunite charger that can charge an array of batteries from 18650 to like AAA. I have looked at the firefly by Renogy. It is so costly tho at $499.00. Any advise?
Luke Carter So are you looking for a solar panel to provide power to the charger or a better charger? I assume the charger uses 110v AC power so a solar panel could only do that with an inverter, which would be inefficient. Is there a 18650 charger that uses 12v DC input?
Thank you for making a very useful tutorial I've watched part1 - part4, and I would like to ask. How does monitoring device "SCC" that live or still work. In case I was in the USA and the "SCC" was in Mexico or Indonesia or South Africa or secluded place. I use the device to monitor the transmission medium "VSAT" internet. What the enhancements is needed to monitor the "SCC" using internet communication media ?
Too many variables to say. You need to know the power requirements/consumption of your devices, how many hours per day you plan to use them, and how many average sun hours per day your location receives.
@@LDSreliance if a small air conditioner needs 5,000 watts being run for 4 hours a day. I m in New Brunswick and my location would allow about an average of 4 hours direct sun in winter and average 8 hours of direct sun in summer.
So, by definition, you will only be running the air conditioner in the summer, correct? So if your need is 5,000W x 4 hours per day that is 20,000Wh or 20kWh. Your production possibility is 8 hours per day so 20,000Wh / 8 hours is 2,500. So you will need 2,500W of solar panels to pull this off. However, those are extremely rough numbers that do not account for line losses, battery storage losses, cloudy weather, etc. So in reality I would not try to pull off your needs with less than 3,500-4,000W of solar. As for batteries, to store enough power in reserve to run for one day without sunshine you would need 3,400 Amp hours of batteries. That is a ton! So I don't want to discourage you but air conditioning and heating are the Achilles heel of solar. It is very expensive and difficult to pull off.
I have a solar panel, battery, charge controller, and inverter, I have seen "plug-and-play" solar kits on the market where you can just plug the system Into the wall to add energy to your house/grid. how could I make one of these systems myself?
Those are not legal in the United States. I have yet to see any company produce one that is legal, despite the many claims on their websites. You can kill or hurt someone working on the grid by feeding it with power they don't know about.
Yeah it sucks. Other countries use them that have less safety regulations but unfortunately, unless it has anti-islanding protection built in and has gone through the certifcation processes like RoHS and UL and all that then I would say stay away from it. You might still be able to creatively use solar. Do you have a south, east, or west facing balcony?
Depends. If you want higher voltage you connect in series. If you want higher amperage you connect in parallel. It is more efficient to increase the voltage because you will lose less energy in voltage drop and you can use cheaper, thinner wires. However, it is harder to find 24V, 36V, or 48V devices especially inverters. So if you "upgrade" to higher voltage you need to take that into account.
The short answer is anything smaller than 100 Watts. So laptops, newer TV's, small box fans, small water pumps, wireless speakers, security cameras, outdoor flood lights, etc. But if you have a decent sized battery bank you can run bigger loads for short periods of time that exceed 100 Watts. For instance, if you had your 100W solar panel in the sun all day on a summer day with 8 sun hours you could probably run a 6000 BTU window air conditioner for up to an hour or hour and a half in the evening.
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The best video series I've ever seen about anything new that I know nothing about! I am so much more informed now. Thank you!!! Question for you - can you have a small solar panel and a big battery? I get that it might take more time to load the battery. The application I'm thinking of is to charge a big battery constantly and then use it for 3-4 hrs a night to watch tv, run a lamp or 2 and charge my phone and laptops with the intention of using my phone and laptops on their own battery power during the day?
+Leeanne Barr Wow, thanks! That is high praise!
If you pair a big battery with too small of a solar panel you risk never being able to fully charge the battery. If it takes a 20w solar panel 10 hours to charge a 200ah battery (I don't know how long but lets just assume), then it will never be fully charged because you will never have 10 sun hours in a day (even in the summer the most you get of direct sunlight to the panel is 6-7 hours).
If you added a small wind turbine to that then you might have a workable solution since a wind turbine can produce power 24 hours a day as long as there is a breeze.
If you want to send me the power consumption requirements of your tv and devices and what city you live near then I can do the calculations and tell you what you would need.
+LDSreliance Oh. Thank you!! Well I went to this site - www.donrowe.com/usage-chart-a/259.htm - and estimated accordingly. I'd say for day I'd need about 265 watts and for night I'd need about 100 watts. Let's say 400 watts for the day to include a lamp or 2. I don't know how duration of use plays into this. Does this give you enough to estimate??? BTW - I can't do the wind turbine. Not enough wind. I live Downtown Vancouver, Canada. I'm in a condo with not much direct sunlight but I hope I can take advantage of daylight hours.
Leeanne Barr
Duration plays a big part because it determines the size of the battery. If you use your tv for one hour that is a lot different from 4 hours.
Yes, Vancouver is bad. It only averages 3 hours of direct sunlight per day for solar. So according to my calculations, if you wanted to run 400 watts of load for 3 hours per day you would need 800 watts of solar panels and 200 amp hours of batteries.
The good news is that most tv's don't use anywhere near 400 watts. So if you run an LED lamp (10 watts), a 40" LCD tv (150 watts or less), and charge your cell phone and tablet (10-15 watts), you really only need about 175 watts instead of 400. That drops things down to 350 watts of solar panels and 90 amp hours of batteries.
+LDSreliance Right! Makes sense. Thank you so much!!
Leeanne Barr
No problem. Thanks for watching!
oh god dude i love you! you are so cool and easy to follow man.please keep posting vids man...... you dont know some of us old schoolers are clueless until you break it down for us i mean it..you do a great job .thanks.
I watched all 4 parts. Followed everything completely. Thank you for taking the mystery out of solar power wiring. I especially appreciate the info about load centers. Up next, the "Will it solar" series.
+cdvmyerslbc2 Awesome. Hopefully you enjoy that series. I enjoyed making it and hope to bring it back this summer for at least another 4-5 episodes. Stay tuned!
Wow thank you, I really wanted to heat my small greenhouse 6ft x 12 ft but when I heard you say that running a heater should cost a lot I solar panels. This past winter it cost me an extra $200 a month really need a alternative way! Thank you
Unfortunately, electric heat is too power hungry to do that with solar without investing a fortune. I'd look at propane heat or some sort of passive solar radiant heating.
@@LDSreliance yes please, thank you so much. I was just going to spend 3000 on a solar panel system! Thank you
Hi. Thanks for a great series of videos. I'm a rank beginner, still don't get a lot of it, but these videos definitely help.
Here's my question: How many solar panels of what wattage, and how many and what kind of batteries, do I need to run my deep freezer. It's a Frigidaire model FFC0923DW and these are the specs: Voltage Rating = 115V /60 Hz / 5 A; Connected Load (KW rating) @115 volts = .6; Amps @ 115 volts = 5; Minimum Circuit Required (Amps) = 15. Of course, this is running 24/7 and I live in the desert southwest with nonstop sunshine!
