Previous >>2903345
I will Get a Huge 167ah Battery this year.
Reminder to read shit before axing stupid questions.https://rentry.co/solarshithttps://rentry.co/heatshitCurrently "cooling with heat pump" is being updated in heatshit, as I experiment with my system more. Did a lot of work changing the distribution design and implemented reversed flow/return for radiator cooling. Might make a video or stream later to go over the entire thing.Cooling an entire not too well insulated house eats up a fuckton of power though, it's doubling my power consumption.
>>2927613I'm into soft, sensual, kissing.I like to make love.How will going solar affect this?
>>2927633Pros:1. You can run electrical sex toys on "free" electricity2. In your soft sensual love making moments you do not have to be distracted by stray thoughts of high electrical bills3. With solar and possibly a heat pump, you can achieve better thermal comfort in your home, on the cheap, contributing to a good environment for love making4. Buy a jacuzzi and run it for free, make more sexy timesCons: 1. Talking about your cool solar setup to women will not make their peepee harder2. In extremely first world places, your HoA might bully you, interrupting your sexy times by resident Karens ringing your doorbell to tell you about how you may or may not be violating the HoA ruurus3. You could pay many hookers for the price of the solar system
>>2927634>1. Talking about your cool solar setup to women will not make their peepee harderyou dont talk to the corrects girls or use the correct words. alternative girls like that, you just need to use more hippy wordsi almost get laid recently like that talking about solar, insulation, passive houses and canadian wells, but then i was barely able to contain my cringe when she was bullshiting me with astrology and i fucked up
>>2927637>talk about solar, insulation, passive houses to w*man>responds with astrologyI think I'll just die a virgin instead.
>>2927638you dont get always that back, it is just what the last time happenedi am an astronomer, i was cringing haaaaaard
bump
Had a power outage for about two hours. Ran my fridge off a battery / inverter. It was eating around 200 watts. I used my battery ryobi fan and aimed it at the coils / compressor. Power use dropped to around 190 watts.
What are my chances on smuggling lifepo4 cells on my check luggage? Airfare and taxes are like 150% the cost of the cells.
>>29301760%But if you manage to stuff them in your Shoes then you are Gucci.
>>2926704Anyone ever run their reptile room off solar power? I am looking into buying a snake soon and I want to use solar power for the heater and thermostats
>>2930744It's going to be exactly as inconsistent as any other solar application. If at all viable, it's always better to do whole-house applications than "small" individual projects. Quotation marks because you'd probably still need at least a half-size 200W-ish solar panel, maybe even a 400W if you want it to work somewhat in the winter.
>>2930766>If at all viable, it's always better to do whole-house applications than "small" individual projectsWhy?
>>2930782Because cost usually scales better. For this reptile thing, if you made a simple DC system with DC heaters and battery, you'd be looking at maybe $200-$300 cost (guessing, because I don't know how big you want to make it and what conditions it is in), with maybe 10-20% system utilization (because you have to scale it to winter consumption if you want it to be pure solar), so you're saving maybe $20 a year. A whole-house system is around $5-6k, but it might be saving you $1k+ a year.
>>2930744buy two solar panels, one bigger and one smaller, connect them directly in series, put the smaller one in the terrarium bellow the sand, earth whatever, it will be used as a diode heater, maybe insulate bellow it, now you just need a thermostat capable of cutting of dc, a fuse that kind of basic electric stuff>>2930791well the trick is to not use a battery or a controller at all. dirt works as a thermal battery
>>2926704Greetings, Gotten my hands on a cheapo hybrid inverter that runs on 48V and has a RS485 port. No panels yet.Ordered 2 identical 24V lifepo4 batteries for it on sale. Pic related. Both batteries have internal BMS for their cells but no output port. I reckon these 2 batteries would be better off balanced between themselves as well. Would an external BMS be up for the tasks (i.e. hook it up to the +&- on the batteries but not to their internal BMS'es) or should I crack the 2 batteries open and connect the external BMS to their invididual cells directly?
>>2930881Probably thinking too hard for the grade of the battery. Top balance them on 24V in parallel at the start, then check them here and there if they are mostly the same voltage. Even if there is some capacity difference from the factory, it shouldn't drift significantly. And then if it does, you can worry about it then. Chinks have these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008869277316.html balancer units, but if you end up with this, make sure to fuse it and don't put it near anything flammable. Conversely, a good 16s high current BMS is at least $100, closer to $200; if you're gonna spend that much on balancing alone, you might as well just build the whole battery from scratch, probably end up with something better than C-grade Aliexpress packs.
>>2930814>dirt works as a thermal batteryIf it's enough for the terrarium, then yeah. Getting an AC backup heater for winter days is probably also much cheaper than any kind of battery setup.
>>2930885Thanks, guess I'll be using them without an external BMS for a while. The batteries themselves are to be placed in a non-flammable environment though there's to be a long line of breakers about 1 meter directly above them. The reviews on these chiesiums are surprisingly decent, apparently some folks have been running them for years with little to complain about; I've been planning on getting another pair to bring the system to 200Ah if these two (+ the inverter) prove to work well. A $100-200 BMS is justified in my eyes in this case. The problem with BMS'es in general from a newcomer's perspective is that most of the time they're either already installed inside a commercial battery or are more of a DIY solution wherein they're wired to individual 3V cells. Just surprised there's so few examples of something in-between i.e. this particular case with 2 commercial batteries in series. I'd assumed these can just be treated as 2 basic cells, i.e. internal BMS take care of the 3V cells and the external one balances the two sums.Guess we'll see how it goes, maybe I'll follow your other advice and just make somethng custom out of cells and a proper BMS. For now the immediate concern was that the system would immediately go up in toxic smoke due to no balancing between the two 24Vs.
>>2930900>I'd assumed these can just be treated as 2 basic cells, i.e. internal BMS take care of the 3V cells and the external one balances the two sums.That's exactly what the aliexpress thingy does that I linked.>For now the immediate concern was that the system would immediately go up in toxic smoke due to no balancing between the two 24Vs.No, only if the batteries had some massive fault. The BMS would always trigger a disconnect from overvoltage. I just like custom builds because I know what cells are inside and what BMS I am using with what voltage thresholds, as opposed to mystery meat, but known brands can be okay. Or stuff that Will Prowse tests and tears down, you can see what's inside and how it works.
>>2930905Oh alright, my bad. Couldn't figure it out until I found a picture showing that the part that goes into the 4 pin input port is just 2 pairs of positive and negative terminals. Will probably get one (or something similar) just in case, cheers.
Is going all out on Maxeon 7 panels and a 180 kWh Anker battery solution the most retarded thing one could do?(main motivation behind all of this: spite)
>>2930918For panels it's pure quantity > quality nowadays, for batteries it's quantity > quality as long as you have some bare minimum. Inverters are arguable on price/quality, and with safety devices you definitely want quality.Maxeon have their warranty going for them, but why Anker batteries?
Getting my 7.5kW penis extension next week, gonna have almost 13kW total. Should hopefully cover most of the running costs of the heat pump, saving about $2k a year on gas.
