# Small solar



## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I own a piece of property that will be my homestead. It's way off the grid. I'll never run grid power to it. I have the camper set up on it now. When I am there, I run a few 12 volt CFL lights for 3 hours a day and an LED 12 volt TV that draws about 24 watts for 2 hours a day. I currently bring my marine deep cycle battery when I go over there. It provides power for up to 3 days, no problem. Sometimes I have to run the propane furnace. The blower runs the battery down in a few days. I would like to put in a small solar system to charge the battery so I don't have to keep bringing it home to charge.

I have looked at the small solar kits from HF and others but they seem to cost a lot for what they put out and the reviews say the charge controllers are junk. 

How about I buy a 60 cell, 250 watt panel and a Blue Sky 20 amp MPPT charge controller? The panel is about $225 and the controller is $200 so you are in for about $500 with wire and fuses. Everything is set up for 12 volts output from the panel and the charge controller won't handle higher voltage outputs from the panels. The 20 amp capacity of the charge controller matches the output of the panel. This means you can't expand the system but controllers like the Midnight Solar are $500 so beyond the budget.

Will this system keep my battery charged? Is there a good quality charge controller under $250 that will allow system expansion in the future?


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Nimrod said:


> ...Will this system keep my battery charged? Is there a good quality charge controller under $250 that will allow system expansion in the future?


I'm guessing it most likely will. To give you a more confident answer I would need a lot more detail into your usage and location. 

The 20 amps is what's limiting the expansion. If you want more you'll just have to go bigger. Then your looking at the dollars. An outback will handle 80amps or 4 times the power. 4 blue sky controllers will run $800. So if you want to expand you run multiple controllers or bite the bullet now.

The big problem your not seeing with the plan is the charge rate. Your battery is only in the 75 to 100 AH range. Pushing 20A charge into is to much unless it's an AGM. For FLAs the charge rate should be between C8 and C12 with C10 usually being ideal. That means you battery bank needs to be between 160 to 240AH.

WWW


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Nimrod said:


> You might check your panel power specs. a 250watt panel typically will have 20-40v output, that would make current 10-5amps output.... Note most "12v" panels put out more than 12v. Regarding will it keep your battery charged. Yes it will charge it, but will it keep it charged depends on the load you put on it.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

What I would like to do, for now, is keep the camper battery charged. I can run the camper , except the furnace, for a 3 or 4 day stay without completely draining the battery but I have no way of telling how low it gets. The plan is to build a small cabin on the property and I would like to add a few more panels and batteries to run it. When I am living there I need to run my freezer off solar along with the things I am using in the camper. 

So what WW is saying is that the system I proposed is going to charge my battery too fast? I just happen to have the battery because I use it on the camper and the ice fishing house. Sounds like I may need to get a couple of golf cart batteries?

I look at the price of panels per watt and the 60 cell are the cheapest. I think I would rather start with one of them vs a smaller panel. Then you need a charge controller that can handle the higher VOC? I did notice that Midnight has come out with a new controller, The Kid, that is 30 amps and just over $300. It can handle a 24 volt panel and step it down to a 12 volt battery bank. Might be a better choice without breaking the bank?


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

I looked up the Bluesky Controller. Worthless piece since it cannot handle VOC in[put of higher than 45VDC.

I have heard decent things about Renogy solar panels but nothing about there charge controllers. They have a 40A for @$210 and a 20A for @$140

http://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Tracer...d=1439222954&sr=8-7&keywords=morningstar+mppt

WWW


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2015)

I saw on www.greengardenchicken.com that they carry some sturdy rv packages that are also expandable and in your price range. You might check that out. I bought a Solar well pump package from them for a few thousand and it was well worth it. The kits come with practically everything you need. This package runs my well pump,water heater, and washing machine. Though not the heater and the washer at the same time works awesome.


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## GREEN_ALIEN (Oct 17, 2004)

Wow, some overkill here.

If I read this right, you just want to keep your battery topped off so when you arrive you have lights?

If that's the case, I use this HERE for a couple 12V RV lights in an old shed that has no power to it. More or less this anyhow... the original panel moved out in a 'way too close' tornado and I replaced with something very similar.


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## gundog10 (Dec 9, 2014)

First I am not looking for a fight, that said here is what I did and recommend. Skip the MPPT controller. Get a Moringstar TS 45($163) or better yet the TS-60 (which I have) ($209) They can take 12, 24 or 48 volt and are completely programmable. Not many are. They will charge your batteries and maintain them with a trickle (float) You will also be able to expand alot without the need to buy more controllers. We have two 158 watt DM solar panels and two Costco gulf cart batteries with a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter. This has been a great system for over 4 years with no issues. I would also recommend you go with a propane frig/freezer as it will take alot of solar to run one. Check Amazon.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2084660942&pf_rd_i=desktop


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## AndrewD (Nov 24, 2015)

Going solar is certainly a creative solution to the problem you are facing. If you're looking to keep your expenses within a certain price range, you may want to check out a website called Solar to the People: http://solar-to-the-people.com/ This site can help shed some light onto your best options for going solar.

There are a variety of ways that you can go about purchasing solar panels, but I think that it's always a good idea to get a good overview of all your options before committing to one. Keep in mind that the price of solar will largely depend on where youâre located. Fortunately, there are a lot of great sites that can help you determine how much energy youâll be producing with your system. One excellent resource is the U.S. Department of Energyâs Pricing Trends: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/62558.pdf 

Also, if you want to determine how much energy youâll be producing with your system, thereâs another excellent resource called PVWatts ( http://pvwatts.nrel.gov/index.php ), which includes a solar energy calculator. This tool will allow you to determine how much energy you can expect to produce from your system. You may also want to check out this FAQ from the Solar Energy Industry Association: http://www.seia.org/about/solar-energy/solar-faq 

Iâm not exactly sure if the system you proposed will keep your battery charged, but if you take advantage of Solar to the People, they may be able to shed some light on what will and will not work for your situation. Best of luck!


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