sharks776:


Honestly, I keep asking myself this same question "why do people still buy tubular"? I saw a new project some days ago, the tech guy arranged about 20 tubular batteries for the client. I just shake my head and pass

There is nothing wrong tubular batteries. I've a friend who has used his for 5 years now and they are still waxing strong. He bought them from the right source and he's baby sitting them as well as derating the capacity he's using...
Some people love buying products they're familiar with while some like going for new innovation....
It's a matter of choice.

jonescosmos:


The picture has all the details. But since you asked.

PV is 15KWp (16x 600w Canadian Solar Panels. 10x 540w Felicity Solar Panels)
Inverter is Deye 8KW EU Model x2 in parallel
Battery is Felicity 15KW x4 in parallel though capacity test topped off at 13.5KW. So I have 54KW Battery literally.

You suppose Dy give your whole estate light

jonescosmos:


From the Panel Datasheet you attached your VOC is 46.5V per panel. You have a CC with System voltage of 150V.
A series connection will give you 186V. So you can't do a series connection of the 4 panels.
A system that have a max voltage of 150V will have a starting voltage from around 80V or more.
Doing a 2 series and 2 parallel connection will give you 93V which is not going to optimize your yields.
Thus my recommendation for a 6 panels of 3 in series and 2 parallel which will give you a 139.5V and way above your Starting Voltage.
The implications of this is that your system will start yielding as soon as the sun comes up in the sky.
Otherwise you'll have to wait for intense sun to start yielding.

Please review this response of yours.. You only described 5panels @ the bolded.. What connection (parallel or series) would I use to attach the 6th panel?

I'm considering adding 2 more pcs of 400W panels to it if that's what it would take to have a good charge on a daily basis. So far, I haven't been satiefied with the results. I have 2 12v 200ah Quanta batteries.. I particularly went for quanta at a higher price because I learnt it was better. I'm worried because my neighbor's system stays way longer than mine.. I guess cos I just installed mine and perhaps it's not charged.. Note: Neighbor has 3.5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah felicity battery, while I have 5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah quanta battery. Neighbour's uses 8pcs 200w panels while I use 4pcs 400w panels which I think it's technically same from calculation. I want to max out my options to determine if the batteries are the culprit so that I can return them ASAP.. Thanks everyone

Someone should explain to me why I can't add new lead acid battery to the one I'm currently using?

nicodemusic:


Please review this response of yours.. You only described 5panels @ the bolded.. What connection (parallel or series) would I use to attach the 6th panel?

Oh my God. 3S2P means 3 panels in series, 3 panels in series. And then you parallel the 2 sets of arrays.

nicodemusic:


Please review this response of yours.. You only described 5panels @ the bolded.. What connection (parallel or series) would I use to attach the 6th panel?

I'm considering adding 2 more pcs of 400W panels to it if that's what it would take to have a good charge on a daily basis. So far, I haven't been satiefied with the results. I have 2 12v 200ah Quanta batteries.. I particularly went for quanta at a higher price because I learnt it was better. I'm worried because my neighbor's system stays way longer than mine.. I guess cos I just installed mine and perhaps it's not charged.. Note: Neighbor has 3.5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah felicity battery, while I have 5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah quanta battery. I want to max out my options to determine if the batteries are the culprit so that I can return them ASAP.. Thanks everyone

Your batteries are ok, the issue is your panel, are you sure they are of real capacity?

Secondly where is your panel facing?

nicodemusic:


Thanks for your input.. I eventually connected the 4pcs of 400w panels 2s2p and this image attached is the average result I get on a daily (2days monitoring).

Is this good enough or improvement is required to charge 2units of 12v 200ah.. Meanwhile I use a 5kva 24v inverter if that's necessary to know..

All inputs are highly appreciated

The wattage is not showing?

mvphenryeto5:


The wattage is not showing?

I guess the wattage is what's showing on the last line of this image.. 4.25kwh. .. ??

mvphenryeto5:


Your batteries are ok, the issue is your panel, are you sure they are of real capacity?

Secondly where is your panel facing?

I'm not sure if the panels are of of real capacity or not.. They're facing west mostly exposed to direct max sunlight from midday till dusk..

jonescosmos:


Oh my God. 3S2P means 3 panels in series, 3 panels in series. And then you parallel the 2 sets of arrays.

Thanks for your clarification and images.. This will go a long way when mounting the 6 panels as this is a completely DIY setup.. I'm most grateful for your inputs and recommendations

nicodemusic:


I'm not sure if the panels are of of real capacity or not.. They're facing west mostly exposed to direct max sunlight from midday till dusk..

From the sticker you posted, the panel might be relabelled, your 400w might be 300w and it's better to contact a professional to mount your panels so you don't damage it or fry your Cc

Can anyone recommend a good standalone 12v 1.5kva inverter.