Still working perfectly. Probably the first time getting the hv pack down to around 70%.Whole lot of grinding/welding I've been putting off.Still only have ~1.2kw of panels so I must have used a little over 6kw lel
Getting a new shed soon. Quote for running power out to it is insane. All I really need is some lighting. Are there any good options to simplify that as much as possible like maybe some sort of lights made for an RV that I could run straight off 12v? I've got deep cycle lead acid batteries scavenged from a UPS but I wonder how they'll handle hot cold cycles seeing as they've meant to be for indoor use. Are the hobo freight solar kits good enough for something like that or are they too shit even for this sort of thing. I'd want to run some decent flood lamps for maybe like 6 hours tops so I can work on my cars behind the shed.
>>2934731Work out the watts of the lamps you want and post your approximate location. "Solar generators" would probably be good enough.
>>2934789Mid-Atlantic. The solar part of things should be viable. I've got people around here that are full solar and there's a couple little solar farms that are supposedly viable. I'm more looking to see if my poorfag batteries will work and some suggestions for the lights.
>>2934731just use 12v led strips, or go to 12v lamps and bulbs. that is what i used in my house until i finish fixing it and live there. temporary construction site connections are stupidly expensive hereyou will need a solar panels, charger, battery, wire, fuses and switches, that is it, no need for a kit. given that you have the batteries is 100 bucks at most not counting the panels, some more if you go premium like victron for the chargeryou can also get car lighter sockets so you can plug car usb chargers and other useful stuff
>>2934863You can get 12V/24 chink truck lights that are decent in all kinds of wattages, you can use those for floodlights. Spend at least a little on the charge controller though, that's the one part that can potentially catch on fire. If possible, go for a 24V system over 12V, since lights are still easily available for 24V and you can save a bit on wiring and reduce amps. You can still get a fairly cheap 24V-12V converter to run car stuff off if you ever need that.The absolute cheapest charge controller that might go without catching on fire is something like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006973513514.htmlAvoid those $20 small blue ones like the plague, they claim anywhere between 20-100A rating but are actually at most capable of 5A safely, and they don't have proper internal limiters. You can get away with cheaper MIDI fuses for fusing the system. 1-2 400W solar panels should do, ideally in series.
>>2934870>car stuff off if you ever need that.most car stuff can be found as a 24v variant or working on both voltages as big trucks are 24v
>>2934865>>2934870Bitchin. I can work with that. I'll see what AliExpress and eBay can net me and do some wattage calculations.
>>2926704I want to buy a battery that be be discharged and charges at the same time, to power a tiny computer plus the computers screen 24/7 so other than the port for input power from the solar panel, it would need a minimum 3 USB ports.There are lots of batteries like this. But the place I need to run it has horrible winters and it will get down to maybe -15F at worst. So the night will be long and cold and the computer will still need to run through the night. What kind of battery is one supposed to buy for this type of area? What do Alaskans buy which also has 3 USB ports on it?
>>2935215The battery charger/inverter and the computer will both put off an amount of heat. Perhaps get a big storage tub and insulated it a bit and just put the whole setup in there. Have them take care of each other then take the lid off in the summer. I don't know how much heat a PC would really put off for something like that but I figure if it has no room to breathe it'll be decently warm.
>>2935215LTO is very low temp resilient, but as >>2935343 says, with enough insulation you should be able to trap residual heat from the electronics. Think 20cm thick polystyrene box, air sealed.
If you were ever wondering how bad it is when a tree shades most of your solar panels in full sunlight, I have the answer for you. At 1PM the shadow moves to only cover 3 panels, at which point software limitation kicks in for legal reasons, so real performance at that point could've been higher, but the entire morning being fucking dead is the tree.
>>2936861Funny how YT just showed me a video of guy testing the effect of shadows in various positions and coverage with solar panels just before my monthly check up on /diy/.
>>2934731the 12/24v solar charge controllers often have a load output, if you run your led lighting out of that you usually also get undervoltage protection so you don't have to worry about leaving the light on for too long>>2935215some bms boards have output pins to wire up to a heater, so you could send the solar power to some sort of thin-film heaters placed between your prismatic cells until they're up to tempotherwise your bms will stop your lifepo4 cells charging at below 0 celcius anyhow, assuming you put the thermistor somewhere sensible>>2936861series or parallel panels?
>>2938184Series, parallel would be maybe somewhat better. I've hit 6kW after cutting some branches, at least.
>>2938377Series is definitely worse for when panels might be clouded, as the current must pass through all panels. But then again, parallel is worse for needing thick wires and splitter cables. Some combination of both is probably best.
I'm thinking of building an outdoor weather + air quality station. I'm talking arduino/esp32 type project. Where I can build the thing and leave out there year round to ping data to my house. It will have temperature, humidity, wind speed, particulate matterMaybe I'll add more sensors later if this works. I want to put it in a little dog house type box outside with the solar panel on the roof of it and the electronics+battery inside.What kind of solar setup do I need?I was thinking a 12V lead acid battery. Maybe a 10W-20W panel. Some basic charge controller. Am I on the right track? It's probably oversized to run some little Arduino project but I don't know of a smaller scale setup. I thought of repurposing some 18650 solar light. But lithium is supposed to be no good to charge below freezing.> If your application strictly requires charging a battery in freezing temperatures, lead acid can theoretically go all the way to -40°C - with many caveatsWhere I am the temperature range is -20C to 35C (-4F to 95F). Realistically the cold temperature range is -10C to 0C. Maybe a few days year does it go to -20C range. I read elsewhere that lead acid can also freeze??? But this here guide says it can do -40C with caveats. What are the caveats?I can't tell who is being pedantic internet nerd vs practical use.Am I overthinking or can I just make some basic 12v lead acid setup. Then make sure my electronics sips little battery as possible so it's basically always near full charge.I've already made battery powered temperature/humidity sensor and PM2.5/CO2 sensors. They operate at very low poll rate for long run time. I'm looking to make larger scale weather station thing. I don't know what I'm doing with this solar stuff.
>>2939938Within the scope you have, there's a plethora of options. I'd say the easiest option by far is to just get a large enough NMC 18650 battery that it can outlast the winter. These esp32 sensor projects can have very very low power consumption if they are sufficiently optimized, you can run one for several years off just a single 18650 with a single charge.Now, since you want a weather station, weather station will probably have sensors that run on interrupts, so you can't utilize deep sleep mode and as such won't get the ultra low power consumption, but you can still achieve about 50-100 days off a single charge of a single 18650 with light sleep and some reserve for broadcasting data in intervals. Get 3 18650 in parallel and you should easily get through winter. Repurpose a 5V solar power bank's circuitry or whatever else for charging, maybe give the esp32 functionality to disable charging when it detects enclosure temperature under 0C. There are lots of various solar-lithium charging modules on aliexpress, you can even just get a 5V solar panel and connect it to a USB-to-18650 charging circuit's input.More complicated options would be LTO, Na-ion batteries or an insulated enclosure with a built-in heater that uses the solar panel to heat the enclosure before starting to charge the NMC battery. >caveats for lead acidDecreased capacity, decreased efficiency, risk of freezing if you discharge the battery too much when it's too cold. Lead acid is still workable, I just wouldn't use it in any project, because the longevity of the batteries is so bad even without the low temp factor.Insulating the electronics box really well could also be enough to maintain 0C+ inside even without additional heating. Maybe putting a tiny resistor on the solar side to dump like 0.1-0.2W inside the box all the time from solar.
big oil wonthey laugh at solarfags
>>2939970Chinks will laugh at big oil soon enough. Arguably already laughing.
