My Humble, Yet Cheap Solar Set-Up

[mettleramiel]

Like the title says, here is my small solar array.

Shown here are 3 15 watt panels and one 30 watt. I have a 4th 14 watt not pictured. Of the 15w panels, 2 were completly free and the other 2 cost $80 each, however, I consider them free because they were bought with Canadian Tire money/ gift cards and money I got from recycling cans and bottles. The 30watt panel I paid $150 for but I also consider that free since the money came from recycling batteries from where I work.

30amp charge controller. $100 again bought with Canadian Tire money and pop bottle returns.

Inside the box with my charge controller are my batteries and inverters. There is a 1000w inverter for large items and a smaller, more commonly used 300w. The 1000w cost me $80 used. Bought with actual money this time.

The batteries, however, were completely free. Got them from work and there's always more too be had, I just don't need them with how much solar I have. 3 G24's all testing at just over 100% rated capacity, that's about 225ah, much more than I need. All the the Anderson connectors and battery clamps that hook them all up were free from work as well.

This is the outlet that I made. I have things plugged into it like an ordinary outlet. When the switch on the bottom is to the right, whatever is plugged in uses grid power, when pushed to the left, if comes from the batteries, completly uninterupted. Next to my outlet box is the remote for the inverter, also free from my brother-in-law.

So all in all, I have 90w of solar, 225ah of batteries and a 1000w inverter for under $200 real money. At least, that's the way I look at it.

Always looking for more, though!

[wooferhound]

That's a great start and enough power to have some good fun with

at the bottom the first picture I see more solar panels, what's up with that ?

What voltage are you running at ?

a few observations . . .

The batteries look like they are hooked together with very small wire.

I don't see any fuses or breakers.

looks like enough ventilation in the box but I wouldn't keep the rest of the controllers and inverters in there with the batteries, the gasses can be corrosive.

[TomW]

Looking pretty nice!

I would note that it is generally not a good idea to enclose electronic devices in the battery box. I can't see for sure but your batteries look to be sealed type which may not be a problem having electronics in with them.

Does that fan push air in or pull it out?

I suspect you are hooked now and there is no known cure.

Tom

[mettleramiel]

One of those panels is for the little fan you see below the charge controller, the other one is for charging a small portable powerbox that I use to charge small devices.

The wires are 6ga and each battery has a fuse. You can see one of them, it's that black, cylinder with the yellow stripe.

Like the guy below observed, these are gel batteries so they don't gas, plus, I have that fan sucking air out and the front of the box is cut at the top to make a big vent gap.

[DamonHD]

I assume that all the panels (and batteries) are paralleled up and you're running at a nominal 12V?

I like the idea of mixing thin-film and crystalline panels in that way to get good output in a wide range of light levels/spectra.

In both my off-grid and grid-tie PV systems I have a mix (monoc + triple junction off-line, Sanyo HIT grid-tie).

Rgds

Damon

[Bruce S]

Nice!!

Free is good no matter where or how.

Nice setup on the remote too.

I too entered the high-power world of 90Watts just recently, and will hopefully be able to continue feeding this addiction.

The difference is that I currently use NiCds for power. FREE

Congrats!!

Bruce S

[zeusmorg]

 Just a little note,, gel-cells, SLA's,and agm's DO outgas. Just not as much as regular lead acids. if you look at the construction of one, you'll realize that there's a rubber plug that allows pressure equalization, and there's also a small vent.

 I think the biggest thing i would note is you have way too many wires that could be tripped upon, and pulled about inadvertently. Also you're using thhn (romex) unshielded, and I'm betting that's a 120v out of the inverter? Don't let your insurance rep. see that one..

[mettleramiel]

Yes, you're right, they do gas a little, but I believe i have sufficient ventilation as the power wheelchairs that I fix at work have their electronics in much closer proximity and with less ventilation.

Not sure what all that THHN is about, care to explain? I looked it up and it says that it refers to the type of wire I am using. I can tell you that all the wires connected directly to the batteries are from 24v power wheelchairs so I would hope that they are the right type. Or is it the unshielding that you are referring to as the problem? If so, what would you suggest? Where is the danger I have to fix for my insurance rep?

Tripping over the wires shouldn't be a problem, all of them are stuck against walls or under furniture expect for the ones directly from the panels to the charge controller. Those ones are connected with quick connects, so in the off-chance that I did trip over them, (HIGHLY unlikly since I have to crawl into that little space) they would disconnect from the controller, causing no damage to the electronics.

[ghurd]

Looks pretty good to me.

Everything could always be better, no matter what.

My bet is on you ain't done with it yet.

I don't like what will cause problems first...

the cheap 30A gator clips.  Soldering (with a torch) the wire to the clamp really helps.

the cheap in-line fuse holder. Blade fuses are better for inline, IMHO.

My only power concern is the 1000W inverter feed wire.  1000W is a lot of 12V amps, like 100A.  I can't see anything up to the task, though it might be in there.

Maybe larger wires between batteries, because of the 1000W inverter.

Footnote concerns?  

The loose wire on the roof.  At least fasten it to the 2x4!

The under-PV circulation should be better.  Double up the 2x4s?

Circulation for the inverter heat.

The earlier bare romex remark maybe referes to the left side of the green outlet.

I see a lot of stuff, several years old, done a lot worse, with worse parts, often in damp or dusty places, and the connections are the usual problem.

It works?   Be Happy!

G-

[zeusmorg]

 Romex wire is designed to be either stapled in an area that is hard to reach, it installed within walls where no contact can occur. 120 wiring codes are (basically) written with safety in mind, look at how the rest of your 120 wiring is installed. It should NEVER be run through anything that can rub a hole in it,, or be able to crimp it, or close on it, like through a window, doorway, etc.  

 THHN T= Dry only  HH= high heat N=thermoplastic sheathing

of course, there can be other designations on "romex" also. like NM probably the cheapest, dry only plastic wrapped.

 The letter designation and class determines what it is suitable for, and that is way too long for a short post.

 The 120 side of any RE system is covered by codes in the united states, just like any other 120 system. If you do not comply with those codes, and something does go wrong...well it is your liability and not your insurance companies.

 Low power wiring, does not have these requirements as the shock possibilities are lower.

 Basically you have to look at safety issues, is someone that doesn't know about my setup going to trip over it? Is the dog going to chew through the wires? Are my contacts well made?  Is it neat? will water damage connections? are my wire sizes sufficient enough to handle the amperage that will pass through them? Do i have the wires protected by a proper size fuse? If i drop a piece of metal, will it short things out?

 Spending money on good components, and then not doing the best to protect them from damage, or failure is not too smart , in my book.

 I'm not writing this just to criticize, but to educate.