Off Grid Solar System Design: 4 Easy Steps + Diagram

Рет қаралды 28,759

2 ай бұрын

🎁 Free Diagrams: cleversolarpower.com/free-dia...
📖 My Best-Selling book on Amazon: cleversolarpower.com/off-grid...
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Parts: 10x 250W solar panels: cleversolarpower.com/go/san10...
12V 200Ah battery from Redodo. cleversolarpower.com/go/red12... use code 'clever' for a 5% discount
150V/60A charge controller: amzn.to/3wz3J10
12V 800VA inverter: amzn.to/3WKMEeX
MRBF fusemount: amzn.to/4bX4DmH
80A fuse: amzn.to/4bT0ikK
2x black and red 6AWG cable with lugs: amzn.to/4dLNYEA
DC breaker: amzn.to/4dZHsdi
Solar PV cable: amzn.to/3yyWeI3
In this video, I'm going to show you how to design an off-grid solar system step by step, including how to calculate your energy needs, select the right components, and understand the wiring diagram. This guide is perfect for anyone looking to design and size their own off-grid solar system for a remote cabin or similar application.
First, we will calculate your daily energy needs by determining the watt-hours for each appliance you plan to use. For example, let's say you want to run certain appliances; we find out the power of each device, multiply by the time the device is on, and add these figures together to get the total daily energy consumption. For this system, we have a total daily consumption of 720Wh.
Next, we need to calculate the size of the battery. If we use lithium batteries, we can use 100% of their capacity, whereas lead-acid batteries only allow 50%. Lithium batteries have an efficiency of 95%, while lead-acid batteries have an efficiency of 80%. We also need to account for the inverter's efficiency, which is about 90%. Additionally, we need to ensure three days of autonomy to cover periods without sunlight. Using these factors, we calculate the battery capacity needed. For a 12V system with small appliances, we will use a 12V 800W inverter, resulting in a 200Ah battery. I recommend using the Redodo battery because it's construction is well made with quality components. I trust this brand. They have several options like low temperature protection and two BMS options. One 100A BMS and one 200A BMS. You can have an inverter of 1280W or 2560W.
Then, we determine how many solar panels are needed. We start by checking the sun hours for our location; for Houston, Texas, this is 3.5 sun hours in December. To recharge the battery in one day, we divide the battery capacity by the sun hours, giving us 730W of solar power needed. We choose three 250W solar panels to provide a total of 750W.
Selecting the right charge controller is crucial. We divide the total solar panel power by the charging voltage of a 12V battery. For three 250W panels, we need a 52A charge controller, such as a Victron 150V/60A.
The wiring diagram for the system includes wiring the three panels in series, adding a breaker before the charge controller, and connecting the charge controller to the 12V 200Ah battery with an 80A fuse mounted on a Marine-rated battery fuse terminal. The inverter is attached to the same fuse, using 6 gauge welding cable for the connections.

Пікірлер: 43

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

🎁 Free Diagrams: cleversolarpower.com/free-diagrams/ 📖 My Best-Selling book on Amazon: cleversolarpower.com/off-grid-solar-power-simplified My done for you service: cleversolarpower.com/product/solar-system-review-service/ 12V 200Ah battery from Redodo. cleversolarpower.com/go/red12v200ah use code 'clever' for a 5% discount

@timothyalanogrady Ай бұрын

Great video . I have to say i got your book off of Amazon and when he got here I was very impressed on how thick it was and I'm about two chapters in and it is great reading and I'm starting to learn and understand the solar power system once I'm done reading the book I will comment

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Yeah, it's about 300 pages, it will take some time to read through. Let me know if you have any questions.

@mai_bai1800 Ай бұрын

ขอบคุณสำหรับข้อมูล

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Khob khun krab!

@joeladelakun4241 Ай бұрын

Great analysis. 👍

@johncanada246 Ай бұрын

Excellent introduction. Just bought your book from Amazon.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Thanks for your support! 🙏

@kennethverhoeven3972 Ай бұрын

could you make a risk analisys video where you explain what happens in all the worst case scenarios like a ground fault at the a battery cable or on one of the pv modules or a short circuit or a parallel/series arc etc. and what components can be used to protect people and equipment from shock/breaking when that happens and how to safely diagnose and repair the system if it does happen

@mainecultivation8871 Ай бұрын

Hello I’m looking for a system that can power 2500 watts continuously for 12 hours what do you guys recommend??

@owolabiadeteye5919 Ай бұрын

Excellent lecture, pls in your calculation for battery sizing, while did you divide the 2,517Wh by 12.8V, whereas you are using system voltage of 12V. I was expecting you to divide by 12V. Thanks for your effort

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

12.8V is the nominal voltage of a lithium battery. If it's lead acid, then it's 12V.