Given electricity is 20 cents a kwh it seems a waste to generate it oneself. For me I prefer having batteries and power stations just for those rare occasions when I get a power outage.
>>2940093A solar system is somewhere in the range of 5 cents per kWh over 20 years, it's even worse if you already pay out of the ass for meme generators as "backup".
>>2940094And as soon as you think of running a 1500 watt electric heater it makes solar/battery look foolish.
>>2940110Because of what?
>>2939950>More complicated options would be LTO, Na-ion batteries or an insulated enclosure with a built-in heater that uses the solar panel to heat the enclosure before starting to charge the NMC batteryHonestly Na-ion wouldn't be hard to do properly, the worst thing about that chemistry is the large voltage range, you wouldn't be able to use something like a HT7333 to step the voltage down to 3.3V with minimum quiescent current like you can with NMC. If you wanted to run the MCU off a single sodium ion cell with no step-up converter it would need to be able to run at like 2.9V, which may not be suitable for an ESP. Apparently the units without internal flash memory can run down to 2.3V, so it might be an option, but I'm unsure about the RF parts. Running 2S or 3S means cell balancing if you plan on charging them in situ, running 1S otherwise means both step-up and step-down.As for charging, the CN3795 is an excellent variable voltage low-power "MPPT" solar charge controller, suitable even for tiny panels.>>2940110Because gas heaters or heat-pumps make more sense than ever trying to use a 1500W heater on an energy budget?
Is it me or is the government auctioning off all it's solar panels for nothing right now?
>>2942389Old solar panels are literally worth less than nothing. Not because they don't perform well, but because anything under 400W will have you waste more money on the mounting frame components than it would cost to buy brand new panels.
>>2942449Not when I mount them with 2 by 4 lmao
>>2942449I am just throwing those things in the lawn or jerry rigging shit with scrap metal.
>>2927613Thanks for the great solar guide, anon. I wish everything was written in 4chan style, textbooks could reference "being (financially) raped" or getting "jewed" and it would make them a lot more entertaining.
>>2927638Show name?
>>2943048Boku no Pon
>>2943097Can’t find it on nyaa
>>2943107
>>2926704I've had a cheap 6kwt inverter with batteries but no panels attached running as backup for a while.Instead of having it run in bypass mode 99% of the time I've wired a reserve input switch (pic related) and have kept the inverter mostly turned off. I've tested it a bunch of times and it worked well.Finally bought a few panels recently, hooked them up, the inverter recognized them. Switched it from "UTI" mode to "SUB" as that seemed to make the most sense.Ran the test by switching the relay to manual mode and flipping the switch from utility to backup — just like many times before. This time however lights flickered and went out. Backup mode hasn't worked since, whether on auto or manual. Utility/mains mode runs fine.I now read 240ish ohm resistance between backup line in and load line (the two bottom left connectors) when in backup mode. Not sure if it's always been like that. Running off utility/mains a similar measurement (common power in to load; i.e. top left to bottom left connectors) reads 0ohm which makes perfect sense.Reading through testimonies, apparently these kind of devices with red-colored switches are designed for petrol generators whereas for inverters/solar one has to install a similar-looking thing but with a green flag/switch, though I don't see how a simple relay that can survive whatever waveforms cheap petrol generators throw at it would get fried by a "pure sine" inverter. Don't have an oscilloscope to test what it looks like, particularly when the switch triggers, sadly.Currently torn between ordering the green-colored version rated for inverters or a basic manual 3-position tumbler and forgetting the automatic thing. If these reserve input switches get fried by abnormal waveforms, maybe it's best to have one installed so that it takes one for the team instead of my pc.Also not a fan of how close the pins on the control line are to each other, the wires are practically touching, sneezing on them would close the circuit.
>>2944467Does your inverter not support various grid modes? Nowadays even $300 inverters tend to have that backup functionality built-in.
>>2944623Mine was like $250. It has the following modes (assuming we're talking source priority selection): —Utility first—Solar first—Solar-battery-utility (SBU)—Solar-Utility-Batter (SUB)—SUF (SUB+feedback to the grid)I had it on Utility-first (due to not having the panels) and it worked well.After installing the panels I switched it to SUB.This is also when the relay in question fizzled out upon setting the doohickey on manual and flipping the switch from mains to reserve.Despite the fact that the entire circuit can just be run through the inverter, I'm not planning on having the inverter online at all times because there's going to be hours, days, weeks, possibly months then the panels (3x550W) won't be producing enough juice to make up for its own 24/7 operation. Hence the switch that allows bypassing the inverter entirely so that it can be kept offline. I could just replace it with a tumbler and switch circuits manually but, assuming a 3-positional tumbler with an uncoupled position in the middle, flicking such a switch would probably power off the electronics around the house which would be a nuisance. Having watched some more vids of users showcasing the aforementioned green-switch version (pic related; this one is 3-phase but it's the same deal), things get more confusing because the authors themselves often find it doesn't work as they expected it would and also don't color-code their wires and swing their camera wildly.I could just order one and test it, but wouldn't want to wait for it to arrive then leave it lying around if it doesn't fix the issue. Imo the most important mystery to figure out here is what could go wrong with the original reserve input switch which I'd assumed was just a couple of magnetic relays in a fancy box; guess not. If I don't figure this out through videos and advices soon the reasonable thing would be to rip it out and see what's inside. Could just be a loose connection somewhere.
>>2944467>>2944639Ok upon opening this magic machine I've figured it out. May as well post it here on the off-chance some control freak makes a similar addition to his wiring and runs into the same issue eventually. The insides are split into two compartments. On the right there is a basic control mechanism (mainly this relay: https://www.finglai.com/products/relays/electromagnetic-relays/MY4/ and a pair of bridge rectifiers) along with some kind of pistons that push the lever when in auto mode. That side has a bunch of dielectric lubricant snot. The left side only has the relay. In order for the circuit to complete the pair of moving contacts obviously needs to make the contact with a pair of stationary ones. Anyway, one side of the neutral moving contacts had a miniscule amount, booger-sized drop, of the snot from the other compartment on it. I'm actually surprised it was enough to insulate the connection.Cleaning the snot up obviously restored the conductivity. The switch works fine with solar panels and inverter in SUB mode.
>>2944639But if your inverter has that grid mode, then what are you using the switch for? I assume you don't get instant switching with this setup, whereas the inverter may or may not have proper UPS switching, if it does, it's a bit of a waste to not use it, depending on the application. I guess if you only need fridges and lights to work, then the delay is fine, but computers presumably don't survive the switchover on that.
