all,
out of curiosity i decided to measure the max temperature of my solar water heater and do a comparison with
a fully functioning electric water heater (ariston). the result was shocking even to me.

i knew the solar water heater really gets hot on a good day but i was really not prepared for the sharp difference
in max temperatures between the two.

see below pictures:

the sun truly is the answer!

chris81964:


Thank you GeorgeD1. He has 8 Deka 220 AH batteries. They are the same batteries across the board.

chris,

well done once again.

bigrovar:
I think Oga GeorgeD1 was referring to the first picture you showed which I presumed was his initial setup before your company came in to tidy things.

bigrovar,
thanks. indeed i was referring to the before pictures. i actually thought they were pictures of the finished job.

chris81964:
We are officially a distributor and installer of Outback Power Inverters, Controller and Accessories. Inventory will be available in a few weeks.

Please enjoy the job we did last week in Port Harcourt. The customer has three phase into the house to power his Central AC systems and a single phase to power pumps, hot water heaters etc. The house has no tank, water is produced on demand by a pump. He need to have power 24/7.
He had spent two million Naira on Deka batteries and we did not think he should feed his Sukham these batteries for them to get destroyed.

So the first phase was to handle all the loads that were on a single phase using a Victron Quattro. A peak of 4000 watts. Use the gen as back up for when PHCN was absent or batteries fell below a programmed threshold.

The result is a happy customer.
Phase 2 is solar
Phase 3 is three phase

Enjoy the finished job

chris81964,
well done. i see you guys are really taking the nation by storm.

one thing though, i noticed from the picture you posted seems your client used
non-uniform brand batteries for his battery bank. how do you account for the differences
in amp-hours? and what about build quality, materials and internal battery resistance?

all,

those rooting for lithium batteries should know they have limitations too.

for instance, they don't handle overcharging very well and you'll have to
install additional voltage and charging current controls that you don't need
when it comes to traditional lead-acid.

bottom line, do your research very well before throwing your money away.
google is your friend!

abunafiu:
Time to review the performance of Trojan batteries. Installed mine in June 2014. I just retired 2 units out of 16.
I now run a 42v system. Had to tweak my cc to effectively work at this level (thanks to Saipro).
My inverter now beeps Low Battery alarm for almost 24hrs.
Considering all I have read about Trojans especially about maintenance, I feel it's too early (abi na recession cause am).
Brothers in d house, let's see how well your Trojans have served or is serving you.

prof,
those trojans are supposed to serve you well into the flip side of 15yrs if the various online
reviews are anything to go by. except maybe something is terribly wrong with the quality of
the ones they send to this part of the world.

my zenith batteries by contrast seem to have fared very well. maybe because i've really been
using them sparingly. my magnum inverter seldom allows them to go down below 48v. and so
with a constant dod of 50% i'm thinking the batteries have not really been put under much
stress this many years.

refa,

welcome on board. i'm happy you found a home here.
please tell us a little about your system. array size? battery bank size?
charge controller type? successes and challenges with going off grid? etc
after all, we're all here to learn.

earthrealm:
lets not be carried away by panel qty, but by total combined wattage.
some installers like buy and installing the 80 or 100w panels...saying its more efficient..blah blah blah, my pal has 33 panels of 100w each..totaling 3300w, my 6 panels of 250w is almost half of his installed capacity. i prefer higher wattage panels, i setttled for 250w. and not 300w cos i wanted to strike a balance btw weight and size.

@georged1 and other pros.....whats ur take on the installers talk abt 80w n 100w panels being more efficient?
if u do the maths sef...they are more expensive!

earthrealm,

generally speaking, the higher the wattage, the better for solar panels.
saipro and dmerciful are both on point. rajo4real too.
my next set of panels will definitely be higher than 200w.