@owolabiadeteye5919 Ай бұрын

@@cleversolarpower okay, now I understand. Best regards and appreciation

@herbertvonsauerkrautunterh2513 Ай бұрын

Then upsize as big as you can. All the items can be found at more competitive price points as well.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Indeed, but how reliable are they? If you have this as a backup system then sure, but if you are in a camper or boat it has to be reliable. Don't want to be in the middle of the ocean and have an electronic failure.

@rk_bhartiya Ай бұрын

Full appreciation for your great effort, except calculation mistake for battery size, for 3 days autonomy, multiply by 3×24 ,please confirm.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

No, the first number in the calculation is daily power consumption, not hourly.

@rk_bhartiya Ай бұрын

Thanks for clearing my concept @@cleversolarpower

@edwardwilliams7017 Ай бұрын

Hey I have a question for you,I have 3 panels at 345 watts and I have a lead acid battery 8volt battery for a reliable 3000w pure sine wave inverter I need a diagram that shows me where to put the fuse and breaker in the system. Can you help me?

@edwardwilliams7017 Ай бұрын

The battery are 6 volts that make a battery pack of 48v and the 3000w 48v inverter

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Have you checked my free diagrams? Check out my video about wire and fuse sizes.

@user-lx9kj8qv3p Ай бұрын

In choosing a circuit breaker does it have to do with the size of your solar system?

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

We use circuit breakers on the AC side and fuses on the DC side. Fuses and breakers protect the wire, not the device. And the wire is based on the device's power consumption. On the dc side, this will be the size of the inverter. So if you have a 1000W inverter on a 12V battery, it will draw 83A. multiplying with a safety factor, it become 104A. Then size your wire based on this current and then your fuse based on the wire. I have made several videos about sizing wire and fuses.

@user-lx9kj8qv3p Ай бұрын

@@cleversolarpower Thanks so much, this was very helpful and will sure watch the videos on sizing wires and fuses.

@robmaultby9998 Ай бұрын

What about 24v or 48volt systems? with a 3000watt invertor powering a standard household fridge/ freezer?

@grahamjohnson4702 Ай бұрын

I think you are over estimating as a fridge freeze does not operate 24 hours 7 days a week.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Sure, you can use 24 or 48V. I prefer higher voltage batteries because of the benefits they offer. I have several other videos discussing these.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Indeed. I multiply the power consumption by 8 hours. So if the fridge is 100W I multiply by 8 hours to get 800Wh. I made a video about how much power my fridge consumes. It's quite a popular video.

@OrsoGrigio74 Ай бұрын

are you sure to wire the panels in series? Doesn't it add up to the voltage?

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Yes, series adds up the voltage. Total voltage input= Voc* panels in series*1.25 this is still within the 150v max input limit of the charge controller.

@robertgriffin30185 Ай бұрын

I noticed you didn't use the C-rate in your calculations for your battery capacity. Is there a reason???

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

The C rate of a 12V 200Ah battery is 100A or 200A if you use the plus version. Let's say we use the 100A BMS version. 800W/12V=67A. So it's below the max discharge current. I didn't include it here to make it less complicated.

@TheMalerdaemon Ай бұрын

0:38 TV = 150W x 9:30pm 🧐 🤭

@4115steve Ай бұрын

That victron 12/800 is 800 VA ,not watts. The wattage of a victron 12/800 is 560 watts, and the phoenix 12/1200 is 850 watts

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

You are correct. However, low frequency inverters can run a larger surge loads than high frequency inverters. We always size for surge loads.

@barnysadventures Ай бұрын

I've been off grid now for over 5 years, and built my entire system myself, including all upgrades. This is such a classic example of a video made by someone that knows all the theory but has none of the practical life experience to actually help people make the right decisions before beginning. Sure, there is plenty of information here, but practical application of that information is a whole different story.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

What 'right decisions' do you need before beginning? This IS the right information before beginning 😉

@wilfredprins9718 Ай бұрын

no problems with authorities? as they normally don't like if the normal man gets things for "free" (electricity) near my place there was free gas, coming up in the small ditches. people used to cook on it, the government made that illegal

@stevenjohn350 Ай бұрын

@@cleversolarpower I appreciate all your work in making these videos to educate us.

@robbyubisi4294 Ай бұрын

The solar panel slide you said 3 will be used but the cost slide you calculated for 10 solar panels.. Am I not understanding something or it's a little mistake?

@robbyubisi4294 Ай бұрын

And the needs analysis slide laptop is over rated by 100wh

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

The minimum amount you can purchase is 10pcs.

@cleversolarpower Ай бұрын

Depends on your laptop 😉