>>2944684It's mostly a trust issue; before getting the solar panels the only power coming from the inverter would've been coming from the grid (whether it would be delivered via a bypass or pre-stored in the batteries) and the inverter itself is chinesium, so, just in case, the switch was to bypass the bypass. It's a simpler device with fewer things that could go wrong (though they did kek).Now that the panels are here, its use case is rather specific, yes.Still, the thing is it cost as much as a manual tumbler, which would've been a necessity one way or another, and offers the same functionality on top of the automatic thing.As mentioned above, the manual tumbler would've been there to gain the ability to take the inverter offline for maintenance or saving power at night or in winter. No need for it to run its fans all day.This automatic switch also has NC and NO contacts on it. These can apparently be used to also start a backup generator, apparently. Ergo theoretically one could also wire them to turn on the inverter itself. They could also be hooked into a ESP board that would relay the status of the grid somewhere, but I haven't gotten around to that either.Which brings about another point worth reading more about, which is monitoring the status remotely, or at least not limited to the tiny screen on the inverter itself. The "smartESS" (what an amazing name eh) app the manual suggests requires registration for some reason. Looked into it briefly and the only solutions so far have been the smartass app, some paid, but apparently decent, software or a homeassistant integration. The latter suggests an available api, so there's hope for a telegram bot or a standalone webpage setup.>I assume you don't get instant switching with this setupWith this relay the switching is instantaneous, lights don't even blink. Haven't tested how the inverter would react to a sudden loss of grid connection while under load, probably just fine too.
Would this work anons? Might upgrade to 3S2P if i have to
Price wise, what am I looking at if I want to power a couple of 300 watt led grow panels, a large filter fan and large dehumidifier in my unfinished 15x15' basement?Ideally just panels that charge batteries I can plug a few things into. Doesn't need to touch the grid at all.
>>2945169Probably, I've never made mini niggerrig systems. But always expect chinkshit to be at least two-fold overrated, so if you buy something rated for 5A, it can possibly handle 2.5A safely. >>2946385How well do you want to be covered in poor weather? How much longevity do you want for the system? If you just want to toss something together for fun, it's probably doable around $300-500, assuming DC only, no inverter. Also "couple of 300W led grow panels" being 2 or 5 makes a huge difference, as well as the amount of hours you want per day.
>>2942710I visited some folks in Appalachia who are.... doing it with less and always have been. I didnt pull out my phone basically out of respect. When I got home, I built my second solar array, basically as an experiment and riffing on a themelike, I saw such hack, makeshift, inspirational, tempermanent half functional shit I wanted to like, do the same with actually making enough clearing to get sun. pic incoming when daylight happens
>I think I'll just die a virgin instead.Bro thinks he can change his zodiac sign
>>2947512>>2927638whoopsie
our home solar power system upgrade arrived today. 182% PV array expansion. 100% *usable* Battery storage upgrade.current PV: 2440W after install: 6940W. current storage: 300Ah FLAafter install: 300Ah LiFePO4 It's a grid-tied, non-exporting system. this will put us off-grid most of the time. it will make 120% of our daily load during the 9 cooler months, and it will cover 80% of use during the 3 hottest months of the year. we will keep our grid connection for all the obvious advantages, but will only be paying the basic connection fee 75% of the year. I expect to see our yearly total expense drop by 85%-90%.it will likely take all month to get it fully installed and online. I will start digging the holes and setting the posts tomorrow. i/we have been saving and planning this for 4 years.
>>2948543Nice, good luck. Did you buy a pre-made battery or a /diy/ pack? If the latter, watch out for the many pitfalls of chinking, dead shorts with the frame from poorly located screws, undersized breakers/fuses on high currents and such.I also got my second solar system installed just recently, 7kW on a 10kW Deye inverter, but it was all done by a company, I'll only be adding my /diy/ battery at a later point.
>>2948549our systems, including the software that operates, are very similar.ours has been all DIY install. we even installed it at one house, then removed it and reinstalled at our new house when we sold/built/moved. we went with pre-manufactured, UL listed batteries that are approved by our inverter manufacturer, have full closed-loop communication, built-in heaters, BMS and wifi. I was willing to pay for the warranty, reliability & home insurance approval.
>>2948543>300Ah>no value given for voltageGuess you mean 12v then or some shit.Enjoy your 3.8kwh of batteryWhole thing sounds small as fuck
i want to do a ghetto setup for power cuts, just need something to power an inverter (2000 watt) enough to power a kettle/ air fryer and some lights, also ukfag so 240V.got an old moped 100cc, will a motorbike battery power an inverter? can i pull one of the headlight bulbs and get my 12v to power the inverter from there? could also run the moped off a car battery, would the bike be able to keep the battery charged enough? also how long would a 2000w inverter run for off a fully charged car battery?also retarded so try to make your answers, simple. thanks
>>2949060People usually talk about 48V systems, though if >>2948543 is talking about 12V then that is indeed small as fuck. 7kWp isn't that bad for grid-tie. >>2949101>will a motorbike battery power an inverter? Yes, but not for long at 2000W>can i pull one of the headlight bulbs and get my 12v to power the inverter from there?Yes, but it will catch on fire. You should run thick cables, at least 16mm2(ideally 35mm2) if you don't want to catch on fire at 2000W from a 12V battery. >could also run the moped off a car battery, would the bike be able to keep the battery charged enough?Theoretically yes, if you can fit it on the frame>also how long would a 2000w inverter run for off a fully charged car battery?If it's a 90Ah 12V battery, then it's 12*90 = 1080Wh capacity, ~1000Wh / 2000W = 0.5 hours. But the real, safely usable capacity of SLA batteries is much lower than rated, about 50-60%, so it's more like 0.3 hours at 2000W. Also the internal draw of these small cheapo inverters is around 20-40W, so even if you do absolutely nothing, the inverter would drain the battery in about 20-40 hours. You could reasonably power a laptop, small lights, make one coffee worth of hot water once.
Anyone on here experienced with solar submersible pump kits? Any recommendations on brands to get or avoid? I'm going to need to dig a couple shallow wells for livestock water and set up some solar wells to keep some water tanks full.
>>2949113I have used a 55 gallon seaflow pump in my RV, it plugs into 120, but 12 volt is available too, I already had a 12v volt 45. It can handle sea water; salt is corrosive as fuck.
Would I be better off getting the 800 watt or two 400 watts bougerv solar panels? I can't find any information.
>>2950510What is the voltage of the 800W panel? What is the minimum voltage of your charge controller? Also is that actually 800W or you misreading a listing? Because 800W is a very non-standard wattage. The theoretical 800W panel would also be gigantic and a pain to handle for one person, so probably 2x400W is the way to go.
>>2950571I can't find anything on their website, so I am thinking it's two 400 watts put together. Same with voltage. I should call them and ask because it's not described at all.
I recently bought a 310W Longi solar panel, but have yet to generate anything yet. It's been cloudy the past few days so I'm sure that's been playing into it. But, I may have damaged the panel trying to get it through my window. How can I test the panel without direct sun?