Barezzi:


Thank me later
https://www.nairaland.com/georged1/posts/10
https://www.nairaland.com/georged1/posts/14
https://www.nairaland.com/georged1/posts/17

barezzi!!!
wao! those links took me back in time. i have even forgotten that my last install job was
way back 2013 and here i was talking of 2014 and 2015? how time flies!
thanks for those links and thanks again!

poundo yam rocks!

foonshur,

you can go back to year 2014 or 2015 pages on this thread if you really want to see my
roof mounted solar panels. i think that was when i did my last set of installation.
note however that 40 panels is still nothing compared to what others have on their roofs
even though they may not be members of this forum.
the object of this thread is to encourage and advise one another so i'm not really keen
on showing off anything lest it will be misconstrued as show-boating.

foonshur:
@GeorgeD1 40panels?!?! You must be providing electricity for the whole street.

foonshur,

yeah 40 panels - and still counting too! the more, the merrier!!

Saipro:

GeorgeD1 na baba. I presume GeorgeD1
- lives in a place where dust doesn't bother him that much. I'm aware everywhere in Nigeria has some issues with dust though.
- PV bank is way over what he actually needs
- rains come in spatters, even in "dry" season (perhaps he lives near river bank/beach).

I clean mine at least monthly in the dry season (fortnightly when I can spare the time) and at the beginning of the rains

saipro,
you're totally correct. i guess one big reason i was able to get away with this for so long a time is my location.
i live in a coastal area and although we have our own fare share of dust issues, i usually rely on the frequent
rains to do my panel cleaning for me. as a matter of fact, we had our first rain of the year today in some parts
of the city!
also, with a present total of 40 panels, i dare say i have an oversized array. altogether my theoretical nameplate
power should be 8000w but over the years, i've seen production diminish gradually and these days i struggle
to reach a combined total of btw 2,500 and 2,800w. so at roughly one third of its installed capacity, i guess the
negative impact of cumulative yearly dust settlement has finally hit home.

JohnKester:


GeorgeD1

Haba, six years of no cleaning! You are putting your batteries in serious jeopardy! Unless of course your PV array is so large and can compensate for the dust. Otherwise I dare say your batteries may not have been charging fully for a while now. The drop in yield would be tremendous and you will be surprised at the difference after the cleaning. The sooner you hire that scaffold and do the needful, the better and the sooner your system will come back alive again!

Cheers

johnkester,
i guess i no longer need any prodding to hire that scaffold. with my production dropping to an all time low,
its time to get up on that roof and shove that dust off the face of my panels.

DMerciful:
6 years ...I stay in a dusty environment and if I dint clean my panels once a month there with be significant drop in output.....luckily they are few and at fence level. Under 15mins I'm done

dmerciful,
when you have a large pv array like mine, the only likely place to install them is on the roof.
unless of course you have a compound as big as a football field. and when you install your panels on the roof,
it becomes so much more difficult to gain access for a quick wash - even if the house is a bungalow.

Gennextech:
its advisable that we clean/wash our panels after this dusty period , after cleaning at a site we had about 50% better efficiency

gennextech,
this is one very important aspect of solar panel maintenance that most of us have been taking for granted.
after over 6 years of installation and not cleaning my own panels even once, i must confess that i've seen
a large drop in efficiency of my system. i'm almost tempted to hire a scaffold and go up there to do a
thorough cleaning of the panels myself.

NairaBaba:

Thanks, the manuals and videos on morningstar website
Show one can create a network for example existing home network or CC-router-computer network using ethernet cable to access the CC webserver.

nairababa,
my own experience with the tristar meter connectivity has been anything but pleasant.
i think this is one area morningstar corp needs to improve in their devices. in this day and age
when the drive is towards seamless internet connectivity vis iot (internet of things), its really
disheartening to come across products where you have to jump through hoops just to connect
them to your system. indeed, its no longer enough to make charge controllers that have a
99.8% conversion efficiency, those same controllers should be able to talk to other devices by
the click of a button.

dapsyra:


Sure, there are scientific ways of calculating the current carrying capacity of cable. But when you operate in country like Nigeria where quality and standards are not enforced you've got to find other ways too.