Thanks in advance!
Lily, thanks for the comment! Assuming that the motor on the freezer actually runs 1/3 the time (since it kicks on and off all day) and it uses its full rated power (5 amps x 115v = 575 watts) then you are looking at needing 782 amp hours of batteries and 1,750 watts of solar panels. You could look at getting 6 of these batteries minimum (www.amazon.com/Vmaxtanks-Vmaxslr125-rechargeable-Solar-Inverters/dp/B00ACNO2AO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1470328027&sr=8-4&keywords=solar+battery) to meet that amp hour requirement.
Thank you!
Lilly Lee You are welcome!
I love your stuff. I respect how you are very careful to explain why doing a particular thing isn’t financially reasonable. May I humbly make a request? That when you get to one of those points in your video and you explain that--you take a moment and say--“well what if money were no object?” And very quickly describe what you need to do and roughly what it would cost. I’m not a rich man but they were times watching your presentations when I thought I might like to do something for a friend and I just needed that little bit more information.
I’ll just give you an example. I have one 100 W panel. I live in Arizona where there is virtually Sun all day every day. What could I do if I had an unlimited supply of storage batteries?
Great ideas, thanks! I'll try to keep that in mind in the future.
I like your teaching very much.Thank you very much! Here is my question: Can i connect my solar panel to battery? why not?
Thanks! I am glad you like it. No, you can't connect directly to a battery unless you really know what you are doing and are going to manually charge the battery yourself.
Thank you for this series of videos. I started my day wanting to get a solar set up for a pop-up tent trailer for camping. Had absolutely no idea what that actually meant, so I started digging around online. Watched a couple Aussie videos and realized I stepped into a hornets nest of stuff I was clueless about.
I saw some great set-ups, but had no clue what I was actually looking at. Your videos gave me an idea of what I was seeing as well as an idea as to where to start in my search for solar power. I can see now that I won't be running the AC unit as I had previously thought, but it's still a good idea to power the lights and electronics, as well as keep the batteries charged up without needing to fire up the generator every time.
Now I just have to tear into the tent trailer to see what the inverter and load center is rated and see if it needs to be upgraded along with the battery when I get some panels and a controller.
Thanks again!
+Terry McGhee Awesome, Terry! Glad I could help. I am glad you watched the videos before running out and buying a kit or something. It sounds like you now have a pretty good understanding of the basics. Stay tuned to my channel as I just launched a video series called Solar Basics that is going to go over different components of solar panel systems in a little more detail. Thanks for watching!
Helpful video. Is it the solar panel continuously charging up the battery bank while loads are running? My goal is to leave the appliance running 24/7.
Yes, the solar panel will continue to feed the batteries while there is light. And as long as the input from the solar panels exceeds the output that the loads (appliance) are consuming then you will be charging the batteries. Once the input falls below the output, the battery bank will be discharging.
There's nothing like a keep it simple video. Clear and unhurried! Thank you. I wonder if you guide me on something no one seems to be able to give me a good answer on? I want to run a 1500w induction motor circular saw occasionally for about 20 min at a time once or twice a week at most. I know I could use a generator but I don't like the noise or the pollution. If I mounted a 100w 24v solar panel connected through an mppt controller inverter via LIFEP04 150amp battery would I have enough power to run that saw for about 20min including the headroom to start the saw which I was told could be 3 times the 1500w needed to run the saw? I'd greatly appreciate your response. Thank you once again for an informative set of videos.
Great man. An excellent and clear demonstration for understanding solar energy usage for beginners like me. Thanks very much hope more and more video as raised by FAQ.
I have learned so much from these videos. I am becoming corageous enough to give it a try for my RV. At least enough to get the house batteries charged.
+Used RV Homers Yeah, that would be really easy. You could even do it with a pair of jumper cables for your car, a solar panel, and a charge controller. Just lean the solar panel up against the RV when you are boondocking, connect the red and black wires to the charge controller, and connect the charge controller to your house batteries with some jumper cables (you will need a small piece of wire to connect to the controller terminals labeled "battery" and then clamp on the alligator clips on the jumper cables to that). Simple setup in 5 minutes and easy take down.
newbie here, trying to come up with a set up for led stripes for a camping easy up canopy lighting. I was wondering how i should go about it.
How many watts do the LED strips require? Are they 12V? Where do you live?
Simple elegant explination... great job Man
You are very patient and endurant. Thanks
Haha, I don't know about that but I appreciate it. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for modeling the q & a. Very easy to follow.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
very helpful video .....I have a question why people always say connect the battery first before the charge regulator
Some cheap controllers have to be connected in a certain sequence to avoid damaging the electronics. Unfortunately, they usually come with bad documentation so sometimes you don't know that it needs to be connected that way.
Great videos. I just acquired 17 260W Suniva panels but am having trouble figuring out a 220V charge / inverter for off grid. I would also like to know about series and parallel connecting for panels (how to)? Can you pigtail? Do you just connect panels directly into each other?
Good video. I'm going to build a portable system for camping, etc., but still plan on using it at home to power low-draw stuff, iPad, Pods, LED light. My question is what happens when the panel fully charges the generator battery but is still connected to the battery? The panel is still generating electricity, but there's nowhere for it to go.
+Mike Masztal Good question. No electricity is generated in that case. Here is a good explanation I borrowed from elsewhere:
"The photons from the sun have energy and momentum, but not "electricity".
Essentially, a photon (solar or otherwise) striking the solar panel can create an electron-hole pair (EHP) and, if the EHP is within or near the depletion zone, the pair will be separated by the built-in electric field.
This results in a separation of charge and with that, a voltage across the panel. If there is an external circuit connected, there will be an electric current through the circuit.
But, if there is no external circuit through which an electric current can circulate, the electric field due to the separated charge opposes further separation of charge; the generated electron-hole pairs simply recombine rather than separate.
Electric power is the product of voltage and current.
If there is no external circuit, there can be no current and thus no
electric power can be delivered by the panel, i.e., the "electricity" is
never developed and thus, there is no need to consider "where it goes"."
+LDSreliance I kinda figured that the controller opens a circuit cutting off current.
Mike Masztal
Oh it does. I thought you were asking where the electricity goes generated by the panel if the controller cuts off the power. The charge controller will either shut off the charging current or switch to a float program where it delivers a small trickle of power to counteract the natural discharging of the battery as it sits.
You are a real cool guy with a great nack for teaching
thanks so much .so to run a full house how many panels of what size would you need? please?
i have a oscillating car fan that run directly from my solar panel its just that the power it makes is not constant..theres so much sunshine here makes it fun to use...and led strip lights direct from 10watt panel still works even when raining...:-):-):-):-)
Very cool. Yeah the power from a solar panel is not constant voltage so that is why most devices need to run through a charge controller to smooth out the power and have a battery connected for when a cloud passes over or something.
Very educational video. Thanks for sharing. I'm living in a newly constructed home that came with included solar. My mother in law asked me about batteries. Does a residential setup of about 5 panels require battery packs? I believe it's run through my local power company's grid so I didn't think so. If I do have them, I can't find them anywhere.