>>2951298Well for starters, slap a multimeter on the leads when it's exposed to at least some outdoor light, and check if you have voltage. If you do have voltage, you could theoretically connect it to a resistive heater or something to see if it can also deliver some power, but if you have absolutely no idea about electronics or Ohm's law, then probably best not to try it. Check your inverter(if you have one), see what its minimum panel voltage is, you could be under the threshold with just a single panel.
>>2951300I've tried that but I'm only getting a half of a millivolt. The Mega Oupes I have isn't registering anything.
>>2951302Post pictures of where the panel is and what you are doing with the multimeter. Even if it's overcast, panels should have pretty high voltage when open circuit. The Oupes thing, if it's this one https://manuals.plus/tr/oupes/mega-3-3600w-solar-generator-plus-manual has MPPT from 18V so it should work with the single panel.
>>2951305Sun's out today at least but I'm still in the shade for now. I was measuring every hour still only getting about the same throughout the day. At night I was reading 0 so there is something going on. Panel has an Voc of 40.
>>2951320have you opened the plastic box on the back?
Now the angle is off and that's not helping. But the previous set up I had was still producing some wattage at this angle (when it was getting sun.) The reason I'm worried about it being broken is the thing was subjected to torque based tension when I was trying to get it through the window. I've dropped panels in the past and gotten away with it, but I've never tried to twist one.
>>2951321Since putting it outside no. I know the thing was good before putting it out there but as soon as it made it to the spot I needed, it's been nothing.
Worth noting there is 3 junction boxes on the back, I've only opened 2 the positive and negative ones.
>>2951325i have never seen that
>>2951326Here's the back side
>>2951320>>2951325Check the boxes if there is voltage in them while exposing the panel to some sun. Even in that shaded condition, you definitely should have near-full voltage open circuit. I'm assuming you are open circuit when measuring, i.e. panel not connected to anything but multimeter. You can also test for internal short with ohm-meter in 200k range, but only do that in night time. And you can test the bypass diodes, forward should be ~0.5V, backwards should be OL. >>2951327Also maybe hook the multimeter in for voltage reading as close to the panel as possible, just in case your wires have breaks in them.
>>2951327maybe the diodes are in there?
>>2951328I was worried you were going to say that those boxes are a bitch to open. I'll keep you posted if I see anything unusual. If not I may have to go back to my old setup.
fuck
>>2951328From what I could scrape away there is some voltage (11.9V) but the panels at the wires is still only a few millivolts
>>2951335So either your wires are bad or some part of the panel is internally shorted.
>>2951336it has to be the panel because at the actual connection point I'm still only getting a few millivolts.
which probably means it's totaled, yes?
>>2951337Oh so some diodes have voltage but the cable connection point is dead? Then yeah, panel is probably fucked. You could remove some of the diodes strategically and harvest some of its internal strings for power, the ones that aren't damaged, but it might not be worth the effort.
>>2951340not with all that white gunk shit in there. So how do I dispose of panels?
>>2940110>using resistive heatingNGMI, budMight as well keep fattening yourself up for when you are eaten
Thoughts on Jackery generators?
>>2927613your solar guide mentions "overpriced" stuff, but what is the best stuff out there? assume a 20K$ budget.
>>2952076oh and this is for an off grid setup
>>2952076Deye inverters are the best value on the market, as far as functions go. You can get a 12kW unit for about $2k. They can be paralleled for up to 10 units IIRC, but for residential you should be fine on 12kW. Buy a self-starting generator as backup, then spend the rest of the money spamming batteries and solar panels. You should be able to get about 30-50kWp in panels and 100kWh in batteries if you /diy/ everything at $20k. If you can't /diy/ everything for legal reasons, get a company to install the Deye with a barebones setup, legalize that, then divide the rest between panels and batteries. You can also buy decent pre-made server rack batteries on the cheap now, but they're still about twice the price of /diy/. Will Prowse is always reviewing these, so just watch a couple of his recent videos and pick from that if you're inclined to buy. Alternatively you can buy fartsniffing brands like SolarEdge, Fronius, Enphase, or at worst, Victron, where $10k will go towards doing the same thing the Deye does for $2k, and some can't even do the same thing after all the money. They will also usually eat your retirement fund in battery costs.
>>2952076get an efficiency study by an engineer/architect that has nothing to do with any system supplieroften fixing some inefficiencies first is better than spamming more solar. you end with a more comfortable house, and less shit that can fail or wear
>>2952136>>2952115thank you for the good advice!
>>2952136>efficiency studyYou could buy a chink thermal camera and 10kW worth of panels for that.
>>2952184its less than 1000€ in my country, and involves more than just heat
Big upgrade 2/3 installed & online.replaced 4 year old FLA with 3x LifePO4 for 15,000Wh usable storage. added 2225w panels for a total of 4665w PV currently. I have another 2225w that I am in process of installing now. finished post holes this evening. will start cutting & welding support posts & mount rails this weekend.even with only half of the new array up, it has been life changing.grid-tied, non-export.
>>2951333dont cum in the pv panel anon.
Adding Tigo optimizers to half of my second string because the shading is just insane. If one side of the string is finally in full sun, another tree shades a panel on the opposite side. That's 8 out of 16, quite possible that I'll need 2-3 more to reach half-decent performance.I had a gross misconception about bypass diodes, that they bypass a panel when it is fully shaded. It's actually the opposite, bypass diodes only work if the panel is partially shaded and the partial shade is asymmetric between internal strings of cells, and if you are fully shaded, the entire string drops, or if the internal strings are all partially shaded, the entire string drops to the performance of the worst performing cell string.
>>2955582Gotem plugged in. Install is simple and straightforward, accessing the backside of the panels maybe a bit less so. Will see on a sunny day how much of a difference it makes.
full system upgrade online. one full week tomorrow. it's incredible. 100% load coverage during solar hours, batteries charged by ~13:00 and able to carry us through 23:00 most evenings/nights off grid. set TOU to switch back to Grid at 40% SOC. we only buy power for ~7 hours between 23:00 to 7:30. that's a 75%-80% reduction in Grid usage. bills should drop by ~70% on average. that means many months it will just be the base connection fee.
Finally independent. Feels good.
Watching lifepo battery prices drop like a catholic girls panties on prom night, how much lower can they go???
>>2956397Realistically, not much lower. You're already mostly paying for shipping costs. ~$40/kWh is probably going to be the floor, currently at $50-55/kWh. I'm thinking about replacing my home battery with those new 600Ah cells (and thus bringing it from 16kWh to 32kWh), and using the home cells for my second solar system that currently doesn't have a battery. The Grade A EVE cells are about 110 euros a piece at nkon, that's not bad for EVE.
Anyone know at what point your utility willstart squaking about excess power generation? >be my friend> permit for the basic California 10kw basic system> double the system output after final abd PGE PTO>still not wiping out hisNEM 2.0 “tru up”> adding more panels mebbe max it Enphase maximum of 64..profit?
>>2956401allieex is selling 280ah ecoworthys for 231 bucks free shipping. rught now… What is that per kw?
