Tutorial: How to Solar Power Your Home / House #4 - Off Grid setup, PWM vs MPPT
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
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In this tutorial we take a look at off grid solar power setup, pulse width modulated vs maximum power point tracking charge controllers (Steca PR1010, Morningstar Sunsaver TrackStar MPPT, Outback FlexMax 60)
Solar panels and charge controllers: astore.amazon.com/m0711-20?nod...
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Outback FLEXmax 60 Specifications / FLEXmax 80 Specifications:
www.outbackpower.com/products/...
Steca PR specifications:
www.steca.com/index.php?Steca_...
Morningstar Sunsaver TrackStar MPPT:
www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sup...
MPPT vs PWM Solar charger performance - Part 1 HD:
• MPPT vs PWM Solar char...
MPPT vs PWM Solar Charger - Part 2 Follow-up HD:
• MPPT vs PWM Solar Char... - Наука та технологія
*This battery reconditioning program exceeded my presumptions. It worked on any drill battery, several AA and AAA batteries, **batery.repair** and any camera battery. The steps are simple and the act itself is exciting to do. No matter what type of battery you`ve got, it is sure to function again!*
jim here i watched this vid three years ago before installing my system after three years of my system i still find this vid very informative.
I have been studying solar for almost 3 years now, and this was one of the better videos out there! (IMO)
Just a quick line to say thank you for your very detailed videos. I can't believe I'm watching these videos for free ! Right now, I am all fired up and ready to do some experimenting. Many thanks, Martin !
Making use of the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxcJ22tnHH9l1vjdIdEIG27iOG55P7LXI8 reconditioning plan, I just saved 2 auto batteries from being completely junked. The guides were very simple to follow. I wish I would have found this years ago! You may use the guide to recondition any battery type
Very well-done video - thanks! This helped me understand PWM and MPPT much better than I had previously.
I find your video's very easy to understand and being a newbie to solar and off grid systems I have found I have been able to understand and set up our caravan to live of the grid in relative comfort, great work love your vids, keep them coming.
Amazing! At least now I know about comparing controllers like that. Very informative and helpful. Keep it up. Thanks!
i have seen lots of video but can't compare your with others. your video just wow.
You have a great series here and I know I will use your info for my own system. Thank you for all of your calculations and all of the thought and time which went into these videos.
Patsy McMichael My pleasure, thanks for the feedback.
Excellent video, one of the best I've seen online thus far. All the information you talked about was great! Thanks so much for posting and for all the great info.
Very good and informative as usual. Great job. Thanks.
You are awesome, a real talent in sharing your knowledge. thank you :)
You have an amazing way of explaining things very clearly. One can learn a lot from your videos ... also how to build a solar panel :)
Thanks for the diagrams and power calculations that makes things lot more easy for people.
Great video series and content! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It is much appreciated.
Wow! very informative video,about to prepare for an install on a 35ft American RV,after watching your video I have realised I need to make a few changes to the system I need to fit, Thanks for explaining the difference between the MPPT and PWM controllers, and the power losses expected, well done mate.
Andy N My pleasure Andy.
thanks for sharing your ideas to us,,this can help us save money,from Philippines
Thank you for the very informative videos! You are a good teacher!
You have inspired me with your series to educate myself further and look into adding solar power to my house in Florida.
With power company incentives, federal incentives, and the increase in home value, it could be an instant payoff. Even assuming no home value increase, the break-even point is about 7 years.
I calculated my needs to be around a 10Kw system to provide about 1200Kwh/month which is a bit over 1/2 of my total usage.
He's very good at solar charger knowledge of my new tinyhouse
Thank you, Now I have a better understanding of how it works.
Thanks a million, Clear cut understanding.
Thanks for the feedback.
Holy cow awesome video. Thanks for that clear introduction into going off grid.
My pleasure, thanks for the feedback.
Good informative Solar Panel Video, thank you Mr. Lorton
Never fails. Another awesome video. I think I actually understand now how to go off the grid thanks to your video(s). Thanks so much for uploading all these videos, very much appreciated. (+1 : 1,612)
MARK 1 My pleasure, thanks for the feedback Mark.
