If it is too hot, drive to the ocean, towards the poles, or find some shade. Lithium battery voltages are quite different and you will need to check the batteries manual. Find any and all solar panels. 2MB DIY Off-grid Solar Power! About The Mobile Solar Power Made Easy Book Pdf Finally an easy approach to mobile solar design and installation: -Add a solar system to your RV, Van, Car or Boat -Step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow -Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced methods for calculating your solar system. 3. Here are the key factors: Smaller solar panels are inherently stronger and thus, recommended if you mount them on the roof of a moving vehicle. What it should look like The battery hook up cable in this picture attaches to another 12-volt batterys positive terminal. 119 If you plan to use any of these appliances for a prolonged duration, such as an induction stove top to cook a soup for an hour, you may have a problem. Idealistically, you want as large of a battery bank as possible. Storing a Solar Power System If a vehicle with a solar power system is stored indoors, your batteries will discharge themselves over the course of a few months to a year. With the passing of each day, green energies are becoming more and more vital, so be a part of the journey and start building your mobile solar power stations today. You must use a crimp tool and nothing else. This requires hard wiring a female type plug connector to the fuse block. How to Select Solar Power System Components Now is the time to go online and order everything you need. Most systems will require a 1000-2000 watt inverter. The size will determine how many groups you can connect. A dirty wire: some wires that you try to crimp may be covered in dirt, water or oil. This means reduced life span and less efficiency when compared to glass panels. 934 0 obj <> endobj These trademark holders are not affiliated with the author, this book, or our website. The portable solar panels make solar power readily available for age 15.349.2 One wire is positive, one wire is negative. Typically 8 gauge wire is used if the charge controller is 40 amps or less, and located less than 10 feet away from the battery. The largest variable to consider when choosing a wire is the wire gauge size, which is the overall thickness of the wire. 4MB This requires using a solar charge controller that has this capability, or using a fuse between the solar array and the solar charge controller. These batteries have a very low depth of discharge rating. You can use a microcontroller and some transistors to craft your own, but that is a bit involved. The Minimalist (great for small vans and cars), How to connect Solar Panels to your Solar Generator. Total required Lithium battery size to fulfill a 2400 watt hour requirement: A 200 amp hour lithium battery will supply 2400 watt hours of usable power Unlike a lead acid battery bank, a lithium battery bank will be smaller, and provide more power. If you pull on it, it should feel solid. Solar panel wire insulation must be UV resistant, and specifically designed for solar panel use. If you do not use it every day, or if it needs to be portable, then a plug connector or cordless appliance will make sense. Thats pretty much it. For most solar system wires, any type of insulation will do fine, except for the wires that connect the solar panels to the charge controller. Feb 3, 2023. Pushing 48 volts through this wire will not be much more efficient than pushing 100 volts through this wire (even if your charge controller can handle 100 volts). Download Mobile Solar Power Made Easy! Wi-Fi Home Assistant: I use a google home mini so that I can control my smart appliances with voice commands. Read the manual of the LV6548, and see what it recommends for the input and output terminals. If your amp meter shows a current draw larger than .1 amps, you need to look around your vehicle and find out what is using power. Having a fuse block proves useful in this situation. Many people underestimate the importance of wire selection and run into many problems. Convection heaters: I do not recommend these for vehicles unless the vehicle is well insulated. Battery Bank Voltage Monitors Knowing the voltage of your battery bank will give you an idea of the current state of charge of the batteries and how much electricity you are drawing from the battery (voltage drops as amp load on the battery increases). This works well for stationary appliances. Same concept. How to install a battery bank Look around your vehicle and think of a place to mount your battery bank. A 50 to 100 amp fuse will be ideal, but check the instructions of the fuse block to see what it recommends. Connect all batteries and add the main fuse 2. If you want to measure how much power is coming from your solar panels, wire only the solar charge controller to the shunt. If 3 or 4 panels are wired together in each in series group, problems may occur. Be sure to buy a 12-volt charger! But you need to make sure that it will not leak. Next, use caulk to seal all of the holes. Bolt this wire and connector to the negative terminal of your battery bank. This will tell you that the polarity is reversed. Read more, Table of contents : Electricity for BeginnersMeasuring ElectricitySeries vs. ParallelOverview of Major Solar Power System ComponentsSolar Power System Design Methods Fast Method Lazy Method The Minimalist The Classic 400 watt The Off Grid King Ultra Lightweight Low Budget