+Tim Bruno No, your system is a grid-tied system and 95% of the time they do not have batteries. That is one of the good parts of grid-tied is that you can save big $$ on batteries and charge controllers and other devices. It is much simpler and less maintenance. However, if the power company experiences a power outage so will you. Your solar panels will not work when the grid goes down, even if it is sunny outside.
I understand that when a panel gets hot it can begin to degrade. How much of a problem is this in areas like South Florida where summer temps can easily exceed 100F?
best channel for beginning people
Thanks! I really appreciate that.
Thank you for these videos.
How can I determine the thickness of the wire required?
How do we calculate the loses encountered in the system in order to minimize them?
+Toni Laderach Good questions. The gauge of the wire is determined by knowing how many feet of cable you need and how many amps of power you will be running. You will also need to know the voltage of the system (usually 12v) and that will play a big part in your losses, too. 12v will lose a LOT more voltage over a distance than 24v or higher. That is one of the only drawbacks to a purely 12v system is you will have to use thicker wires and keep your wires as short as possible.
LDSreliane , I admired you of your generosity..MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS!!!>>>
Thanks! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching.
Question. (1) Can I charge the Battery that is in an Elect scooter. ( can take it out of the scooter and plug it into the wall. It is the size of a 12 V car battery. (2) can I charge hand tools that use a rechargeable battery? [I want to thank you for your simple explanation om how to hook up to Solar. Thanks.
Thanks for watching, Keith!
Yes, you can charge most any battery with solar. You just need to have a solar panel and a charge controller. For the rechargeable power tool batteries, since they only charge with AC chargers, you would need an inverter to be able to provide AC power to the charger that the power tools came with.
I've watched all of your four tutorials. What is the role of the Load Center? I guess the answer is to distribute the output voltage. Then it might not be a necessary one if we don't use a power breaker in it.
I have two questions,
1. Can I directly charge the battery from the Solar panel or it would be better to use a Charge Controller?
2. When the battery is connected to both the Solar panel and the output load (without any charge controller or load center) as a DC voltage then which output will I get the Solar or Battery voltage or both ? Is it a bad idea?
The load center is to take one output (power from your batteries) and direct that power to multiple loads through individual breakers. You are correct, it is not necessary.
1) You need a charge controller. See this video for more info about why: ruclips.net/video/JQo3hOyB2iE/видео.html
2) That is a bad idea. Solar panel voltage fluctuates with sun angle, clouds, and other factors. It could be anywhere from 13v to 21v. So if you hook your panel directly to your battery you will almost surely fry it unless you watched it all the time. But to answer your question, you will get the voltage of whichever is greater the panel or the battery. But that is a trick question because when you put a load on the battery/panel the voltage will drop slightly. So if your panel is charging your battery at 14.6v and you put a load on the system, it may drop to 13.2v.
If you're like me supplying the whole house isn't possible.... lol, the 1st thing I want
in an Emergency is one room that has A/C - Heat along with a small fridge and the
PC. A couple of small lights & I'm set but even this, "meets minimal" arrangement
isn't cheap. Figuring for power losses across lines/devices plus the available use
of about 50% of lead-acid batteries leaves one having to miser just to have comfort?
Thanks for the series.... I learn little things in every one of them.
It is possible. But it is a prohibitively expensive investment that most people can't make. You will get a return in 10-15 years, depending on your cost of electricity from your power company. But most people can't afford to wait that long for savings.
@@LDSreliance~ That's a fact. I really believe the costs have been kept
artificially high to prevent people from ditching the fat cats of oil/gas
& other electricity manufacturers? I can't prove that but they've had
control over electrical needs since day one & from my research I've
read stories of peoples inventions being bought up & hidden or
some met w/ worse for not selling out? You've got a nice video
series. Do you have a Store? I've not even looked above yet
sorry for that. I'm trying to design a system now. peace
Thanks. I do have a store (ldsreliance.myshopify.com/). I am in the process of updating it so currently the checkout system is disabled but you can email me directly to place an order (ldsreliance@gmail.com).
Aren't the breakers designed to limit flow that will disconnect if it exceeds the rating (20 A breaker) ? Breakers are a switch but more important it is a fuse. Fuses prevent wires from overheating and setting wires on fire (good demo) . Even on AC equipment, DC current may jump over the AC breaker, but it would still be halted by a correct rated DC fuse. On the AC side, don't you need a ground rod and bare wire into the breaker box? Your inverter needs to be grounded or you can't use a GFCI (required in most codes). Kill a Watt is a good plug in tester. Good Job keeping them safe.
Thanks for the comments. You do need a properly rated DC breaker to be safe. Or you could use an AC breaker and a DC fuse, I guess. Ideally on the AC side you would have a ground rod. But that is the same with a gas generator, too. Yet most people don't use them that way and there are very few issues. I am not advocating not being safe at all, please don't misunderstand, but for tiny off grid systems like this that aren't hard wired into a house or providing enough juice to kill someone, a grounding rod is highly recommended but you can get away without using one if you had to.
Thank you for your great videos and explanations. I wonder if you could go further from ideas to practical advice for people who want to use solar power for their homes, in several different scenarios like grid tied, battery back up and hybrid... Thank you in advance.
+Oren Yehezkely Can you explain a bit more about what you mean? Lets take an off grid or battery backup system for example. What do you want me to show you?
I'm getting a crash-course in solar, so I appreciate your posts.
We set up and assist schools for the deaf in Africa, and the cost to get them on the grid is cost-prohibitive. These are shoe-string budget schools, and their electrical requirements (at this time) includes 2 laptops, 4-8 cell phones, and probably 6-10 12V LED light bulbs.
They're thinking that a locally-provided 200W panel setup for about $300-$400 (including controller, inverter and 12V car battery ..all made in China, I'm sure) should do the trick - or so they're being told. But I've seen some of the "solutions" that some of these guys have come up with, and ...let's just say I'd rather study up the topic myself before being convinced to shell out some cash for it.
Any suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Never use a car battery for a production system like that. It might be fine in a pinch but you need a true deep cycle battery for everyday use. To get a proper 200W system you are looking at $400-500 minimum. And then they need to factor in replacing the batteries every 5 years if they get premium batteries or 2-3 years if they get a cheap marine/RV deep cycle battery.
thanks again for your help. sounds like I will start small and slowly utilize solar as I can afford to build a system. again, keep up the great videos.
+sirswerdna Thanks for the support. Take it slow and before you know it you will know more than I do!
Hey I'm living in Guyana the country of many suns and water I'd like to know if I get a 100 WATS Solor what Volts of battery should i buy to use daily with a 32 inch TV and 4 lights and power bank to charge phones or use my blender on
Nice and useful videos sir
I have a question
If I gonna design a solar street light with 27 hours backup if the Load is 65watt and the Sun hours are 7h
Then:
1:what battery size do I need
2:what penal size
3:what inverter size
4:if I use two penal(2*150) do I need solar combiner
.
