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April 12th, 2022, 11:42 AM #31
Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
Sure... there are devices that have both a solar charge controller for a battery bank, and an inverter for supplying AC current, all built in. You can also get a pretty inexpensive transfer switch that can supply power only to circuits in your house you select.
Is the array that is currently on your roof active and being used for anything? Do you know what the PV system voltage is?
Here are some examples of devices:
Solar inverter:
https://smile.amazon.com/Charger-Inv.../dp/B0969YRPKF
Transfer switch (this is the one I have in my house for running the fridge, internet, one of the split AC units, and my office on generator):
https://smile.amazon.com/Reliance-Co.../dp/B000BQN4T2
Good Lithium batteries are about $750-1000 per kWh these days, so how many of them you need just depends on what you have to run, how long you want to run it, and what your battery system voltage needs to be.
If this is in the "cost prohibitive" area, you can do something more simple like a standalone solar controller and inverter with household plugs and probably spend half as much. It just depends on what voltage your PV array is putting out.
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April 12th, 2022, 12:53 PM #32
Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
My system is active and produces close to 20 Meg a year. DC voltage looks like about 375 and AC looks like 250. If those aren't the numbers you are looking for, I can find others but a lot of this is mumbo jumbo to me.
Gender confusion is a mental illness
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April 12th, 2022, 02:00 PM #33
Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
Just an update: I bought a Jackery 500 battery and their 100w solar panel, nothing expensive, just enough that if we lost the grid for a year or two, I could charge the Jackery battery and use that to charge all my AAA and AA and D batteries, and cell phones (if the phone grid is still up). The panels are supposed to charge the battery in about 9 hours on a sunny day, less if it's not drained. We tried it out, I ran a nightlight (drawing 7-10 w) overnight and it went down from 100% charge (I plugged it into the wall to get to 100%) to around 90%, and then a couple hours outside in the sun it went back to 100%.
So for around $700 (I think it was), we should be able to run battery-powered flashlights and radios and such, indefinitely, until the rechargeable batteries die or The Machines scorch the sky and there's no sunlight. No way I can run anything with a serious power draw like a fridge or AC or even incandescent 60w light bulbs, but the cost of that is up a few orders of magnitude, and we just don't lose the grid here very often. And we can do a lot with AAA batteries. Mostly lighting, and a radio.
It would be cool to have an Alaska-style system where the grid could go down and we wouldn't even notice, but money is finite and desires are not.Attorney Phil Kline, AKA gunlawyer001@gmail.com
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April 12th, 2022, 02:40 PM #34
Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
So that's a big system with a very high PV voltage and you should probably not touch it at all for safety's sake.
If all you want to do is run some LED lights and charge phones, I'd get maybe a 200W panel off of Amazon and plug it into one of those power stations (like the aforementioned Jackery) and go that route. Leave that high voltage stuff right where it is.
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April 12th, 2022, 03:13 PM #35Grand Member
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Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
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April 12th, 2022, 09:32 PM #36Junior Member
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April 12th, 2022, 09:39 PM #37Junior Member
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Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
I have seen solar panels for sale on GOV PLANET .COM anyone know about them?
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May 23rd, 2022, 03:01 PM #38
Re: Any gurus on solar panels for charging batteries?
I have a solar panel question that I think I know the answer to, but wanted to bounce it around a bit.
How does a solar array, connected to an inverter to run 120VAC stuff handle inrush current for when something like a compressor starts? It would seem that solar panels have a fairly fixed amount of current and cannot just supply more instantly without more sunlight. The question does not apply to homes that are connected to the grid, but a self sustaining system. My thought is some sort of battery bank would need to be there to help with the current supply. Am I right?Rules are written in the stone,
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May 23rd, 2022, 04:18 PM #39
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