Dystopian FutureTraditional Method 1. But a fuse can only work if it is attached to a wire that is large enough to carry enough current to blow the fuse. : Mobile 12 volt off grid solar system design and installation. Do not series connect solar panels that are not of the same age or wire gauge. They should fit snug, and have plenty of surface area where they connect to each other. If you can install a roof rack to your vehicle, this is your best option! Next, heat up the connector terminal and insert the wire. This battery has a watt hour rating of 2400 watt hours. But ventilation is always nice to have. Keep in mind that all induction loads, such as motors and microwaves, require an initial increase in power consumption at start-up. Option 4 (not recommended): Secure the panels directly to the roof with a solar panel mounting kit. If you are using a lithium battery, buy the largest size you can afford. 3. But they work! The systems above are designed for offgrid use only. "?Q^m{!*dEhLFC _mNn/\v/ihB2XBJ*kBE5>2`XCXA?8K2K= 5[#O7Wexg?o0^K{N$F+juD{]^-MxK3`1QgHAP7&>V$nmv(B F o!=[n4M76'j8CylaR#H1S Y&`yxgUZRu !_l&rYznBcizr1USM2i? Crimp connector sizes are determined by: Gauge of wire it is attaching to Size of bolt or terminal (size of the hole) Lets say you need to connect a 4 gauge wire to a 5/16 inch diameter battery terminal (read battery manual to find this measurement). Each battery bank will have a slightly different charge rate. If you plan to run the fan all day, and you have a small system, you will need a DC fan. So for this battery bank, the solar array should be at least 333 watts in size. If you are not skilled at soldering, stick to using the solder-free connectors to attach the strips together. It is best to buy an inverter that can run your appliances without using its cooling fan. Also, feel the cables with your hands while the inverter is powering a large appliance. But then you will have to wire up a motor control and light sensing circuit to direct where your panels should tilt. Think of it as the total amount of water that a hose can carry. Typical sizes are 50 amps to 250 amps. Power up the converter and see if your appliance works. Examples: If you use a 100 watt light bulb for 1 hour, it has used 100 watt hours. For now, we just need to calculate the size of the battery bank. Next, strip and connect a wire to the solar charge controllers positive battery terminal. Refer to your multimeters manual to be sure. Step 4: Remove the wire from the connector, and insert the connector into a crimp tool. Flexible Solar Panels If you care about the aerodynamics and gas mileage of your vehicle or the total weight of your system, flexible solar panels will be better than glass solar panels: A typical 100 watt glass panel will weigh 16 pounds. How to install a battery bank 2. Calculating Battery Bank Size Now that we know how much power we need daily, we can calculate the size of the battery bank. If this works for your needs, you can splice the two power wires into your system, and attach it directly to the fuse block like any other appliance. Motorhome and RV solar panels: Solar panels are even easier to attach to large vehicles such as motorhomes and RVs. These chargers usually come with a variety of adapters so that they can work with different laptops. The battery bank should be large enough to compensate for these times. Once the system is installed, you dont have to think about it! You want this to be higher than your batteries low voltage disconnect voltage. Battery banks typically favor: A dry location that is protected from the rain. Pass solar array wires through the roof and connect them to the solar charge controller Typically this requires drilling two small holes into the roof to allow entry of the solar cables. Link Read, Download, and more info : My loads were pretty small for this system, so 10 gauge wire worked great. We are the defacto MPP Solar distributors; 6.5kw 54A 120V pure sine wave output 120V AC; Can offset your utility power by directly supplying loads from your solar panels ("net zero" effect) when running with or without batteries; 120A Mppt at max 250Voc - 2 x ( 4kW MPPT Charge Controllers) After you attach the positive wire, go back to the charge controller to see if it is turned on. If you have a large charge controller like an MPPT charge controller that is larger than 40 amps, you will need to reinforce the wall that you mount it on or mount it to a piece of wood, then mount the piece of wood onto the wall. If you use too small of an inverter, it will be working really hard to supply a constant power. B^Kc')^rCj-XY]TpA There are two kinds of inverters: MSW (modified sine wave) Inverters TSW (true sine wave) Inverters (sometimes called a pure sine wave inverter) An MSW inverter is typically much cheaper. Battery Monitor: Shows the voltage of your system which can allow you to estimate current battery bank capacity, load draw (how much electricity an appliance is using) and more. Be sure to check this metric before you buy your battery bank. Read it in an afternoon, or use it while you build your system Step-by-step guide for building a mobile solar system Easy to follow pictures And much more! The more amps a wire must carry, the thicker the wire must be. This way you can supply the board with a nice thick power wire from the fuse block, and supply your lights and other appliances with the switchboards power. This is setting number 29. If you are able to salvage solar panels from a telephone box, use the regulator it comes with. Carrying solar panels on your roof that are not creating usable power is horribly inefficient. A TSW is more expensive, but offers a few benefits: Safer to use with sensitive electrical devices such as computers and monitors. Mount this light in an easy to see location. A shunt attaches to the negative terminal of a component at the battery. Use the wire stripper only to strip the wires. This will not create a complete termination and will result in a horrible connection. Preparing for a disaster can be a daunting task, and it can be difficult to know where to start. : Mobile 12 volt off grid solar system design and installation. 