.
.
.
How many hours per night is the light going to run?
Your videos are phenomenal!
Planning on building a chicken coop and I want to use solar panels to power a few things. In the beginning, I'll need to power a heating mat and/or lamp 24 hrs a day for the first 5 weeks - "brooding". I've got a 45W matt that will maintain the temp I need. Because I have to run the heat all day and night, is the off-grid setup my only option?
Thanks for the feedback! For a chicken coop you would go off grid. The expense and headache of connecting to the grid with your electric company for such a small need would be too much. But you are going to need like 600 watts of solar panels to run something like that around the clock (and some batteries). That will vary some with where you live and what season of the year it is.
Is there anything I should look for when looking at deep cycle batteries?
Jordan Haynes
Read reviews on them before going to the store. All the brands are manufactured by only 3-4 companies and then Energizer, Duracell, Interstate, etc. just slap their name on them. So look up that brand and line of battery that the store you are going to carries and find out if they are good. For example, I found that the Exide batteries that Academy carries are pretty much junk. So I went to Batteries Plus instead to get a Duracell brand battery that was manufactured by a better manufacturer with a better reputation. I paid $10 more but it was worth it.
Other than that, just look at the amp hours. Ignore the "reserve capacity" or "runtime" or any other statistics. All we care about is the amp hours at the 20 hour run rate.
Thank you very much can we connect the bulb with Solar without Battery
Yes, you can connect a bulb to the panel without a battery.
Thank you for these videos what about adding a timer? Where in the order would it be in
Some charge controllers have built in timers. If you don't have that feature then you would put a timer in between the battery/cc and the load. Just wire it in series with the positive lead from the power source to the load.
Very nice information now I understand very well. Thanks
You are welcome. Thanks!
Can you add 500 farad capacitor to make the inverter more sine?
I have read that you can build an RC network with resistors and capacitors to clean things up a bit but I have never tried it. Some say you can also use a transformer to do something similar.
As solar panels become cheaper and more efficient, it makes it possible to have a 2kw to 5kw solar system and be able to charge an electric vehicle or anything else for that matter. Great info on the videos but at the same time, perhaps a disclaimer about costs and system size opening possibilities would have been a good addition to the video.
True. I have gone over that in quite a few other videos but it couldn't hurt to mention again.
With the setup solar panel, controller, battery, light where would I hook up a photocell so the light don’t run all day?
nice video man..can i ask what is the type or size of wire i am using when i do the same type of project and what value of solar panel will be used when i'm using house equipment such as electric fan and ligh bulbs in ac supply...is there any specific values.?.i understand the ac and dc supply however the types and value wire im not familiar with it..do you have a sample computation base on the load we have used..thank u .I hope you can help me on my inquiry.
There are quite a few calculators and wire charts out there. Just do a google search for "solar wire size chart" or "DC wire size calculator" or something to that effect. You will need to know the length of wire you need to run and how many amps you will be transmitting through the line.
I would recommend THHN wire for most solar uses unless you are going to leave it outdoors exposed to the elements.
I don't know if you are fermiliar with the Patriot generator or not but I have on for emergencies and I have 2-100 watt solar panels that I bought with the generator. I have never had too use the panels but I was wondering if I can use these panels in a stand alone system too charge regular batteries and run an inverter .
Yes, you can. I'm not familiar with the panels they sell but I am familiar with the power station. So I don't know if the solar panels have MC4 connectors on the ends or some sort of proprietary plug that only works with the Patriot power station. Hopefully it has MC4, which is industry standard. Then it would be easy to make some leads that can go to a solar charge controller, which will charge some batteries. You can then connect the inverter to the batteries and use the power year round.
@@LDSreliance Thank you. I will take a picture and try too match the connectors up.
they had high altitude glider with 50 ft wing span with cells that ran a small prop forever if you could keep up with the sun
I really like it very interested but we don't have that load here.
This may be a dumb question or I wasn't paying attention but can you attach the chrage controller to the battery and the load center?
Yes you can. You can connect the battery to the "battery" terminals on the charge controller and then connect the load center to the "load" terminals on the charge controller. The charge controller will then monitor the battery and shut off the load if the battery gets too low. However, you will be limited by the amp rating of the charge controller as to how many amps you can run through your load center.
Thanks!
You are welcome. Thanks for watching! Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already.
I want to power up my 80W water pump for my fish pond, what is the suitable solar panel that needed. Do I need to have a solar panel more than 80W. What is the size of the battery?
I really liked your solar videos. I have a question. I have a 10 watt solar panel and I want to power two muffin fans. My quandary is that I want one fan to run all the time, but the second, I want to run only when the panel is producing 5 watts or better. Any thoughts on how to wire this with a battery? and without a battery?
You will not be able to power a fan 24/7 with a 10W solar panel. If you mean that it will run all the time while the sun is shining directly on the panel that will work. As far as running the second load only when the panel is producing a certain number of amps, you would need a microcontroller to do that. Even programmable charge controllers that I have used don't have that kind of flexibility built in to them.
If it were me, I would wire both fans to the load output of a charge controller that has a feature called low voltage disconnect (LVD). That means that the charge controller will automatically shut off the fans if the battery drops below a certain voltage so that it can charge back up. When the battery reaches a higher voltage the charge controller will automatically resume powering the fans. This should translate to both of the fans running during sun hours as long as your 10W can keep up with 2 fans.
Mark Olejarczyk aa
Great videos. How do I decide the amp rating of the charge controller? Sorry if its a basic question, but I'm just starting to learn and want to understand exactly how it all works. Your videos have been so easy to understand and follow, I'm very grateful.
Thanks for the support! The amp rating will be provided by the manufacturer. The smaller units will usually be 10 or 20 amps. I have seen a couple as low as 7 amps but there isn't much reason to go below 20 as they are very affordable and allow some growth.
Thanks for the reply. Very informative. Thanks.
Mange 2 You are welcome. Thanks for watching!
I started with one 8A. panel and added 2 more. I had to donate the 20 A charge controller and buy a 40 A. 12 V. controller. My P.W.M. Chinese unit works fine! My maximum output is 24 amps on a very sunny day.I blew a 20 A. fuse!25 A. fuses are on order.
I get a little voltage drop to the batteries with 25 feet of quality 8 gauge wires.
I never measured it! I will now!!! =.3 volts.13.2 at panels,12.9 at batteries.OK.
Thanks.
LDSreliance thank’s for all this information you are great instructor l like your videos l was lookin sm information In RUclips and l choose you’r video to me is the best for beginners that’s why l subscribe. Thank’s for this help
Awesome! Thanks for the sub.
Please show us how to connect 2 or more solar panels and how to connect 2 or more batteries in series & parallel to charge controllers and solar panels.
Hello, I want to use a solar panel to charge my motorcycle and car battery during winter storage. What size solar panel, inverter and batteries do I need?