Jefferyzz:
Can anyone recommend a good standalone 12v 1.5kva inverter.

Try eastman

nicodemusic:


Please review this response of yours.. You only described 5panels @ the bolded.. What connection (parallel or series) would I use to attach the 6th panel?

I'm considering adding 2 more pcs of 400W panels to it if that's what it would take to have a good charge on a daily basis. So far, I haven't been satiefied with the results. I have 2 12v 200ah Quanta batteries.. I particularly went for quanta at a higher price because I learnt it was better. I'm worried because my neighbor's system stays way longer than mine.. I guess cos I just installed mine and perhaps it's not charged.. Note: Neighbor has 3.5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah felicity battery, while I have 5kva 24v setup with 2 12v 200ah quanta battery. Neighbour's uses 8pcs 200w panels while I use 4pcs 400w panels which I think it's technically same from calculation. I want to max out my options to determine if the batteries are the culprit so that I can return them ASAP.. Thanks everyone

I would love to ask you some questions to be able to suggest further.
The panels you have are not grade A panels so you would be looking at 300KWp per panel, that makes 1200KWp for your 4 panels.
4.25KWh for 5 hours (Average Sun Hours) means you were generating 850W per hour for 5 hours, So you see why I said you should expect a 300w from each of your panels.
Now you have 24V 200A battery bank which is 4.8KW, Your yield of 4.25KW can never be able to fill your battery to float before sun down. Meaning that you are gradually killing your batteries and on the long run, the cells will be weakened.
And I hope there are no loads during the day, because if there are loads, they are also taking power from your 4.25KWh solar energy and battery, making your batteries to get far more less energy to reach floating stage.

My final verdict. Check the direction your panels are facing, check your daytime load consumption, i.e.: get the total load that are powered during the day, your Battery is already about 4.8KW and assuming you have to recharge it everyday after an overnight usage.
Confirm how many hours you have sun at your location.
Get the appropriate panel capacity that can give you the total KW +5% you got from your total daytime load + your battery bank capacity.
Unless your system is connected to the Grid which makes it possible to augment your battery charging via Grid, you are bound to replace the battery at short intervals.

dollarnaira:


Couldn't power freezer?
Care to share the wattage of the freezer?
Battery type and ah?

Post edited. I wasn't there at the installation site. It's a setup for my parents at home and the installer reported this to me.
Battery is 230ah genus tubular x 2pcs

mvphenryeto5:


What's the problem with tubular?

Waste of money.
Better on 100ah lithium than 220ah x2 sef

jonescosmos:


I would love to ask you some questions to be able to suggest further.
The panels you have are not grade A panels so you would be looking at 300KWp per panel, that makes 1200KWp for your 4 panels.
4.25KWh for 5 hours (Average Sun Hours) means you were generating 850W per hour for 5 hours, So you see why I said you should expect a 300w from each of your panels.
Now you have 24V 200A battery bank which is 4.8KW, Your yield of 4.25KW can never be able to fill your battery to float before sun down. Meaning that you are gradually killing your batteries and on the long run, the cells will be weakened.
And I hope there are no loads during the day, because if there are loads, they are also taking power from your 4.25KWh solar energy and battery, making your batteries to get far more less energy to reach floating stage.

My final verdict. Check the direction your panels are facing, check your daytime load consumption, i.e.: get the total load that are powered during the day, your Battery is already about 4.8KW and assuming you have to recharge it everyday after an overnight usage.
Confirm how many hours you have sun at your location.
Get the appropriate panel capacity that can give you the total KW +5% you got from your total daytime load + your battery bank capacity.
Unless your system is connected to the Grid which makes it possible to augment your battery charging via Grid, you are bound to replace the battery at short intervals.

Thanks so much for your detailed analysis.. Bottom line is ; should get 2 more panels? .. Would 2 more panels of 400w or 300w in this case (making 6pcs connected in 2s3p) generate up to 4.8kw or more required to match the battery bank?

Also I noticed my batteries sometimes shows 26v (supposedly charged state) but it would not take a long time before it gets to about 23.5, the inverter alarm kicks off and then shuts down.. Does it mean it's just showing 26v but not charged and therefore not strong enough? My load is always below 10% so I guess the load is below 500watts (since inverter capacity is 5kva)..

I just want to be sure if it's more panels I need or if the battery is misbehaving.. Thanks

isangjohnson:

6 people.
500w max during the day and 300w max at night.

Is 500w usage per hour or accumulated daytime usage?

For how many hours will they systems be powered on?

jonescosmos:


The picture has all the details. But since you asked.

