Oh F*** NRs Solar panel has arrived and ....

[NorthernRaider]

Yup not bothering with an invertor either its only going to be 12vdc or less.

[Mortblanc]

If you stick to the 12 appliances remember that the DC current heats the wires up quickly. Keep the wire lengths as short as possible and use heavier guage than you think you need.

LED technology was not what it is today when I did my last solar setup so I suspect that one can get better, longer lasting lighting than was possible 10 years ago.

I still have my setup but did not hardwire it into the present house. Last house I did 12v down the central wall, battery bank under the kitchen cabinet and solar pannel on the kitchen roof. Also had a plug on the pickup truck in case the battery bank went down.

[Nix]

I've got electrical background and have installed my own solar setups for supplying mains to the house.


Control Station

Presently experimenting with two 24v off grid setups through a bank of ultra deep cycle sealed batteries plus controllers and inverters. Also one 12v set up using an AGM ultra deep cycle battery with controller and inverter.

Finally, a grid tie set up which, although not installed by an MCS accredited company (cos I did it myself), is up to their standards, ie MCS panels, connectors and cabling plus using G83 grid tie inverter.

I'm pleased to say that everything is working well but there's been a learning curve with some of the products!

BEWARE, it can be a minefield cos there are so many different solar panels (12/24v etc), batteries (AGM/sealed/gel/etc), controllers (standard/PWM/MPPT), inverters (12/24/48v modulated/pure sine wave, grid tie) etc.

VERY important you match up properly and protect the cabling/equipment with adequate fuses. Amperage will catch most people out here so plan carefully!

If anyone needs help, I'm happy to oblige.

[Skean Dhude]

Does anyone have an deep cycle batteries that they can recommend and provide links for? I think the leisure batteries I bought aren't quite what I needed.

[Nix]

I tried Lucas 113Ah deep cycle batteries which were cr*p so don't recommend them.

However, the Xplorer 125Ah ultra deep cycle batteries IMO are brilliant. On fleabay here or just enter eBay item number: 261189747713 in the search bar.

I've got six of these batteries and love 'em!

[Madgirl151]

So if I got solar panels fitted by the professionals, would those deep cycle batteries be the ones I would require to hook up and stop the electric going back to the grid?? and I would imagine that they would have to be fitted professionally too????

[Nix]

(7 August 2013, 19:46)Madgirl151 Wrote: So if I got solar panels fitted by the professionals, would those deep cycle batteries be the ones I would require to hook up and stop the electric going back to the grid?? and I would imagine that they would have to be fitted professionally too????

Short answer is yes and no. Yes, they are great batteries to use in storing energy created by the solar panels. No, nothing has to be installed by professionals BUT it depends on your own abilities and/or help you have at hand.

Just cos you have panels installed, doesn't mean that it has to go to the grid. The choice is yours where it goes. Simply, MCS installers simply fit an array of panels to your roof, then it goes straight to a grid tie inverter so you get the feed back tariff and some units to tell you what's going on.

Very important to note, these type of systems, ie grid tie inverters, by their very nature, will shut down if the grid goes down! In a SHTF scenario, you'll get nothing from them. In my set up, I can easily switch panels from grid tie to battery back up, depending on my needs. With battery back up, you are completely isolated from the grid but can get a mains supply through an inverter.

As I said before, there's a lot involved with this but well worth having it. Think I'll start a separate thread about what I've done so others can refer to it...?

[Skean Dhude]

Can you document that setup. A few of us have asked how to do that.