The "so called" 50mm² you purchased might not have the current carrying capacity of a true 25mm². You simply cannot rely on the stated rating of the cable only. You use the cable sizing calculator to make purchase decision and use the touch method to confirm if the cables are okay.

The man already had the cable installed in a production environment, so I gave him a very fast and practical way of checking if the cable is undersized for the task.

dapsyra,

it's all good. i advised a similar method early in the days but as we
mature in the renewables journey, we must learn to do things the
proper way.

javid4me,
noted. what is the output from your wind turbine like on a typical day with mild wind?

i might have a good mind to include something similar in my arsenal of renewables
if the power production is reliable. several years ago i mused over acquiring one and
did a lot of read up on them. i realized that the cut-in speed of the turbines vary
greatly with different brands and if you live in a relatively windless place like mine, you
may end up being saddled with a turbine that sits idle most of the time rather than
generate much needed power.

foonshur:
Abeg bros dem, hw much be the TriStar Digital Meter-2?

its about 56k now at solar depot. used to be 50k the last time i checked.
i guess the dollar rate is affecting everything badly.

https://www.solardepotng.com/SDN/product-category/solar-charge-controllers/morningstar-solar-charge-controllers/

Javid4me:
Oga dem,
I wish to inform the house on my upgrade to Solar and hope this will spice up the yuletide.
Below is my kit after a long time of learning from u all. It is an integration of solar to an existing inverter system
18 X 255W Canadian Solar Panels
9 Solar panels facing South on Uniral Solar mounts and 9 facing North on Uniral Solar mounts and Tilt legs
1 X 600W wind Turbine
All items grounded to earth

(truncated)

Your comment, criticism, guidance and questions are welcome.
Thank you

javid4me,
this is really impressive. i'm glad you finally summoned the courage to take the plunge and
you have done it in such grand style!
i also like that you decided to throw in a wind turbine into the mix. it's an area i would like to
take a little more than passing interest in.
congratulations! a fitting way to end an eventful year, if you ask me.
i also like your fully illustrated schematic diagram. it gives me an impression of a mind with attention
to details.

two things to note however:

1. your may consider splitting your solar array into two strings and having two charge controllers.
i know chris81964 already touched on this and i saw your response but no matter how much you
try to equalize the voltages of both sets of panels, you will keep having one set of voltage being
higher than the other, tilt leg or no tilt leg. this will be more apparent in the mornings when the sun
is just beginning to rise and in the evenings when the sun is setting. the money you think you're
going to save now by avoiding the purchase of an extra cc may well be lost many times over in the
next 25 yrs when you keep losing valuable power as a result of this discrepancy of panel voltage.

2. you may also consider getting a stand alone charge controller for your wind turbine. i'm a bit
doubtful of the reliability and efficiency of the inbuilt cc of that wind turbine. depending on the model
you want to buy it may not be anything sophisticated or expensive. just a simple solid state cc like
the tristar prostar:

http://www.morningstarcorp.com/products/prostar/

for a 600w turbine, you don't need a 30a or 45a cc besides a stand alone type will be more flexible
for adjustments.

just my two cents.

dapsyra:

Touch the cable while under load. If it is warm, then you are loosing energy. If it is hot, then you are not only loosing energy, but you are also at the risk of fire.

dapsyra,
don't you think that is a rather crude way of testing cable current carrying capacity?

there is a more scientific way of achieving this using distance/wire size tools and charts
like the one in the link below:

http://myelectrical.com/tools/cable-sizing-calculator

it's a pretty simple tool to use and will give you the right cable size provided you input
the right data.
note that if the wire you're using is undersized, you will already be losing power well
before you start feeling the heat on your palms.

dmerciful,
what more can I say? keep the light shinning!

coolkizzy,
a local made inverter nearly burnt my house several years ago. after that lucky escape I decided to stay in darkness
for almost three months while I gathered money to buy a replacement inverter. I later returned the inverter to the guy
who assembled it. I never went back to collect it to this day.

