Ummh, what are the KPLC numbers again? :) On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 11:06 AM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com>wrote:
Yes, sir, I have a question.
You have mentioned Outback Inverter Charger as the preferred "charge controller".
Now recommend a battery brand and the supplier.
On 11 March 2013 10:57, Areba Collins [ @BrainiacKE ® ] < arebacollins@gmail.com> wrote:
@lawi, welcome on board.
As has been pointed above, it is mostly a science and at times an art, Ill give you the fishing line, then let you go fish.
1: It is untrue that locally manufactured batteries are sub standard (just as it is untrue that imported batteries are better): there are bad local, bad imported, good local & good imported.. comprendo?
2: To calculate consumption, you need to work on a "heaviest use" scenario first, then temper it with realities of budgeting. In other words, start by assuming everything is on for the longest period that there is no sun (clouds, etc). I would advise having a system that can give you at least three days of juice without power from the sun.. (it can happen).
3: Buy Deep cycle batteries, the difference is the thickness of the plate. Remember in discharging it is the plate that gets eroded, the thicker the plate, the more durable it is.
4: as a rule of thumb, you should aim to use batteries to the eightieth percentile. i.e, recharde and discharge cycles should not drop the battery down to below 80% charge. This is important since it helps you plan on how many batteries youll need to use.
5: In the part of the world we live in, we have an effective 6 hour solar days for 324 days a year(more or less), Id go with 300 days five hours for planning.
6: and last but not least, Conversion between DC and AC has a power loss factor, usually less than 5 % but id go for 5 percent losses...
7: To calculate how much power you consume, Do 12 hours X all the watts you have in the house, then divide by 1000 to get effective Kilowatt hours. (for this purpose we will assume 2Kwh. (12 hours here is extremely exaggerated but intended to give you power worth three or four days of normal use to cater for cloudy days like today (at least here in Kilifi).
8: to generate your 12Kwh in a day, you need to do 2000 watts in one hour, 1000 watts in two hours , 500 watts in four hours. since we are working with a six hour day, you need solar panels that can do 750 watts. about eight, 100 watt panels. :-) (still doing examples here, Ill tell you how much this can do).
9: To store all this power, your battery bank needs to be able to store 2Kwh in 20 percent of their storage capacity (remember charge and discharge within 80%?) 2Kwh is 20 percent, so full battery storage capacity should be 10Kwh. at 12, you need a battery bank that can pump 833 Amps. but since there is a conversion inefficiency, add the power loss factor of say 10% to get about 916Amps. which means about ten 100Ah batteries or five 200Ah batteries
10: Last but not least, you need to factor in the cost of charge controllers and an inverter, In the best case scenario, I recommend an inverter charger, a bit costly but its programmable and does both charging and coverting your DC into useable AC for your equipment. I would recommend Outback Inverter chargers for this. Note: they dont come cheap, expect about 250k for a 3KW unit, but itll probably outlive everything electronic in your house and give pure sine wave output unwaveringly.
11: Any questions?
On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 10:20 AM, Moses <mosenetk@gmail.com> wrote:
Guys,
Keep the discussion here if you can as I believe many of us are interested.
Moses. On 11 Mar 2013 10:00, "Sammy Mutua" <mutuasami@yahoo.com> wrote:
Bwana Lawi First of all How mant light hours are you looking at in a day ?? How many TV "ON" hours are you looking at ?? Which part of Kenya do you want to do installation ? ? because of actual day light hours for maximum charging !
Am using Photovolteik - 50W which i bought from BHATT Electroniks by then they were in town but they moved to Industrial area Battery i got KV 100Amphs -Kenyan batteries dont meet quality stds-Mind geeting imported battery With above am comfortable using 6 bulbs/Radio/TV/DVD player and several mobiles being charged For the last 9yrs mum has never seen a blackout
Am asuming all lights/TV will be ON from 6.30 to Midnight not unless KUNA KESHA !
In your scenario you just need panel 100W/Battery 100amph A small inverter - which should transistor made will do for laptops All other gadgets use DC powered Appliances-TV / DVD player/Mobile chargers Remember Energy conversion from one state to another translates to loss of power-DC-AC
Hit me offlist for more 0721228448
Mutua *From:* Bwana Lawi <mail2lawi@gmail.com> *To:* Skunkworks forum <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> *Sent:* Monday, 11 March 2013, 9:25 *Subject:* [Skunkworks] Solar Panel Specs
Hi guys,
I know this has been discussed somewhere before but I need help on the best solar panels to acquire (and install) back home.
The panel will be used to power basic appliances, TV, radio, and many lights - 5-10 bulbs, and almost the same number of mobile phones. Good neighbour philosophy
Also should have enough juice to power mobile devices and laptops when and if necessary.
What are the specs I should look for? Which model?
I want this info before I go to the vendors.
/* Some back story:
My (our) guy didn't win huko mashinani and he was our only hope of getting electricity
Plus I don't think paying 35k per house (4 houses in total, i.e. 140k) is a good investment for basic power needs in ushago.
*/
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