Need Help setting up a Small Solar system.

[JOE G]

Hi, I have a Shed that i built that is storing some equipment, I had asked a similar question before but with a slightly different set up in mind. A few of you guys suggested a battery solar system.

Can you guys please list all the parts I would need to make a small system work,
Battery, Controllers, Panels, wires and what not.

I am only looking to power 4-6 Battery tender JR ( Hooked to the machinery), and maybe one or two small lights, Lights would be very short use and infrequent, Battery tenders would be 24/7. I am not looking for the best and most expensive, Just looking for a lower maintenance reliable system. Thank you

P.S I know nothing about this so please feel free to offer all of your knowledge.

 

[Roadworthy]

I won't speak for the quality but you could look at the Harbor Freight basic system to get an idea of what pieces you need to build it. Me? I power my shed with an extension cord from the garage.

 

[RalphVa]

I'd go with one of the solar panels like they put in commercial systems like we have on our carriage house roof. There are 12 that provide up to 2.5 kw. I'd connect through a battery tender good for the 2500/12 ~ 200 watt. Just buy a spare marine battery and connect it in parallel with the one you want to keep up. The spare marine will just collect any spare solar left over. Run some lights off an inverter on the marine battery to give you some lights (or connect some 12v ones). Just look up what voltage a typical panel puts out. May be able to feed directly to a battery tender. Battery Tender makes ones of various wattage.

I say this because my experience with smaller 2 @ 10 watt panels on the driveway gate and a 5 watt one on the fence charger as just not being enough. On both these, I generally have to recharge their batteries once to twice/yr.

Ralph

 

[k0ua]

I was wondering how many planets you were planing to have in your solar system, and have you done the math to figure out the Keplerian motion of their orbits? This looks like a lot of work to me.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

The cheapest, simplest way would probably be to get a self-contained battery maintainer and a few self-contained lights. These are under $20 items at big box stores.

 

[Roadworthy]

I really did appreciate the other way of looking at things James added. That one never occurred to me.

 

[k0ua]

I really did appreciate the other way of looking at things James added. That one never occurred to me.

It was strictly tongue in cheek for levity.

 

[airbiscuit]

So I gather you have a shed with several pieces of equipment that want to keep attached to a battery tender(s) so they are fully charged and ready to use when you want to. I also gather that there is no power to the shed - thus the need for solar power.

How many AC amps does each battery tender consume?
A screw in 100 watt equivalent LED bulb is bright and only consumes 15 watts.
Your estimated power consumption will determine the capacity of solar panels you will need

Others can give better advice about how to set up
Solar Collectors
Control Panel
Batteries
Inverter
Shed Wiring

Good luck!

 

[Travelover]

It would probably make sense to use a 100 watt panel connected to a 10 amp charge controller charging a 12 volt marine battery. From there you could run parallel wires to all the stored batteries as well as wires to some 12 volt lights.

You could also add an inverter to plug the battery tenders into, but I'm not sure you could get away with a modified sine wave converter and a pure sine wave converter is a lot more money, plus the converter itself will be a constant drain on the marine battery in addition to losing efficiency by converting to 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC and back again to 12 volts DC.

Examples of parts:

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Solar-Compact-Design/dp/B07GF5JY35/ref=asc_df_B07GF5JY35/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312149126290&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14349802622641312120&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033605&hvtargid=pla-575367855258&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61708932706&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312149126290&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14349802622641312120&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033605&hvtargid=pla-575367855258

https://smile.amazon.com/Renogy-Wan...words=renogy+controller&qid=1575862659&sr=8-1

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Lead-Acid-Marine-RV-Battery-Group-24DC/180350522

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[mikester]

I am not looking for the best and most expensive, Just looking for a lower maintenance reliable system. Thank you

P.S I know nothing about this so please feel free to offer all of your knowledge.

If you want cheap and low maintenance the plug into your local electric utility grid. If you want or need to be your own utility provider then cheap and low maintenance dont go hand in hand. You need to start doing your homework and learn everything you need to know if you want this to be cheap.

 

[Jchonline]

Mike is correct. There is no cheap way to setup a solar system if you need a decent amount of power. Everything must be carefully calculated. If you plan on 4 battery tenders running all night then really you are just transferring electricity from a stored battery to your vehicle battery. Seems like a big waste (if I understand your initial needs).

 

[TnAndy]

Go back and look at the exact same thread you posted on 9/24/2019

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/417712-solar-light-power-questions-small-2.html


I walked you thru a set up in multiple posts to do what you want. I suspect nobody is going to give you a more detailed explanation, so WHAT exactly are you looking for ??