803 To reduce the possibility of having a solar panel fly off and kill someone, you should add a safety line. Do-it-yourself step by step instructions. Every six months to a year: Remove and inspect battery terminals and inverter cables and clean them with a wire brush. The best battery monitor will be the shunt. You simply add more solar panels and/or batteries. If you have a scooter/motorcycle rack, you can mount the generator there. I would not be surprised to see a 100 watt panel producing only 20 watts on a badly designed system. This will allow you to connect wires of the same polarity together as one. This will give you a total volt rating of 12 volts. This book PDF is perfect for those who love Electric automobiles genre, written by William Errol Prowse, IV and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform which was released on 15 May 2017 with total hardcover pages 92. Inspect the solder joints and wiggle them to look for faulty connections. If your vehicle is large, this may be the only way to heat yourself up. Here's a look at what kinds of systems are out there and how to . Pre Order. Table of Contents Electricity for Beginners Measuring Electricity Series vs. Step 7: Add heat shrink if necessary. If you need a battery bank for a cabin or other stationary structure, 2-5 days of backup power is typical. This is why it is always important to use a multimeter tool to check the polarity of any questionable power wire. The bolt-on fuse on the battery bank should allow for an inverter to be wired directly to it. If a group of solar panels have the same voltage rating, connect them together in a Parallel configuration. The author is not responsible or liable for any damages that occur from using the information contained in this book. One bad connector will choke an entire solar system. : Mobile 12 volt off grid solar system design and installation. Learn more. Check it out on Amazon here What is Will Prowse's Website? Solar Array Estimates (no math required): For a single 1200 watt hour lead acid battery (which is a 100 amp hour, 12 volt AGM sealed battery with a max charge rate of 35 amps at 12 volts), use: A minimum of 200 watts of solar panels A maximum of 400 watts of solar panels For a single 1200 watt hour lithium battery (which is a 100 amp hour, 12 volt lithium iron phosphate battery with a max charge rate of 100 amps at 12 volts), use: No minimum solar array size. If you use a 1000 watt inverter to power a 1000 watt microwave, it will probably not work. Alternating current is more efficient than direct current over long distances, but direct current is required if you plan to store the electricity in a battery. PHXKNPo[8q!wevSc$aNyXaBf\qtV^fi:/YcF]#i(*-.TzWUuQA|f19 6QMTe/G$etam^PO The most common are generators, battery isolators (using your vehicles engine alternator as a generator), wind turbines and shore power plug-in battery chargers. Our units are silent, reliable, resilient and proudly made in the U.S.A. Inverter Installation Inverters require THICK wires. Inspect all wires and fuses. These fuses can be located anywhere, but are typically used for small appliances where the power wire is small. The closer the controller is to the batteries, the better. Write a review. When you power up the converter, be sure to not touch the output terminals. Daily appliance load of 1200 watt hours x 2 (days of backup) = 2400 watt hour battery bank required But heres the catch! If you plan to run large loads, such as power tools, an electric oven, or large water pumps, you may need to supplement your system with a generator. Selecting Solar Panels Flexible Solar Panels 3. Calculating Solar Array Size How to calculate the maximum solar array size for a battery How to calculate the minimum solar array size for a battery Other solar array sizing tips 4. Sturdy construction enables solar panels to withstand heat, pressure, rain, snow and more. More on this later. 5k'h Rubbing alcohol and towel: to clean dirty wires. I love this combination because if I know that I will not be home all night, I can remotely turn on the lights to deter thieves. This is a special type of current meter that tells you exactly how much electricity is going in or out of your battery at any moment. Official website: http: //www.mobile-solarpower.com Finally an easy approach to mobile solar design and installation: -Add a solar system to your RV, Van, Trailer, Car or Boat -Step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow -Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced methods for calculating your solar system. You are encouraged to confirm any information obtained from or through this book with other sources. Battery Bank Voltage Monitors How low can you safely discharge your battery? RV's, Vans, Cars and Boats! 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