>>2956207my brother in law used to get checks from his muni utility in CA…NEM 1.0 master race…
>>2956404If he limits his inverter to 10kW export, then they shouldn't care too much unless they are autistic enough to look at satellite images on how many panels each house has. If he doesn't limit his inverter, they will figure it out sooner or later and he will probably get fined. >>2956406$58 per kWh assuming it actually has the rated capacity. Which would be really good for a completed battery, the nkon cells are without case or BMS. But alas, I wouldn't trust home storage on aliexpress batteries, those are more for like an off-grid shed or whatever.
Whaddyall think of this scenario:Taking my shop off grid.-need split phase 220 for minisplit, welder.-running standard (murrican) size refer/freezer 24x7-wish list:EG4 split ohase 6000 w inverter/charge controller eg4 server rack 51.2v batts x 4 -materials on hand:-16 250watt BP solar panels (salvaged from a homeowner replacement job)-piles of Iron ridge 14’ rail- boxes of leftiver IR and unirac flash foots, flash loc comps etcplenty of wire.
>>2956418It's fine. But don't expect those panels to do well in the winter, might need to top up with generator now and then, depending on how much you work in the shop. Minisplit heating in winter would also be a challenge. Also learn everything about safety elements and grounding if you are doing a full /diy/ job. Use proper solar wire for connecting the panels to the inverter.
Will using 10 guage 40 amp wires for a small solar system fuck shit? My one solar panel is producing almost as much as 3 in series. Same make and model.
>>2959482List the exact panel models you have, you might have something mismatched in the series group. Alternatively you might have shading issues or dead cells.Otherwise you can usehttps://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html?necmaterial=copper&necwiresize=2&necconduit=steel&necpf=0.85&material=copper&wiresize=0.4066&resistance=1.2&resistanceunit=okm&voltage=36&phase=dc&noofconductor=1&distance=10&distanceunit=meters&eres=40&x=Calculate&ctype=necFor a typical 400W-ish panel, you should be getting about 30V 13A, for 13A you get 2.6% power loss for every 10 meters with 10AWG copper (for both wires, so you count panel<->inverter distance x 2). That's not terrible unless you have 200 meters of wire, and the power loss percentage gets smaller the higher the string voltage (only voltage drop is constant, so 0.78V on a 300V string is only 0.26% per 10 meters)
>>2959484They're portable ecoflow 400s, I ran them in parallel and it seems to have fixed the issue. One of them is damaged so I need to go get a thermal scope and check it for broken cells.
>have two stage system>128v hvdc main battery>dcdc>12v sub battery>12v inverter runs 24/7, hv inverter only when needed>works fine all summer>not enough sun in winter, discharges completely during a storm>oops>mppt charger does not come on unless battery bms is on>due to dcdc constant load and a large 3.8kwh 12v battery, the solar panels must generate at minimum 5.8kwh in one day to successfully black start, in winter, during a storm>from 1300w of panelsNot great not terribleSo now I'm building a 384Wh 12v pack instead.
>>2926704Is there a good guide like OP or other brainlet sources/books but for smaller/mobile off-grid solar setups?I want to build one for "emergencies" at home and to take with me for camping and such. Not backpack-small, but rather car or bicycle small.Biggest things to be able to power or charge with it would be a laptop and enough juice for other small shit like phones, flashlights etc.Would a 120Ah battery be enough as a start?
>>2960016The battery stuff is the same for small systems, but you can skip the inverter and use DC-DC converters to get whatever you want. 24V battery would be ideal, since you can easily step down to 19-20V for laptop charging and 5V for USB. Just don't use the $20 housefire charge controllers.>120AhAt 12V? That's ~1400Wh if it's lithium. It's a good amount, you can get a whole bunch of laptop/phone charges out of it.
>>2960034Thanks anon that gives me a good start.So all I'd need would be solar panel(s) -> charge controller -> battery -> converter into the final output I'd want.> dc-dc converterI see there are a lot of options for carryon 24v -> 240v inverters meant for RVs and such, wouldn't that be easier since I could just use one of those and have a regular plug?In terms of DC-DC converters I mostly find building components, I'm not against learning how to build something with that, mainly curious and unsure what to look for.
>>2960036The inverter is decidedly easier and more versatile, but you get somewhat better efficiency by not switching to AC and then switching back to DC. It's not a huge deal, and the extra flexibility of being able to plug in any other AC device might be worth it. Step down converters are usually whole modules, you just connect the input + and - and the output + and - and they give you whatever they are rated for. Something like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009289621410.html lets you plug in a wide voltage range and lets you set whatever output you want, has active cooling so it can probably handle a few hundred watts (never believe chinks on their power ratings though). But you can get simpler ones for $5-$10. You can also do both, have a simple step down converter and an inverter, too. The whole thing is really simple all in all, the only thing you have to look out for is the high current wiring. Like if you want a 1000W inverter, at 24V DC that's gonna be 50A constant, you can't just toss together random shit and expect it to not burn your tent down. Also put a fuse on it. Will Prowse has videos on what the assembly process looks like for simple systems, it's basically the same, just with smaller numbers in your case.I'll say that if your priority is portability/compact size, you might be better off with one of the "solar generators". They're certainly overpriced for what they are, but you probably won't get as compact a system with a separate charge controller and inverter (though it depends on how big an inverter you get, a 300W isn't gonna take up much space).
>>2960036what is that funny looking lc meter?and what are you measuring?
>>2960044thanks breh, I ordered myself some basic components to tinker with and build a minmal ~150W (max) rig> will prowsewill check him out>>2960429Pic isn't mine but the measurements are for an antenna. Japanese ham community got kits like that to teach their radio younglings.
>fridge shuts off>WIRED mouse disconnects from pcBros should I ground my system?I've been reluctant to do it because its safer in my mind to NOT ground anything. Like if a wire touches ground right now or I touch a wire literally nothing happens, I'd have to touch both wires to complete a circuit.But it's absolutely causing some some issues that I worry might start damaging electronics.
>>2960838Buy some thick rubber chemical gloves. I dont know the brand I have but theyre as thick as tool handle rubber and sleeveless. Half the shit I do with high voltage I dont need much dexterity for and Im pretty sure these gloves are insulated enough to require alot of electric to get through to shock me. Ive ground neutral paired my 120 volt system since its fully off grid. So 1 ground bond in the off grid panel. But ask AI about your specific set up or the Inverter manufacture. Also check and make sure youre on the right 50hz or 60hz if your unit has a setting for that, depending on what country youre in....Im in the USA and know Japan wants shit wired completely differently. Also confirm youre on a true sine (or close enough) by asking AI or something based on the inverter brand.
>>2960838AC should be grounded unless it's a tiny setup with double-insulated everything. Like if you just have a solar generator and a laptop/phone charger, no grounding. But if you have a PC, microwave, larger tools, any permanent wiring, it's always safer to ground. For one for fault detection, for two a True Earth Ground protects against static/lighting and induced current.
I want to build a home solar setup but I want to start small with no permanent installations.Something like a 200w panel into charge controller into small battery into inverter and into my house.Can I safely use a LiFePO4 battery in a home scenario where I feed back into my house circuit? Or is that dangerous?I know savings wouldn't be big but this is for learning purposes mainly for now, so I wouldn't do this very long term but I am wondering if such a setup can be safely operated for weeks and such.