Great video! Easy n clear. Thank you
You are welcome. Thanks!
hi there
ive got a water pump in my van powered by a 12v 9A battery - which is wired via a split charger to the main battery and gets charged when driving - what if I 'll add a solar panel on the roof as an alternative charge source ?! as If I don't drive al ot the battery gets flat
would it be ok for the batttery to get charged from two sources at the same time ? The split charger I use now in my van disconnects the battery once is full or when engine is off to prevent draining the main / van battery
thanks for your videos
+Stran I You can charge a battery with 2 sources at once but you need to have a charge controller that will manage that. Cars have alternators with built in circuitry to not overcharge the battery. But if you add a solar panel to the mix then you will also need a charge controller for that, too. You will not really charge the battery while you are driving but the solar panel would be great for keeping the battery topped off between drives.
I have a simple set up. Two 200 hundred watt solar panels to a charge controller. Charge controller to a bank of six 12 volts deep cycle batteries. I have the charge coming in one end of the battery bank and going out the opposite end where I have my power inverter. Is that wrong? Should I be doing it differently?
No, that works fine. Nice job!
Thank you!
***** You are welcome. Thanks for watching!
Please I need your assistance on solar power generator...message me on WhatsApp,+2347056516622... So that we can talk better
Adebayo Mutiu
I don't have WhatsApp. You can email me if you want at ldsreliance@gmail.com.
Question please: I have four 100w Rich rigid panels and eight batteries 12v (not Li ). I want to add two batteries but... instead of adding two more 100w panels for a total of six panels, can I add two 200w panels to the system for a bit more energy??
If you put the 200W on its own string with its own charge controller and just connect it to the same batteries that will work fine. But if you just add it to the same mix with all the 100W panels it won't work very well.
@@LDSreliance thank you that's a big help. May God bless.
You are welcome. Good luck!
I was watching your video on the peltier water cooler and was curious if you think a solar off grid system could be used to power the peltier, pump, and cooler? If so , what wattage panel would be necessary and what amp breakers would I need to build it? Thanks in advance for any info...
+sirswerdna Yes, solar is great for peltiers because you don't have to waste any energy converting AC power to DC power. However, you will need a lot of solar panels and batteries to run one peltier around the clock as they are very power hungry. A better option would be to install a thermostat on the peltier so that it reaches a realistic temperature and then can be turned off and on automatically to maintain that temperature and decrease the amount of energy used.
What size peltier do you want to run and where do you live? I can give you an estimate from there based on that info.
That was fast! I ordered a tec1-12705 50w 77w max peltier, I live in grid cm88wa(Northern California). The thermostat sounds like a great idea. I am building it to keep about 5 gallons of water at about 68 degrees through the summer-I tire of swapping frozen bottles of water and cannot justify the $$$ of a chiller. Your vides are great for diy'ers like me, keep up the great work. Thinking of running the peltier on one circuit and the pump and cooler on the other to help minimize energy costs. Even if solar won't power the system 24/7, any savings would help. Thanks again.
No problem. Happy to help.
According to some quick calculations, you should average about 5 hours of direct sun per day in Northern California and if we assume the peltier will run 12 hours out of 24 and it consumes 60 watts of power then you will need at least 125 amp hours of batteries and 325 watts of solar panels. But my gut is telling me you will need more like 150-200 amp hours of batteries. I have played around with peltiers a lot and they always surprise me with how much more power they need than you think.
Wondering about the losses you mention in the charge controller. I'm designing a circuit to charge a 12 vdc battery that will run a deer feeder. The feeder timer trips a relay to turn on a motor. My timer puts out 10.2 v when I have 12 v from the battery. Will the losses from the charge controller further reduce this? should I only use the solar panel to charge the battery and then connect the rest of my circuit to the battery and not to the charge controller load to eliminate the losses thru the charge controller??
oh, I got plenty of stupid questions. Here is where I am lost with the breaker box and the inverter. I thought the breaker box was there to turn one direct load into many. If the inverter goes after the breaker box, why do you need the breaker box? How do I get multuiple loads out of on inverter?
You can do it either way. The main purpose for the load center/breaker box is to distribute power from one wire into many like you said. However, it is also a good safety device and allows for an easy on/off switch to allow you to re-wire things or manually shut off one device and keep other devices on.
One scenario where you might put the load center before the inverter is if you had a set of 12v lights or a 12v fan that you wanted to run but then you also wanted to convert some of the power to AC for use with common household devices. Then you could run one breaker for DC power stuff and one breaker for your inverter.
I am really new at this. Do I need 1 charger and battery to each panel?
Good video. Yup you can run just about anything on solar, but most things don't make sense to. It all comes down to cost and room. My system is sized wrong! Not that I do not know how to size a system, my wallet doesn't.LOL I know cooling will be a requirement and an AC did not even enter my mind. Cold air bothers me and I used a swamp cooler in my last place and it was so/so, due to humidity. It was fine for my needs. It is dryer here so I went w/ a very low amp DC swamp unit. I have not been using, as most days don't have enough sun, but hopefully those hot days will and I can run it some. No it will not be able to stay on 24 hours a day-only instead during the hottest times and it will have to stay on low. I have also heard of DC refrigerated units that use about 500 watts, but again that is a lot more than my little 60 or less watt cooler. I also run the fridge on propane-electric ignite. Had to give up the large screen TV, stereo, and fancy pump espresso machine: OUCH! in exchange for just using my macbook as the entertainment center. As budget allows I can add solar and goodies for them to run. Again I will pick DC goodies and have to pick the items that give me what I need w/ lower consumption. PS there was this guy who sold this mini swamp cooler on his site-low watts, but it was a window install only, so I went w/ another brand that consumed more. The guy's minicooler had an option w/ or w/ out a 60watt panel, as some buy the unit and hook direct to the panel only and run it when the sun it out [not for me as it can still be hot after dark], though it could integrate into a battery system.
+Prima Donna Going Off Grid Wow, I would be interested in seeing how well a swamp cooler can run off a 60 watt panel. Do you have a link to it? I can't use it here in Texas but I would love to read more about it.
+LDSreliance OOps I was wrong. The larger unit had a 60 watt and the small unit I wanted had a 30 watt. I know the smaller unit used less amps than the one I got. Here is the link to the smaller unit and the others are on the guy's site. Looks like he is moving ahead w/ them from last year when I spoke with him. www.westernharmonics.com/Online/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=67&products_id=186
The one I went with is: www.turbokool.com/ and the specs are below. The low setting as you see could be used for the few hottest hours of the day off my current system I have now! Of course that is if the days are ALL sun.
I had a house size cooler on the roof of my place, when I was in NM-did not work as it should due to serious humidity. I am talking a steam-bath full of mosquitoes. Still it took the edge off so I could be comfortable. One of the two above companies sold a unit to a happy user in FL, and one of them tried using the unit themselves in one of the humid southern states-they found as I did, not so great but took the edge off the heat. The most the use of that big swamp cooler ever added to my utilities was: $19 a month-hard to believe.