haslaw:

Thanks George, but when you look at it, there is no device that doesn't have some sort of trade off. Even the stand alone inverters still has its own peculiar drawbacks. Peeps not using hybrid have not been able to give any real reason for not liking hybrid.
I think the biggest issue is peeps not wanting to try new things and would rather stick to what they are already used to. We still have people who stick to their noisy generators than buy use inverters.

haslaw,
we could go back and forth on this topic but I think the bottom line still bothers on efficiency.
how do these hybrid inverters compare to their stand alone counterparts in terms of conversion efficiency?
until we begin to see hard empirical data, all we will be doing is argue based on emotions.

haslaw:




Thanks... I just wondered when I considered the price of the hybrid inverter with inbuilt MPPT charge controller as against the prices of both ordinary inverter and a separate MPPT charge controller. The prices is nearly twice when buying them separately.

haslaw,
i think the question really should be, what is the conversion efficiency of these built in charge controllers?
i personally like to think that you cannot be a jack of all trades so i tend to avoid products which try to deliver
so many functions all in one. experience has taught me that there's always a trade off.

unless we can find a way of comparing the performances of the separate functions and can confirm that they
are indeed at par with their stand alone counterparts, i think savvy peeps will still prefer to go for products
that will deliver reliable performance while giving the high efficiency most sought after.

Gennextech:
Good Day house , very long time, we are proud to announce that we have commisioned another a 65,790kwp off gird filling station project in Ejigbo lagos state

gennextech,

wao! welldone and more grease to your elbows!!
you guys never cease to amaze!!!

dicksonadams:
Chai my solar is suffering me now... Let me explain:


I stop charging my inverter with Nepa for almost a month now and I noticed since a week ago now the battery now run down quick. I might go to work and when I get back the inverter might only last 30 nins or less.


I use just a single 200ah battery and two 80 watt connect in series and 2 130watt connect in series and both now connected in series to my fangpuson cc.


Do charger with only solar destroy a battery?

Dmerciful and other guru please have mercy on me oh

dicksonadams,

charging with solar certainly does not destroy a battery. in actual fact, it enhances
battery health and longevity if done properly and with the correct sized solar array.

when you were still charging your battery bank with public power (phcn) you didn't
notice that your array was not charging your bank properly or was undersized because
public power was available to kick in and take the slack but now that you're totally
off-grid, the weaknesses in your array sizing has been brought to fore.

my advice will be to do a proper sizing of your solar panels. it is obvious that your panels
capacity is too small to charge your battery bank properly. and also your batteries may
have already taken a hit due to successively poor charge/discharge cycles. if that is
the case, you may think of replacing your batteries either now or in the near future
and give yourself peace of mind.

hazelj,

i thought you already sold out this setup or is this a new one?

dmerciful,
the thread is already active enough as it is. with my seemingly undying passion for solar water heaters you would be forgiven to think it's the next best thing after sliced bread - or maybe it is. but the fact remains that considering the push back from peeps so far, we were once like this when the issue of solar pv was being touted a few years back. many never saw the viability of it all until it's widespread adoption.
that said I think besides a few hobbyists and diyers like me still remaining on the thread, most wouldn't be bothered about posting or replying to anything unless there is something in it for them to gain and probably when they want to sell something to others.

dmerciful,
exactly. and thanks for asking.
you can install a pressurized system and this instantly changes the dynamics
of everything. if you have solar pv already, then a small pressure pump using
dc wouldn't be such a big deal. then you wouldn't need gravity to feed your hot water
tank and so no need for a water tower or roof mount.
if i were living in temporary accommodation and i absolutely must install a solar
water heater, then i'd go for this option.
another advantage of this method is its mobility. when its time for you to leave
your temporary abode, all you do is pack it up and off you go!

