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TampaxPearl
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Solar panels,
#21772776 - 06/07/15 03:37 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Has anybody built or put one together,
I'm currently moving my iguana outdoors and wanted to add solar panels to the top of my diy pvc cage,
Just to have power for its misting system, infrared lights, ceramic heat emitters and random shit I'll need down the line,
I'm wanting to use a 40w 12v , Do you think that's enough?
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Edited by TampaxPearl (06/07/15 03:42 AM)
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TGS
Pied Piper



Registered: 10/27/13
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Add up the draw from all the components and come up with a total load. The ratings should be printed on the back of each device. When you start talking about running heaters, you can come up with some high wattage very quickly. Also most devices run on 115V AC and the panels will put out 12-24V DC, so you will need an inverter.
Are you needing to draw from the system 24/7 or only for the 6-8 hours of peak irradiance on sunny days? If you need 24/7 you are looking at battery backup with a charge controller as well.
Once you have all this info and some data on how many days of cloud you need to be able to get through, that can be used to calculate how much you need to oversize the system.
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TampaxPearl
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Re: Solar panels, [Re: TGS]
#21773245 - 06/07/15 09:09 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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I did buy charge controller, and an inverter
And I'm using an extra car battery for storage, I think itll go for 2 cloudy days,
I'm only running lights, and small heaters at night 12 hours at most,
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TampaxPearl
Snap chat me that pussy


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For example my ceramic heat emitter is 60w 100v
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CHeifM4sterDiezL
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you need to figure out ur amp/hour going into/coming outta the battery. Idk if ur running that heater for very long
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TampaxPearl
Snap chat me that pussy


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Ok , I'm new this stuff Let me do some research on the lights and every ing that im exactly going to use,
Be back in a bit
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TGS
Pied Piper



Registered: 10/27/13
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Here is a quick back of the envelope calculation based on the following assumptions:
13W cfl light bulb 60W ceramic heater 18W mister pump Total = 91 W These are my assumptions, modify as needed.
From here http://www.solar-facts.com/batteries/battery-charging.php I assumed the battery efficiency is 85% and the inverter efficiency is 80%.
Say we need to run this about half the time, or half the power rating so the total is now 45W peak consumption. We need to run this overnight, or 12 hours so the total consumption is 45W*12h = 540 W*h per day. If you want to cover two days in case of clouds, (540W*h/day)*2 = 1080 W*h per day.
Now account for the efficiency losses. 1080 W*h per day /.85 battery efficiency/.80 inverter efficiency = 1588 W*h per day.
Now to size the panels. From here http://www.affordable-solar.com/residential-solar-home/Residential-Calculator
Lets assume a good location where you have 6 hours of peak sun per day.
1588 W*h/6 h = 265W. So you need 265 W of solar panels to run this system based on the above assumption.
From here http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-panels I can see that the best price advertised is around $1/W, which is pretty cheap compared to what is was when I was in school. (a long time ago). They happen to sell a 260W panel from Astroenergy, which is about what we will need to do this. Keep in mind that a few cloudless days in the winter will bump up your requirements quite a bit, especially if you do not live in one of the "good" areas on that solar map.
One other thing to keep in mind. A car battery is not designed to run all the way down repeatedly. It is optimized for peak output to start your car and the alternator keeps it fully charged the rest of the time. To do this properly what you need is called a deep cycle marine battery.
***Don't believe me, check all this for yourself.***
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Shroomism
Space Travellin



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Re: Solar panels, [Re: TGS]
#21773454 - 06/07/15 10:16 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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^ good stuff. And yeah a regular car battery will not cut it
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TampaxPearl
Snap chat me that pussy


Registered: 01/03/15
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The battery should be 12v?
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TampaxPearl
Snap chat me that pussy


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Re: Solar panels, [Re: TGS]
#21773565 - 06/07/15 10:46 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
TGS said: Here is a quick back of the envelope calculation based on the following assumptions:
13W cfl light bulb 60W ceramic heater 18W mister pump Total = 91 W These are my assumptions, modify as needed.
From here http://www.solar-facts.com/batteries/battery-charging.php I assumed the battery efficiency is 85% and the inverter efficiency is 80%.
Say we need to run this about half the time, or half the power rating so the total is now 45W peak consumption. We need to run this overnight, or 12 hours so the total consumption is 45W*12h = 540 W*h per day. If you want to cover two days in case of clouds, (540W*h/day)*2 = 1080 W*h per day.
Now account for the efficiency losses. 1080 W*h per day /.85 battery efficiency/.80 inverter efficiency = 1588 W*h per day.
Now to size the panels. From here http://www.affordable-solar.com/residential-solar-home/Residential-Calculator
Lets assume a good location where you have 6 hours of peak sun per day.
1588 W*h/6 h = 265W. So you need 265 W of solar panels to run this system based on the above assumption.
From here http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-panels I can see that the best price advertised is around $1/W, which is pretty cheap compared to what is was when I was in school. (a long time ago). They happen to sell a 260W panel from Astroenergy, which is about what we will need to do this. Keep in mind that a few cloudless days in the winter will bump up your requirements quite a bit, especially if you do not live in one of the "good" areas on that solar map.
One other thing to keep in mind. A car battery is not designed to run all the way down repeatedly. It is optimized for peak output to start your car and the alternator keeps it fully charged the rest of the time. To do this properly what you need is called a deep cycle marine battery.
***Don't believe me, check all this for yourself.***
Woah that's awesome I'm not much of an electrician, But now I'm getting a better idea,
Now to look for a 260w
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TampaxPearl
Snap chat me that pussy


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I'm in Southern California,
That's where I have all my peta and stuff,
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Patlal
You ask too many questions



Registered: 10/09/10
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My mother owns a solar panel. It's 20 feet X 30. It's on a post with a tracker on it. It follows the sun. She sell the power to the grid. In the winter it brings in maybe 700$ a month. In summer like 2000$.
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TGS
Pied Piper



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Re: Solar panels, [Re: Patlal]
#21773875 - 06/07/15 12:29 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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12V battery is the most common but if you stick with lead acid chemistry, which is the lowest cost and most forgiving, you can get most anything in multiples of 6V. However 12V will probably give you the most choices for size and price.
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Prisoner#1
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Re: Solar panels, [Re: TGS]
#21773888 - 06/07/15 12:32 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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with a 12v battery he needs a deep cycle battery, not a car battery and of course he'll need a bridge rectifier and an inverter regardless of what storage system he goes with, those will also be a large chunk of the cost, nearly as much as the solar panel
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