>>2961702* something like the LiFePO4 battery is what I wanted to say. I am wondering about the other battery types just the same. Will it work with acid, lead?
>>2961702LFP is the safest you can reasonably buy. Lead acid works, but it's garbage value, if you had one lying around you could use it, but I would strongly recommend against buying one. Your bigger problem is >into inverter and into my house.In most places you're not allowed to do this with just any cheapo inverter as long as you are on the grid, especially not the shitty car/RV inverters. Either separate a circuit that will be off-grid entirely, buy an inverter that can run in proper hybrid mode with no grid feed-in/have an option to disable grid feed (most aliexpress solar inverters can do this), or get a proper grid-tie inverter. If you just want to mess around, I recommend the former version (basically you'd have the inverter plugged into an outlet, and the inverter would have its own outlet that you can connect eg. a fridge to, and then the inverter would run the fridge off the battery/solar when available, otherwise from grid). The price is maybe about $200 for the inverter, $100-400 for battery depending on what you get, $100 for panel, another $100-200 for tools and cables and misc components. Make sure to fuse the battery properly.Note that this is still technically gonna be illegal, but they don't have any way of finding out, unlike if you have a non-hybrid grid tie that feeds power back into the grid.>200W solar panelDon't buy anything less than 400W, 200W is by now a non-standard size that is likely going to be overpriced.
>>2961736> might be illegalReasonable advice. But here we are allowed to just buy and plug up to 800w of total solar into our walls without filing any special paperwork. More is possible but that you have to register it and get it approved.As far as I am aware there is nothing that says it can't be a self built or any specific standards for the components outside of the certifications electrical components themselves electric products require here to be sold at all.Though you are of course absolutely right that using just any cheap inverter to do so isn't the best idea.But they now sell off the shelf solar system with everything for around 200 bucks to buy and just plug into the wall which a lot of people do (those are typically without a battery though), so I doubt those are significant improvement in quality over me buying a setup where the inverter itself already costs half as much. > 400w instead of 200wAh makes sense, didn't know that and it actually explains some pricing that looked weird to me.What should I look for in an inverter that is generally more suitable to feed into the house grid as opposed to RV inverters? Aside from features like hybrid modes?Anyway thank you very much anon.
>>2961853>buy and plug up to 800w of total solar into our wallsYou have to find out if that's rated by inverter size or panel count or real performance (meaning you can do it with software limitation), and additionally, you have to find out what rules apply to grid feed-in - presumably you're not allowed to feed back into the grid and you can only use the power for your own needs, in which case you need an inverter that has a hall effect current sensor that you clamp over your main grid connection wire(s), then it uses that information to limit itself. The way grid feed usually works is, if you have no papers and no contracts with the utility provider, they basically charge you the same for the power you produce and export into the grid as they would for import, meaning if you export 1kWh, they add it to your bills and make you pay for it as if you consumed more. And on top of that they can fine you for illegal export. So it's important to not accidentally export when you're not allowed to.
>>2961853>>2961974>What should I look for in an inverter that is generally more suitable to feed into the house gridKind of depends on what your property looks like, and maybe what level of fire safety you can achieve near the inverter. Like if you have a small house with basic residential consumers (eg. no big induction motors) and your peak consumption isn't that high, and you have a nice spot where you could safely install a questionable inverter that may at some point catch on fire and it still wouldn't burn your house down, you could buy a medium-sized all in one hybrid unit. Single phase ones like https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009869318943.html are very cheap and they can do pretty much anything you want. You can later even connect 3 of them to each phase for a 3-phase setup. With an inverter like this, you'd connect your entire house (or one phase of your house) right at the grid connection, after the first set of breakers but before the rest of the house breakers. This inherently handles any kind of export/import variation, and also provides whole-house UPS on the phase you have connected. On the other hand, if you have very high consumption, or don't have any decently safe spots to put this kind of chinsy inverter, you're gonna have to get a grid tie unit designed for this kind of use, with the mentioned hall sensor. Of course, you can also buy not so chinsy all-in-one units, like from Deye, but they cost about 5x as much (and that's still cheap compared to Victron).The all-in-one inverter I linked has one initial disadvantage, that you must go for 48V battery (for that specific unit), and that will be a larger initial investment since most cheap LFP batteries are 12V, rarely 24V (and the 24V ones are usually just about 2x the price of 12V).
>>2961974That makes sense, especially the potential problems with exporting. I'll look further into that.>>2961976Got it.One final question: in the case of cheaper inverters. Are pure sine inverters generally safer than non-pure inverters?Thanks again, been a big help.
>>2961985You shouldn't entertain inverters that are not pure sine wave. Everything that's even remotely decent is gonna be pure sine wave, or at least lie about it.
>>2961985non pure are only useful for resistive loads or very specific ones, avoid them as much as possible
picked up our new (4th) solar battery on Thursday. installed it this morning. went from 15.36kWh to 20.48kWh total storage capacity. will add 2-3 hours of overnight or no sun power independence to our system if no load cuts are made. if we make basic usage cuts we will easily make it from sunset to surise. example: last night we used ~1700w from 17:00 to20:00 then ~1000w steady until sunrise.we should be able to make it completely through the night now without grid power. means we are totally off-grid capable, as long as we have good sun.
>>2962637Well, we made it through our first full evening/overnight on 100% battery power. PV is just starting to generate and we're still at 30% SOC. the small grid input seen from 7:25 to 7:50 this morning was my fault. the TOU parameters from 5:00 to 9:00 were set to 35% instead of 25% due to fat-finger input done from my phone. it's fixed now.usually we are already generating PV in the 100's of watts by now, but it's cloudy. should burn off in the next hour.
>>2961976>>2961988>>2962019nta but is it always safer to have more headroom in an inverter?Like using a 400w solar panel and size is not an issue will a 1000w inverter be less of a hazard than a 500w inverter of the same brand/model?
>>2962976Well if you're buying ultra-cheap chinkshit, then yes. More decent inverters will simply derate themselves if they get close to overheating. Conversely a bigger inverter will have less issue with overheating, so derating won't happen even in less than ideal (eg. hot summer) conditions.
>>2962637Why the fuck do you keep buying into this overpriced fucking shit? You could have had like 72kwh for the same amount spent at this point
>>2962976Short answer is "yes"Longer answer is "those cost a lot more"
I was asking earlier this year, I just want to get some land in the desert and put a trailer until I get more money, and people were kinda acting like that doesn't exist just bc idk what i'm doin lolBut, there is land out there. Obviously. I found a good spot I think, I might tell u. But here's how u do it. Cheap spots are way out so that's an issue. You have to request an actual address say you are starting to build, and you still have to go to town to get mail and water. They're dirt roads and all brush. There are huge blocks of land parceled and you can buy a half acre. You wanna find a block that is right off the highway in a spot close enough to a town. Then pick an acre close to the edge of that lot, close to the highway and boom, u r only 20 minutes from town. There are no other people so, you can just show up with your truck and slide in camper, park on the road n sleep. Obviously 4x4, solar panels, you might actually be able to get power/mail etc if you're lucky.Then for improving, you need a catwalk. Just put that above all the brush and put a teepee or somethin. Then get an electric fence and buy a goat and he'll start to eat all the brush. Then make a earthship permaculture aeroponic tower roman aqueduct persian windcatcher desert civilisation or whatever
Daly bms? More like Dalit bms
>>2963197because I value performance, safety, integration and my insurance carrier not dropping me. oh, and I like actually having reliable electricity.closed loop CAN bus communicationanytime/anywhere system access & trackingmultiple UL listingbuilt-in battery heaterswarranties that actually WARRANTYlife expectancyI don't like having to worry aboot my lights, water heater or well pump functioning & I'm a big fan of not spoiling 2000+ worth of food during an outage.standards. I have them.