Finally I get the difference between charge controllers ... great vid
Thanks for the feedback. The benefit of PWM controllers is that that are a lot cheaper then MPPT.
Cheers.
Thank you so much. Very clear and helpful! My first lesson on Solar power and I was able to connect the dots right away.
My pleasure, thanks for the feedback.
Amazing tutorial. Thank you so much for making this!
Very nice detailed video, good job
Thanks for the great video. Great info for these times.
Great videos - very easy to understand - many thanks
I have seen most of your video on How to solar power your Home and all are very informative and so many things are covered in good depth and logically explained.
thanks for your effort & Time.
God Bless You.
My pleasure, thanks for the feedback.
a very clear conversation ....thanks a lot
a very appriciated video...
Thanks, my pleasure.
Thank you a lot for sharing your knowledge in this field
Excellent video.
Very informative. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Ben Parmer My pleasure Ben.
Thanks for the great vid with some eye opening information!
your lecture was of good help to me want to set up an off grid system in zimbabwe
Hi Edgar, thanks very much for the feedback. If you go to my channel home page you'll see play lists. One of them is on "How to solar power your home"...the series is in there.
Cheers...and greetings from Westlake, Ohio.
Cheers,
Martin.
Great video, I got a lot out of it.
MAN,, ur vids are the best
Good point, thanks for the post.
Thanks! This video is a great primer on simple 12v systems. It was very helpful.
Good presentation, clear knowledge of various solar system, A+ for you mjlorton.
Excellent - we are just fitting a 160 watt panel and MPPT 24v 100 amp battery - we are fitting a super capacitor bank buffer to a 3000 watt invertor with a 10 amp amp limiter super capacitor recharge so we can use power tools or kettle without canning the batterys
Really great video,thank you for posting.
Thank you, very kind of you. I didn't realized that kind of diff of the charger controller until I watched this video.
TK Do My pleasure, thanks for the post.
SHTFPrepper 2015 Make power at home with solar and wind energy to eliminate your power bill. Get our complete guide* at ==> earth4energy-new1.blogspot.com/
Thanks, very informative and with terms we can understand :)
Thank you very much, good information.
Thank you for this video, I got a lot of usefull informations.
My pleasure.
you're the best. thank you
Excellent detailed rundown on a solar system set up for off grid home!! I would be excited to know if you have compiled your hand written notes that go through the details from PV/wind to setting up the home electrical panel.
Thanks!
Thanks for the information!
That's is quite a collection of Multimeters!!
Thanks for explanation .Got some info from ur vdo,,thanks you.
I got myself a LCD 10/20A 12/24V MPPT from eBay but am not happy as it turns out to be a fake item.
Great videos mate.
2020 checking in... I actually blurted out "HOLY SHIT when was this made" when you said that pwm was $150. glad prices have gotten much better.
yes quarantine. glad i just found your channel while down a HAM radio rabbit hole XD
It's got to have a transformer or you lose power. Look for heatsinks and the extra weight. I go ripped off on ebay, vendor claimed MPPT, but it was just PWM in fact. I went inside and turned pots and now works on 45 amps instead of 30. I'm adding a dc to dc step-down for more amperage and adjust for overcast light. I ran a 12v buss for internet/wifi, fans,pumps and lights so I save power by bypassing power converters. My Mac PS runs off of a 60v step-up direct from battery to the 120v power converter. It works on 60-240 a/c and DC.
Nice work, very informative
Very nice!
Thanks for the tutorial
Very good info, I have 5 sets of HF solar panels, and trying to figure out how to set them up. I currently have only one set on my roof, they are 3 panels, and I charge Two batteries parallel. I use that currently for my Ham radio and CB. I have the other sets for a more expanded setup, for lights in my home, all DC, as well as my Ham and CB. I will have to invest in a good controller eventually.,
Thanks...pls point me to the time in the video where I say that so I can review and answer you. Cheers, Martin.
Thanks...you can get to my forum from mjlorton(dot)com
very good videos......tks
great work
Dankie!
thanks great job
Thank you sir!
Martin, congratulations on all your videos!!! I've being watching them and enjoying all. One question, at the end of this video you mention another as a continuation of this, but I cannot find it, can you point me to that one? Greetings from Mexico!!!