efuro:
@ GeorgeD1

unlike PV it has installation disadvantage. it must always be on the roof to allow flow by gravity. PV can be installed almost everywhere/anywhere open even has ur car park/dog cage etc

well, from ur effort I admit it is practicable & can be factorized to cost of completing a new site.

as solar freak, I know it pays to live green may by it will add a decade to our original lives.

a big thanks to you!

efuro,

fortunately again, that's not correct. the solar water heater can be installed just about anywhere.
the most important thing is direct and unhindered access to sunlight - much like normal pv modules.
so, what applies to solar pv also applies to it and perhaps to a lesser degree.
there are different variations in installation models. you can even install on the flat ground right in
front of your house. no water tower, no need to mount it on the roof. the possibilities are endless.
as for waiting until you want to set up a new site, again, there is no need for that. solar water heaters
can always be modified to fit into any existing plumbing system. that is what i did. the only thing
that you need to consider is the exact location where you want the water heater to be and then
your plumber will modify your house piping network accordingly.

funny enough, even as a tenant, you can still use solar water heaters. it's really amazing what
the human mind can achieve if only we choose to think outside the box.

break the myth!

efuro,
abunafiu,
dmerciful,
johnkester,
all,

still on my solar water heater calculations, i made a very optimistic assumption in my
calculations about the availability of public power which i thought some keen member would
point out to the house. i had allocated a 12hr average power supply per day in arriving at my
monthly running cost for electric water heaters. now, the question is, what if supply increases
more than 12hrs? then the running cost gets higher. again, what if there's no power at all? then
you are left with no choice than to run your fuel guzzling plant to power your water heater
(that is for those that can afford it) or alternatively you're forced to go cold - no hot water, no joy!
and i dare say that there are countless households where their electric water heaters have
become mere objects of decoration - disused and abandoned all because there is seldom
public power to run them and the 2.5kva or 5kva generators they have just can't cope
with the added load. on the other hand, with solar water heaters, the more the sunshine,
the merrier! and even on cloudy days, you still get hot water because you don't need
the full intensity of sunshine for your vacuum tubes to work.

ceelog,
i wish i could tell you something different but unfortunately i can't. if you want to
gain knowledge, there is no substitute for hardwork. rather than waiting to be
handed all the information you need, you have to go searching for it. and you do
this by reading back pages. everyone of us does it from time to time. myself for
instance, anytime i stay away from the thread for any length of time, i always invest
enough time to read the backlog of posts no matter how many they are.
just recently, i stayed away for almost a year. members thought i had finally thrown
in the towel and kissed the thread goodbye, but suddenly when work gave me a
little break, i bounced back and discovered i have over 50 pages of posts to read.
i never complained. i didn't lament to anybody. quietly i set to work and within
two weeks of continuous reading, i had cleared up the back log and brought
myself back to reckoning.

that said, however, while reading, should you need any quick clarification on
anything, please feel free to ask. members will always be willing to lend a
helping hand.

JohnKester:
For me, even the initial cost of acquisition is higher with conventional water heaters except, of course, it is a small apartment where you have to install one or two. Once it goes over that, for example a three bedroom apartment where you will need at least 4 water heaters (one for each room - ensuite ones) and the fourth one for the kitchen. It even get more expensive when it is a duplex where you may have up to 5 bedrooms and then kitchens both for the main house and the service quarters and so forth. When you compute all these, the cost the acquisition will already surpass the cost for the solar water heater even if you decide to go for the 300L type.

All arguments speak for the solar water heater and as far as I am concern, none speaks for the conventional electric water heaters.

Cheers

johnKester,

you're quite correct. i figured that any savvy member following my calculations would make that
deduction for himself.
for instance, in place of my own 300l single solar water heater, if i had decided to go for the more
conventional ariston 50l electric water heater, that would have been a whopping 6pcs water heaters
littered about my house! at the cost of 45k each, that would have been 270k total spend on purchase
of electricity guzzling water heaters that would end up boring a hole in my pocket every month for
the next donkey years!