I am looking forward to see what this one will do now that I am in a dry climate. I have to wonder if it will cool the bedroom, which now on the colder days, is hotter than Haites, if I want to not freeze in the living room-the hot air is drawn up there. I keep the bath door open to block the hall and the bath warm.LOL
Prima Donna Going Off Grid
Wow that is crazy. You are a trooper to endure all of that. I would have broken down and bought a bunch more solar by now lol.
Those dc swamp coolers are nice but don't put out much CFM. They would probably take the edge off an RV or tiny home but 500 cfm doesn't even cool down a closet in a normal house under normal air conditioning requirements.
+LDSreliance OK so that is why that big house cooler did OK, because it was heavy output. I was on the grid then and 600 sq ft. Now that I am off grid, it's 216 sq feet so the turbo cool should work. think maybe that is why so many go tiny for off grid-easier to heat and cool.
I was going to expand if I could ever get the money, but that is a long shot. But I have set it on my list of goals. It would have been better if I could have saved more before having to move-my original plan, but then they wanted the rental back and I was forced to do it all on credit cards or be homeless. I am happier with this now anyway.
Prima Donna Going Off Grid
Right on. Whatever works! I wish I lived in a place that swamp coolers had any effect. Maybe someday.
Thank you for your videos. It's been a long time since I've last reached out to you. Something recently came up and I figured you were my go to guy when I first started. On my old system, I used a Stanley battery charge when I would hook up on my shore power. My question is this: Will charging my battery bank while the solar system is on, damage my battery? I recently saw a guy have a inverter/converter combo with his system. His inverter/converter was pretty expensive. Now that I am building a new system for my bus, I wanted to make sure using a separate battery charger like I did before was safe. Thank you in advance for you help.
Yes, you cannot have two charging sources going at the same time unless they are designed to work in conjunction with each other (which is rare). You can easily wire a switch, though, that will allow you to switch to shore power for charging when available and then switch back to solar when nothing else is available. Here is an example of such a switch:
amzn.to/2EsYMHD
Ignore the labels on the front. Look at the picture of the back of the switch and then it will make sense.
I knew I could count on you to clear things up. Thank you! Btw, that is a great product and will definitely be ordering that. To clear up what that person did with shore power and inverter/converter. When he plugs in to shore power, does his inverter/converter know to shut down the solar system? Is that how that expensive interver/converter works?
This was the video I was watching: at minute mark 14:19 it shows the diagram. The shore power is connected directly to his inverter/converter.
ruclips.net/video/wl9lAP7FXhc/видео.html&lc=z22wxh0yjteecnfy504t1aokglfzys32lypdrsddcrdzbk0h00410.1517279523268677
This is the inverter/converter in mentioned:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L0K910/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AWPBFTW0ZXVPR&psc=1
Yes, that inverter has a built in 60A transfer and also doubles as the battery charger when connected to shore power. So it is designed to handle both tasks. That is why it is so expensive compared to a normal inverter.
You're the best! Thank you very much buddy. Talk to you soon!
One more question. With two, 100 watt arrays, each came with its own controller. Should both arrays be connected in parallel to one controller or should both arrays each have its own controller and then combined in parallel to the batteries?
You can operate two charge controllers on the same battery(s). In fact, some applications are better that way like on a sail boat. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing so. The disadvantage is cost since it is cheaper to run one controller than two. But since you already have two, that is a moot point. The advantage is that each controller can optimize the charge from each panel individually and not lose power say, if one of the panels is partially shaded or has a huge bird dropping in the middle of it.
Ok so here is my question. I am setting up 25 watts total of landscape lighting at a sub division entrance. I am gong to be using a transformer of course to convert it to 12v. Could I plug that transformer into the solar kit if I were to buy a 100 watt kit?
You would not need a transformer if you were using solar. Landscape lighting is usually 12V and so is solar. So all you need is the solar panel(s), battery(s), and charge controller.
thank you for share us knowledge i have question
how can i use for fridge?
how much watt needed for fridge?
+turth never Hide I have found out you need a big inverter for a fridge. If your fridge is a 600 watt fridge then you could probably get away with 1000 watts of solar panels and an appropriate amount of batteries. But the inverter will need to be at least 2000 watts and probably bigger than that because the compressor motor on the fridge draws a lot of amps when it starts up.
Please advise how the setup would be different if you were using Li Ion batteries.
Only difference is you need a charge controller that can charge lithium batteries. They are more rare and more expensive but there are several options out there.
How about cable sizing throughout?
I do not need battery back up , just want to run my 240v .75kw pool motor while the sun shines . Have good light here . What size panels will I need ? And a converter ? Any help is cool . There a few here with the same issue :-)
Scott, do you know how much power that motor consumes after it is running? A lot of motors like that require a big surge of power to start up but much less after they are running. Anyways, if it really consumes 750W at all times then you will need 1,000W of solar panels to run that motor. That will leave 25% head room for losses.
You will need an inverter that can provide 240V such as this: amzn.to/2r9fyDL.
You will need a charge controller even though you won't have any batteries. You cannot connect 12V solar panels directly to an inverter. Since it will need to handle up to 80+ Amps (or high voltage) here is one you could look at: amzn.to/2raqW2K
All of that is expensive, I know. I would be surprised if that motor actually runs on 750 at all times, though. Do you have a way to test it?
Hi, I recently purchased a solar panel with both male and female MC4 connectors on it. I also purchased a controller. My question is this. The controller only has "set screws" to connect incoming and outgoing power. The power out from the solar panel is via a MC4 connector. How do I connect the panel to the controller ?
You can either hack off those MC4 connectors if you never plan on doing anything else with the panel or you can buy a pack of MC4 connectors and connect them to the ends of 2 short pieces of wire. I would recommend that because then in the future if you decide you want to disconnect that panel and do something else with it you will still have those MC4 connectors on there and those are the standard connectors in the industry.
I have a 205 watt solar panel with 68.8 VOC. How can I lower the VOC so can use it to charge my portable power station with a 14.2 -30V input voltage range?
You need to have a voltage converter that will step that voltage down. Something like this: amzn.to/3fLRcuW
if your still answering question, is there a way to regulate the power and monitor how much power is stored into the batteries?
+Akami McCallum There are expensive electronics you can buy that will do that. Usually it is an add-on for the more expensive charge controllers. They will have an LCD panel that provides monitoring and statistics on the system.
Hi if you add (for example) 2 12V batteries in series it will be 24V and will the charge control support this and will it not affect the inverter if its input is 12V tks
+ayubowewa Good question. A lot of charge controllers can handle 12v or 24v. But you do need to check your specs beforehand on the model you own or that you intend to buy and make sure it can. As for inverters, I don't know any that can handle both 12v and 24v. And the 24v ones are rare. So you can buy a 24v inverter or you can use a voltage converter to step down the voltage from 24v to 12v before it gets to the inverter. I shot a video on how this works: ruclips.net/video/0V5p8JMynIk/видео.html
+LDSreliance Thank you for your reply
ayubowewa
You are welcome. Good luck!