Well done I leart a lot
thanks for info....
Good Job my boss
Good video. I think for my set up I need to spend more on batteries and less on panels as I'm using the power only occasionally.
I always use a mppt, but I always have/build larger systems, with higher than battery pv, 1kw pv+ and 400ah+ and 1kw inverter +
My home system is 33kwh , and going to be nearly 10kw solar, I'm at 4400 now, and going to build a DC generator, to directly charge batteries, at 96amps, or about 3kw! That will come in handy on long dark winter days! I'm also going to get/ build a couple wind turbines, to power my house, off grid, it also doesn't hurt to have backups, if it's a house, or some place where you will be staying, or away from civilisation, atleast a 50-100ah backup battery. For 12/24v systems, that can be on a smaller charge controller, and a 50-100watt panel, or even a DC to DC battery charger from the other main battery, so you will most likely always have power, or not run out,
If you only have a light, and radio, and phone charger, a 25-50ah backup battery would probably be fine, for a day or so of use,
If it was me, in a cabin I'd have about 600ah useable, and 2kw inverter, with 1k of pv. And a DC generator that can do atleast 30amps to charge the batteries, if it's where you are living, a DC generator or any generator you can charge the batteries with can be worhe its weight in gold, or atleast silver! If it's a rainy week, and your batteries are dead, the 10kw of pv is producing 50 watts, or less, (the charge controllers are actually using power!) And you are about to kill the backup battery, a DC generator can be a life-saver, I originally planned on building a 600amp at 30vdc generator, but it would be spendy, and a bit over kill! 100amps, 24v is plenty, especially. With 140amps charging my backup leadacid bank also! (I have 600-700ah backup lead acid Bank) and a 12v bank for backup, and lighting, it's 12v so if it's a perfect disaster, I can charge with a car if needed, it's about 400ah LiFePo, And I'm going to add a 1500 watt inverter, enough to keep the fridge going, and a few other things, and I'm adding the option of propane to my DC, and AC generators, and getting a larger propane tank, because my water heater, and stove us gas, may as well have my generator capable of running on propane, it keeps longer than gasoline, and I'm looking for a small diesel engine, to power my DC & AC generator, sorry I'm rambling!!! My off grid power is what I am! No power bill... 4 big rig alternators, (or one) with a decent small engine can put you in business! Keep you out of the dark anyway!
I hop I can build this some day, but very useful!
Hi, thanks for your tutorials. They’ve been extremely helpful to me in getting the basics of solar power for home use.
I am designing a small system for my home in Ghana. We are having major power interruption of late in the country, which has affected every aspect of life here. My concern now has been security due to the on and off power supply. Currently, we are having 12 hours on, then 12 hours off. When the power is off, my bugler alarm seizes to function and in house which I have been robbed a few times, I become very uneasy stepping away from the house without an operational security system. I think the 6 volt DC power backup supply can’t handle the 12 hours of constant on and off. It keeps dying in a few days. I have a surveillance camera ready to install, but I have held off due to the power problem. Nights of power cut, there is darkness for miles and I would like to have some basic light around the compound and inside my house. If can have lightening during night power outs, I would be the toast of every bug for miles.
So, Okay, I am thinking of getting 500 watts solar panel, and then feed it to my grid with a Grid Tie Inverter. During the day time if there is light, it will just reduce my power consumption, which is pretty much a medium fridge. I want to buy about 6 car batteries which I will charge and then invert during night or day time of no power to feed just my security Alarm, surveillance camera, and then night time basic lighting. I do remember you saying car batteries probably want last more than two yrs. desperate measures for desperate times here.
The way I imagined the setup of the system is the panels giving me optimum battery charging, then excess power beyond what the charge can use and when the batteries are fully charged, is fed to my Grid via the Tie Inverter.
My questions or help:
1. Can I bridge/ or Share the power coming from the solar panels between the MPPT control charger, and the Grid Tie IN? Essentially, having the two systems compete for power at the same time from the panels. How do I give priority to the MPPT charger before excess is sent to the Grid Tie IN?