>>2963278>I like actually having reliable electricity.Prebuilts are usually less reliable than a good /diy/ build, especially changcore prebuilts. Also you're on the grid, the chance of experiencing a grid failure and a battery failure at the same time is not very high. If anything, you'll get a power outage when your (small) battery is at low SoC and you won't have enough power in reserve to run your shit without turning on a generator. I mean, your battery is perfectly fine for your system, but if you're going to try riding an imaginary horse about "power reliability", then it's not fine.>built-in battery heatersYour batteries are indoors and just about every BMS you can buy has optional battery heater support.>life expectancyYeah, the exact same as a /diy/ battery (at best), proprietary BMS bricking the battery much sooner at worst. BMS is obviously the thing to fail in battery packs, are you going to be replacing the BMS in these units in 10-15 years? Probably not, you'll probably toss them out. >10 year warrantyYeah if Chang is still around in 10 years, he will surely honor it.>my insurance carrierThis is literally the only reason to buy a prebuilt pack, provided you're not an idiot. Insurance could and probably would try fucking you over if they found out you have a custom-built battery. However, insurance could and probably would try fucking you over if they find out you have an amateur-built system, or that a certified technician didn't sign off on your battery connections and settings and inverter settings.
https://www.eco-worthy.com/products/200w-n-type-high-efficiency-solar-panelandhttps://arkpax.com/products/arkpax-ark-evo-1800worhttps://www.vesseloutfitters.com/product/lifepo4-125ah-12v-lithium-battery-100a-bms-group27-bluetooth-marine-rv/https://www.victronenergy.com/solar-charge-controllers/smartsolar-100-30-100-50https://www.victronenergy.com/inverters/phoenix-inverter-compactFrom what I read, these solar panels produce 10 amps out of the box on a normal sunny day. but it was suggested a 40 amp minimum charge controller, and on top of that the inverter is ultra efficient. So would it be better getting a stand alone battery inverter charger system then a AOI solar power generator?
>>2963300$526.26versus $1,699.00$862.26For a 400 watt solar setup, and 125 amp hours of battery or 1,500Wh at 12 volts.It's good enough to run practically any small appliance for a few hours.
>>2963278What's your Ze?
>>2926704I'm building a DIY dashcam for my car because someone keeps just absolutely fucking up my shit for no reason. I don't want to run the cam on the starter battery so I'm designing an uninterrupted power supply as well, but I need a way to keep that thing charged.I thought of putting a solar cell on my hat rack or dash and just wiring it to the UPS. Would that be stupid?
>>2964261I hope you're not planning on a lithium pack in your hot car.
>>2964382No, I'm planning on using sodium-ion. Half the capacity, but much more heat tolerant:https://hakadi.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-930672681-1/Sodium_battery.html
>>2964431Good on you!
>>2963300These things are all overpriced sans the LFP battery, which is again so cheap I wouldn't trust it just based on the price alone - but maybe it's fine, look around on forums and youtube if there are any disassembly videos. The Victron charge controller is fine though, if you are pairing it with a standard inverter. And if you want reliability, then Victron can be fine on the inverter front, too, but you can get AiO inverters in the $100-$200 range for what you're trying to do.Ecoworthy solar panels are overpriced (any non-direct manufacturer like EcoFlow or really anyone that makes "solar generators" will sell overpriced panels). 400Wp shouldn't cost more than $100 to buy. The arkpax is insanely overpriced, I didn't look at it very long, but those specs shouldn't warrant that price tag. An Ecoflow Delta 2 has the roughly the same specs and it goes around $500-$700. >these solar panels produce 10 amps out of the box on a normal sunny dayIt's rated at ~19V 10.5A, so the minimum charge controller you could use would be about 15A, provided it's a good brand - with Victron you can trust their ratings. With chinkshit you cannot trust their ratings, so you should get at least 4x bigger than rated. In the end, it depends on what exactly you want out of the system, if you want more future flexibility, then it's better to buy individual parts. If you buy an AiO, you're not going to be able to cheaply increase battery size, and most of them have pretty low limits for solar input. But if you know you will not need any significant expansions, then the AiO is fine, because it's easy to set up and you don't have to mess with high current wiring.
>>2964261>I don't want to run the cam on the starter battery so I'm designing an uninterrupted power supply as wellI don't really understand the logic here. You want to avoid draining the starter battery? Or you want to avoid interrupting the cam recording? What exactly is the UPS doing here?Any battery you put together will be several orders of magnitude smaller capacity than the car battery, so the whole thing is seemingly pointless. If you wanted to avoid draining the car starter battery, you could hook a solar panel to that instead. Also I hope you are aware of the voltage curve of Na-Ion, you will need a voltage stabilizer for the dashcam. LFP would be a far better choice.
>>2964261Amorphous solar is probably the way to go, like those cheap solar trickle chargers, but I wonder if you actually need such a thing. If you run the dashcam off the battery of the ignition relay (should be a sensible place in the fuse box to tap that off), it will only charge up when the key is turned, so you're not going to burn out your car battery without the solar panel. If anything I'd permanently mount a solar panel for the purpose of keeping your starter battery topped up in the event you're overseas for a few months.You'd probably have a better time buying a known reliable dashcam. DIY projects, especially with finnicky high-level firmware like for capturing and storing images or video, will probably need a fair bit of trial and error. If you can't find one running lithium phosphate, sodium ion, lithium titanate, or a supercapacitor, you can look into teardowns of them to see if any use a charge control chip that you could change some setting resistors on in order to use a more stable chemistry. Worst case you can use the video recording hardware from an existing dashcam and bodge together a different power system for it. The tricky part there is faking the battery voltage measurement signal so the dashcam has a rough idea of how full it is.>>2964565Dashcams tend to wake up on stimulus (gee-force sensor) to record for X amount of time. The small lipo pouches in them are more than enough for a few minutes of recording. Some dashcams (Uniden, made for the Australian market) use a supercapacitor instead because they can handle more cycles and the space efficiency isn't important. But a full 18650 sized cell might mean anon intends on making it record for longer, or take periodic snapshots, or something. Or that he's using an ESP32 as his chosen microcontroller and has to deal with its shitty quiescent current.If he uses 2S Na-ion, a low-quiescent-current linear regulator would do the job fine.