Good work you are doing, thanks ...... but i have a question here,
1. i have a 4 solar panel system of 130watts /12volt and 7.5amps each, with two panels in series and all in parallel, giving me a total of 520watts/24volts and apprx 14.5amps,
2. i dont have a solar charger controller but want to power my inverter direct using a 24v - 240v set-up transformer to feed the inverter from the solar panel, which has an inbuilt battery charging system,
3. the inverter is a 2.5kva sine wave inverter, with 2(two) 200ah /12volts battery, can this work? connecting the panel to the transformer directly before loading while the inverter charges the battary ?
Why do you need a transformer? Is your inverter 240v DC? What is the make and model?
I would like to do a grid tie in and plug it right into the wall can you do a video on that that would give back to the power company and lower my bill
+northof29 I will put that on the list of videos to work on. It will cost a lot of money because I would pretty much have to install a grid-tied system but it may be worth it.
+LDSreliance I have seen a video like that (I don't recall the name). I believe that what he showed is connecting the power that is coming out of the inverter to the socket. It does not feed the whole house but it gave some power back...
Oren Yehezkely
Oh, I see. The famous "plug-in" grid tied inverter. I have seen people using them and they were fine. However, those are illegal in the United States and you could seriously hurt someone by using them. If the grid were to go down and your solar system is feeding energy into the grid you might hurt an electrical lineman that is working on restoring powerlines to people.
Another reason not to use those is that your power company might actually CHARGE you for the power you are producing. If your meter cannot run backwards and your state does not allow net metering even though you are contributing power toward your bill, your power meter would read that as usage on your bill and actually charge you for your own power.
Does it matter how much watts/amperage/volts the solar panel has to has to operate well with the charge controller?
And for the battery?
+T&N games Not really, as long as your solar panel(s) does not exceed the amp rating of the charge controller. If you are just using one solar panel you should be fine. I would never use less than a 20 amp charge controller just because you don't save much, if any, money getting a smaller one. And 20 amps will handle even a large solar panel or several smaller ones.
Just make sure the solar panel voltage (12v or 24v most commonly) can be handled by your charge controller. I am pretty sure yours is 12v and most any charge controller can do 12v so you should be fine.
As for the battery there is some complicated math to how big of a battery you need but if you are just starting out you can just use most any cheap battery that matches the voltage of your system (12v or 24v). You will almost for sure destroy your first battery when you are learning how things work so don't rush out and get something expensive.
Thank you for the educational videos. I just subscribed. I have one question, is it possible to take out the Load Center? So its, Panel to CC to Batt... CC to inverter to an item (TV). If its possible, what bad effects could there be?
Of course. The load center is just if you want to divide the load into multiple loads. Or it can be used in reverse to combine multiple solar panels or strings of solar panels into one input for the charge controller.
Great info, can I wire my loads (inverter, USB, etc) directly to the battery and not use the load terminals of the charge controller? So, I have my solar panel and battery wired to the controller, and my loads wired directly to the battery with individual switches.
Yes, and there are certain instances where that is preferable. However, you will not benefit from the "low voltage disconnect" feature of the charge controller that saves your batteries from discharging too far by cutting off the power to the loads when your batteries' voltage drops too far. Most inverters will do this, too, but they often cut off at a lower voltage that might harm the batteries.
Very good explanation
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Can you run lines from the battery (apply the load to the battery for an pure sine inverter) instead of running a line directly to the charge controller for that device.
Yes that is the method you would use if your charge controller's load output is not high enough for the loads you want to run. You lose the low voltage disconnect protection, though, so keep that in mind. Here is a video I shot on this topic: ruclips.net/video/k8aVnRpoRLc/видео.html
Great videos thanks. A couple questions though, what exactly does the charge controller do? I'm thinking of running the wires from the solar panel straight to the battery as I do not need to use the load function, I will be running everything straight off the battery. Is this possible or do I still need a controller?
Also, will the solar panels keep charging the battery until it's full automatically or do you need something to cut it off when it's fully charged?
Thanks.
You can do that but you risk destroying your battery or causing a fire. The solar panel will supply a high voltage to the battery regardless of its state of charge (as long as the sun is out) and basically it can "overfill" the battery. A charge controller monitors the battery's charge state and when it gets full it switches to "float" which just provides a tiny flow of electricity to offset the slow discharge of the battery.
Ah I see thanks!
MPaixao You are welcome. Thanks for watching!
question for you. I want to run a pretty standard Hydroponic system on Solar. that would be a pretty good pump (to get the fluids up the A frame I use, and a couple of air pumps - maybe a timer. all these usually run on AC - does it make sense to just use standard materials or try to look for DC pumps?? Can you show an example of running a small hydroponic system using solar??
I have wanted to run a hydroponic system, too, but never had the time to set it up and get it going. On the AC vs DC question you are going to lose about 20% of your power converting it from DC to AC. So you can either get 20% more solar panels or look for a DC pump. If the DC pump is twice as expensive as a comparable AC pump then just get the AC pump. You can certainly get all of it DC if you look hard enough. Then you don't have to purchase an inverter, either. But again if everything is a lot more expensive don't do it.
I wish I could do a video and show you but I just don't have the time or money to invest in a proper hydro setup right now.
How do you check the input/output to and from the panels? I have several chargers but feel the output is inconsistent. Also not sure how to check what is a 10,000mAH vs 20,000 mAH etc?
The solar panels would have to be under load to check their output. You can't just put them out in the sun and use a multimeter to read the numbers. So typically I will use a simple voltmeter/ammeter combo like this: amzn.to/2uYc2zF
mAh is a measure of battery capacity. Some batteries you can check the capacity with a battery tester. But all batteries should be rated by the manufacturer so you can look up the battery model specifications.
Go,d job. I think alot of people over estimate how much power a solar panel can put out. Having built my own electric bike, I know how much power it takes to charge my batteries. To fully charge my batteries for about 12 miles of riding, it takes 45 amps at 12 volts for 90 minutes. That's about the entire output of 10 100w panels.
Yep. I hear ya. I am trying to educate people that solar is exciting and fun to play with and can be a great asset for preparedness and independence but it is not magic and takes a lot of money and effort to produce any meaningful amount of power.
I have an ADEMCO VISTA alarm system in my farm. It works with AC using a transformer 16.5VCA 25VA and has a 12volt 4AH backup battery. This year for two different reasons I have not have electricity for 4 hrs or more and the battery died and I did not have an alarm working. Watching your videos I´m thinking about solar. Maybe a grid system that will replace the AC coming from the house or can I use the battery of the system to store the energy? I don´t know really. What do you recommend? Thanks very much.
Yes, you could use solar for that. But you would have to seriously upgrade the battery since it will now be your power source instead of the house AC power and will have to run the alarm for 18+ hours every day when the sun is not shining directlyl. Simply connect your solar panel to a charge controller and then connect the charge controller to your battery. The battery will also remain connected to the alarm system and will actually provide the power for your alarm system.