2. I have seen a UA-cam demo of a Grid Tie Inverter being used to invert battery power into the house Grid Via one of the house’s outlet. Is this an OK way to discharge my stored battery power for my home’s lighting needs when power is off? I want to avoid having to run separate light fixtures by using inverter to draw the stored battery power, which I think I can’t feed the inverted power directly into my Breaker Box. What is the best way to get the stored power to the existing light fixtures in the house?
Other possible layout alternatives and suggestions will be most appreciated.
Thanks in a million in advance!!
Great info! It helped me understand a lot more in Offgrid pv systems. We have an on grid system currently running 35 panels. I don't know the watts or anything but how can I convert the system to an Offgrid system? Does anything else come into play?
excellent job, big up to you and carry on with the nice tutorial am your fan and i need more education on your products for marketing;
Hi Martin! Your videos are great! i'm hoping to install am off-grid system at my father house soon. One thing I didn't understand. What is the benefit of PWM charge controller? When would you choose one of these? Thanks!
New at this! I've been watching quite a few of your videos and it has help me heaps. Where is you blog so I can ask some questions. One basic one though, how come chargers take so many amps but so little volts, I have 6 solar panels (250 watts that produce 49 volts and 5.9 amps each so most chargers wont even look at them (even blew a 60 amp charger up ~ didn't realize it only excepted 40 volts), It looks like I have to go up to the more really expensive ones
I started watching your videos this morning and I just looked up at the clock and it is now 13 hours later! I need to get a life. LOL, thank you for your videos it has been the best made videos on this subject that I have found on youtube in 5 years. I subscribed to your forum and also your channel here. I have a question though, I cannot find the morningstar sunsaver 30A MPPT Solar Charge Controller on Amazon, what do you think of RENOGY MPPT solar products? Thank you in advance. Just in case you need to know more to get an idea, I will be using this system for a 400watt solar array with approx.400ah batteries, it will be in my class b r.v and I don't know if it makes much difference but Renogy on the specs. say something about an altitude limitation, I live in the mountainous area of the N.W Sierra Mountains and that is about 3500 feet.
great vid. I have 3 solar panels that only put out 36v dc. I dont have a 36v charge controller but i have 3 12v 24v charge controller. The question here is can i connet the 36v ouput from panels to 3 charge controllers in series to divide the input at the controllers . this way i can still get an output of 12v to the 3 batteries i got. Thx
Thanks For your amazing videos. I didn't Understand the problem that has been said in the time 9:30 about doping panel voltage to battery voltage (because of the lack of DC to DC converter in the PWM device). how is it happen (looking for the formula). I thought it should be less than the battery voltage.TNX
good job
HI and thanks for the vid. . if you find some time to answer i would like to hear your opinion on what type of mppt charger i should purchase. I have 12 solar panels but they are three different types ''conergy C175M - IBC120S - IBC75M'' What type of charge controller should i use to have optimal charging for my 12 batteries of 6v volts connected in 24v series.. would i need 3 different ones? what type of mppt would be most effective? and not cost to much . thank you
Hi Fermin, the video on sizing should help you with that. Cheers, Martin.
Missed one crucial point which is at the slightly lower battery voltage the panel will make a little bit more current as panel voltage decreases the current increases towards ISC......hence will run at closer to 6.1A vs 5.5 Hence 14.4x6.1 which is 88W vs the 80. DIfference is the STECA is a POS vs the Morningstar which is a GREAT piece of kit. the REAL gain is when you can buy cheap 72 cell 200W panels and still charge a 12V battery as you can run the panel at 30+V and the battery at ~14V.
Very informative video..
I am a newbie. If i have 10x100wp solar panel and 6x100AH/12V SLA battery. Which type of system can you suggest??12V, 24V or 48V system to reach maximum efficiency??
Thanks for sharing,,
Most useful solar panel video I have seen in ages! Thanks! :D
Thanx
You can, but preferably use a controller for a wind generator, as they have a very fast changing power output. If you are going to do so you may have hunting issues with them.
Great clear video good stuff sadly bought a mppt 30 of ebay turns out its fake and how ebay is allowing fakes with misleading description is beyond me
its very interesting
nice!
Lekker man....