 

[JOE G]

TnAndy i will go back and read that, the reason I started a new post as that one was asking slightly different questions and figured I would be more clear. I probably should have gone back though and re read it.

My Cheap may be different then others, I would like to stay under $500 but will go higher if needed. And by low maintenance I mean checking it monthly not daily.

 

[Travelover]

TnAndy i will go back and read that, the reason I started a new post as that one was asking slightly different questions and figured I would be more clear. I probably should have gone back though and re read it.

My Cheap may be different then others, I would like to stay under $500 but will go higher if needed. And by low maintenance I mean checking it monthly not daily.

I read your old post and I think the major difference is that you want to keep more batteries charged than originally. In any case, my post above should allow you to do that. If you decide to go with a pure sine inverter, this is a good one. It pulls a steady 0.5 amp even while idling, so there is some waste, there. Amazon.com: Samlex Solar PST-3-12 PST Series Pure Sine Wave Inverter: Automotive

 

[TnAndy]

It would probably make sense to use a 100 watt panel connected to a 10 amp charge controller charging a 12 volt marine battery. From there you could run parallel wires to all the stored batteries as well as wires to some 12 volt lights.

You could also add an inverter to plug the battery tenders into, but I'm not sure you could get away with a modified sine wave converter and a pure sine wave converter is a lot more money, plus the converter itself will be a constant drain on the marine battery in addition to losing efficiency by converting to 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC and back again to 12 volts DC.

Examples of parts:

Amazon.com : Renogy 1 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel, Compact Design 42.2 X 19.6 X 1.38 in, High Efficiency Module PV Power for Battery Charging Boat, Caravan, RV and Any Other Off Grid Applications : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Renogy Wanderer 1 Amp 12V/24V PWM Negative Ground Solar Charge Controller Regulator Compatible with Bluetooth Module : Garden & Outdoor

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Lead-Acid-Marine-RV-Battery-Group-24DC/180350522

Very near what I'd suggest...and did in the previous thread.

I'd go with a 200w setup since you indicate up to 4-6 small engine batteries to maintain.

Buy this for $286 Amazon.com : Renogy 2 Watts 12 Volts Monocrystalline Solar Bundle Kit w/ 1w Solar Panel, 3A Charge Controller, 9in MC4 Adaptor Kit, A pair of Branch Connectors : Renogy : Garden & Outdoor

Buy a set of these, since the 9" extension cable that come with the above are useless. $17.49 This a a 20' extension cable you will cut in half.....plug one end into the positive of the branch connector that comes with the first kit, and the negative into the other. Will work as long as you mount the charge controller (from the first kit) within 10-12' of the panels (which I'd assume will be in the sunny part of your shed roof).

Then buy one of these: $21.59 Nice buss bar, connect on the BATT part of the charge controller, run 6 wires to your 6 batteries you want to maintain. Forget the "Battery Tender" units....the solar and charge controller will take the place of them. As Travelover said (and I previously said) it's a waste of money and energy to invert 12vDC to 120vAC, then plug in a Battery Tender to convert it BACK to 12v to maintain batteries.

As long as you keep at least one of the batteries in the loop, you can run your 12v LED lights for the shed off the third part of the charge controller. IF you are going to have all 4-6 machines out at one time, you will have to add an additional battery just to power the lights.

$326 total + the cost of an additional battery IF you end up needing it, not including some wire, some alligator clips to connect to the batteries or your lights. You could shave 100 bucks or so off this by going with just one 100w panel, but I think you're going to find you're better off with 2 and end up having to add one down the road, so you might as well go there to begin.

 

[radios1]

you'll need 3 times the solar panel wattage if you want power on a cloudy day.. much less sun..

 

[Travelover]

you'll need 3 times the solar panel wattage if you want power on a cloudy day.. much less sun..

That is true, but all the OP is wanting to do is to keep a few batteries topped off including a battery for occasional lights. I think he'd be fine with a 100 watt panel, as that is all I need on my small travel trailer with LED bulbs.

 

[radios1]

That is true, but all the OP is wanting to do is to keep a few batteries topped off including a battery for occasional lights. I think he'd be fine with a 100 watt panel, as that is all I need on my small travel trailer with LED bulbs.

where I am sometimes I get cloudy days with light rain for a full week!. if that's ok with the OP, then fine..

 

[Travelover]

I have a small tractor in my barn on a battery tender, so for giggles, I measured the draw during maintenance charging. It draws 0.05 amps at 118 volts AC, or measuring at the battery it is pulling 0.08 amps at 12 volts DC. This is about 2 amp hours a day per battery. A 100 watt panel should provide about 5 amps for 5 hours a day with sun, so 25 amp hours per day. In short, I think a 100 watt panel would suffice.