Very well. Just a question. If I upgrade the battery, the alarm system will draw just the current that it use and it will not be damage. Let say I use a 12v golf cart battery as an example
Yes that would be what I would recommend. A big deep cycle battery that will never discharge more than 10% overnight when the sun isn't shining and you need a big enough panel to provide power to the alarm AND charge the battery back up to full each day. If you tell me the power specs of the alarm system (how many amps or kWh it consumes) then I can help you size things properly.
Hi again ldsrliance. The only information I have so far is that the transformer it uses is a 120 volt with 2.3A and the console receive 12 volts dc and uses a max of 600mA. With this information, I think, the system will need a minimum of 276 watts. Will this help you in some way to tell me the solar panel needed? Thank you
There is basically no way that thing draws 276 Watts 24/7. If it did, it would require 15 large deep cycle batteries and 3,200 Watts of solar panels to power it year round, including 48 hours of backup power for rainy days.
Do you have a Kill A Watt meter? That will be the best $18 you ever spend if you don't. amzn.to/2nkpoUC
Plug that in front of the transformer and let it run for 24 hours and then push the kWh button and see how many kWh you have consumed. You can also view the watts consumed in real time. We will need that before we can put together a proper system.
In part 1 of your video collection you said you would tell us how to wire the off grid system with multiple batteries but you didn't put it in any of your videos. So my question is how do you wire more than one battery to the system?
I did a video about that here: ruclips.net/video/4yxR-Iz2Xdc/видео.html
Awesome! Thanks.
You are welcome. Let me know if you have more questions.
I wand to run 2 small water pumps for a Aeroponics system, because I don't have access to electricity, not to save money. What do I need to use?
I always love your tutorials, I have question.
What's minimum voltage that man starts suffering with DC voltage.
I always thought that DC is safe to work any any Voltage is it correct?
What do you mean man starts suffering? Electricity is dangerous in any form.
@@LDSreliance it's not when it comes to batteries...
Any way thanks for your response.
Yeah you can't get hurt by a AA battery or something because they produce such small amounts of current. But a car battery or something larger like that can do some damage.
@@LDSreliance I agree, also I'm working on building a solar car.
I was confused in selecting a solar panel could you please suggest me to choose the right one.
What is the absolute best portable solar panel for backpacking that can charge #1 to #4 18650 batteries for a flashlight?
Good question. Are these batteries wired in series? In other words, what is the voltage of the battery pack? How many amp hours total is the battery pack?
+LDSreliance actually I'm looking for the best one and most dependable to charge a Thrunite TN 32 Flashlight. It holds 3 - 18650's. The charger is separate. The charger is a Thrunite charger that can charge an array of batteries from 18650 to like AAA. I have looked at the firefly by Renogy. It is so costly tho at $499.00. Any advise?
Luke Carter
So are you looking for a solar panel to provide power to the charger or a better charger? I assume the charger uses 110v AC power so a solar panel could only do that with an inverter, which would be inefficient. Is there a 18650 charger that uses 12v DC input?
Thank you for making a very useful tutorial I've watched part1 - part4, and I would like to ask.
How does monitoring device "SCC" that live or still work.
In case I was in the USA and the "SCC" was in Mexico or Indonesia or South Africa or secluded place.
I use the device to monitor the transmission medium "VSAT" internet.
What the enhancements is needed to monitor the "SCC" using internet communication media ?
What the parameters is needed to do the SCC device monitoring that is alive or still work ?
SCC?
Most charge controllers cannot be remotely monitored.
Re taking out the inverter and battery and charge controller i would say "yes" but not recommended at all
how many batteries does one need to operate your air conditioner, skill saw, or electric tools?
Too many variables to say. You need to know the power requirements/consumption of your devices, how many hours per day you plan to use them, and how many average sun hours per day your location receives.
@@LDSreliance if a small air conditioner needs 5,000 watts being run for 4 hours a day. I m in New Brunswick and my location would allow about an average of 4 hours direct sun in winter and average 8 hours of direct sun in summer.
So, by definition, you will only be running the air conditioner in the summer, correct? So if your need is 5,000W x 4 hours per day that is 20,000Wh or 20kWh. Your production possibility is 8 hours per day so 20,000Wh / 8 hours is 2,500. So you will need 2,500W of solar panels to pull this off. However, those are extremely rough numbers that do not account for line losses, battery storage losses, cloudy weather, etc. So in reality I would not try to pull off your needs with less than 3,500-4,000W of solar.
As for batteries, to store enough power in reserve to run for one day without sunshine you would need 3,400 Amp hours of batteries. That is a ton! So I don't want to discourage you but air conditioning and heating are the Achilles heel of solar. It is very expensive and difficult to pull off.
I have a solar panel, battery, charge controller, and inverter, I have seen "plug-and-play" solar kits on the market where you can just plug the system Into the wall to add energy to your house/grid. how could I make one of these systems myself?
Those are not legal in the United States. I have yet to see any company produce one that is legal, despite the many claims on their websites. You can kill or hurt someone working on the grid by feeding it with power they don't know about.
LDSreliance good but sad to know. I live in an apartment complex and our bill is consistently over $200/month even through conservation.
Yeah it sucks. Other countries use them that have less safety regulations but unfortunately, unless it has anti-islanding protection built in and has gone through the certifcation processes like RoHS and UL and all that then I would say stay away from it.
You might still be able to creatively use solar. Do you have a south, east, or west facing balcony?
Can I use 10 pcs of AA 1.2v NiMH rechargeable batteries? If yes, would you recommend it? I want safe batteries
For solar? No I would not use that. NiMH has a memory and doesn't do well with constant charging and discharging.
have you ever made your own solar panels & if yes do you have a video on that (or be willing to make & video)?
I have not. It is a pretty involved process and, in my opinion, does not save you any money over buying a decent lower end panel.
Can an 100watts solar panel works for a led tv and fan at one time?
Yes, as long as the fan is low wattage (for example amzn.to/2yAc1a1) and the tv isn't huge.
If you have more than 1 solar panel, what is the correct way to connect them? Do they connect in parallel or series or both
Depends. If you want higher voltage you connect in series. If you want higher amperage you connect in parallel. It is more efficient to increase the voltage because you will lose less energy in voltage drop and you can use cheaper, thinner wires. However, it is harder to find 24V, 36V, or 48V devices especially inverters. So if you "upgrade" to higher voltage you need to take that into account.
For most beginners you will probably want to stick with parallel.
LDSreliance Thank you!
You are welcome!
What are the best or common loads you can power with a 100 watts solar panels?
The short answer is anything smaller than 100 Watts. So laptops, newer TV's, small box fans, small water pumps, wireless speakers, security cameras, outdoor flood lights, etc. But if you have a decent sized battery bank you can run bigger loads for short periods of time that exceed 100 Watts. For instance, if you had your 100W solar panel in the sun all day on a summer day with 8 sun hours you could probably run a 6000 BTU window air conditioner for up to an hour or hour and a half in the evening.
Will a solar panel over charge the 12v battery
Not with a charge controller.