PV is 15KWp (16x 600w Canadian Solar Panels. 10x 540w Felicity Solar Panels)
Inverter is Deye 8KW EU Model x2 in parallel
Battery is Felicity 15KW x4 in parallel though capacity test topped off at 13.5KW. So I have 54KW Battery literally.

i may be tempted to ask

What load do you run on this beast and y u didnt go tru d DIY battery route.

13.5kwh is not as bad as many people tend to day felecity batteries are total garbage

nicodemusic:


Thanks so much for your detailed analysis.. Bottom line is ; should get 2 more panels? .. Would 2 more panels of 400w or 300w in this case (making 6pcs connected in 2s3p) generate up to 4.8kw or more required to match the battery bank?

Also I noticed my batteries sometimes shows 26v (supposedly charged state) but it would not take a long time before it gets to about 23.5, the inverter alarm kicks off and then shuts down.. Does it mean it's just showing 26v but not charged and therefore not strong enough? My load is always below 10% so I guess the load is below 500watts (since inverter capacity is 5kva)..

I just want to be sure if it's more panels I need or if the battery is misbehaving.. Thanks

You still haven't mentioned whether your setup is On-Grid or Off-Grid.

For the panels, let's use a common logic. If 4 panels could give you 4.25kwh, 6 panels will give (6x4.25)/4 = Approx 6.4kwh.
So with your experience with your setup so far, 6 Panels of daytime energy of 6.4kwh should be able to float your battery of 4.8kw in 5hrs.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR CONNECTION IS 3S2P (3 panels in series in 2 places or strings, then you parallel the 2 strings)

In all fairness to your setup, I must be blunt to inform you that your battery might have been affected by a prolonged undercharging.
Thus the reason for not lasting long enough with a load of 500w.

You will need to charge the batteries with an AC source (Charge till Full SOC), Observe how long it lasts with your 500w load after this, then you can judge the status of the batteries.

brightk:
i may be tempted to ask

What load do you run on this beast and y u didnt go tru d DIY battery route.

13.5kwh is not as bad

Whole House, Nothing is spared.

4x 45Ltr Water Heaters
6x 1.5HP Inverter AC
1x 320Ltr Standing Freezer
2x 450Ltr Inverter Fridges
1x Water Dispenser
4x 65Inches TVs
5x All-in-One Desktop Computers
1x ML10 Gen 9 Server
About a 800w Network Equips and CCTV
10x 30W Flood Lights
16x 26w Energy Saver bulbs
1x 300w Chandelier
1x Microwave Oven
1x Deep Fryer
1x Blender
2 Burner Electric Cooker
2x 1hp pumping machines
3x Laptops
2x 50W Extractor Fans, turned on at Power Room Temperature above 35 Degrees Celsius, turns off once temperature drops to 30 Degrees.
ETC. (Phones Chargers, 4 Rechargeable Wall Fans, Others)

NOTE: All these I have tested real time on a sunny day and I was good.

Grid is available but only turned on automatically by a contactor powered by a Photocell sensor on really cloudy days. So i could say that i am partially OFF-GRID.

All Water Heaters and 4ACs are connected as smart loads and configured to turn off once Battery SOC drops to 50% and no Solar Power.

DIY battery packs are great, but I like data/communication and i am yet to see any assembly that have included RS232, RS485, CAN, and etc ports. Bluetooth options as integrated in most DIY packs is great but is limited to your presence near the installations to be able to get data.
So I intend to re-use the casings I have now in the future if i eventually need to replace my cells.

jonescosmos:


Whole House, Nothing is spared.

4x 45Ltr Water Heaters
6x 1.5HP Inverter AC
1x 320Ltr Standing Freezer
2x 450Ltr Inverter Fridges
1x Water Dispenser
4x 65Inches TVs
5x All-in-One Desktop Computers
1x ML10 Gen 9 Server
About a 800w Network Equips and CCTV
10x 30W Flood Lights
16x 26w Energy Saver bulbs
1x 300w Chandelier
1x Microwave Oven
1x Deep Fryer
1x Blender
2 Burner Electric Cooker
2x 1hp pumping machines
3x Laptops
2x 50W Extractor Fans, turned on at Power Room Temperature above 35 Degrees Celsius, turns off once temperature drops to 30 Degrees.
ETC. (Phones Chargers, 4 Rechargeable Wall Fans, Others)

NOTE: All these I have tested real time on a sunny day and I was good.

Grid is available but only turned on automatically by a contactor powered by a Photocell sensor on really cloudy days. So i could say that i am partially OFF-GRID.

All Water Heaters and 4ACs are connected as smart loads and configured to turn off once Battery SOC drops to 50% and no Solar Power.

pls check ur dm

brightk:
pls check ur dm

Buzz me up 0 8 0 3 3 2 5 2 1 8 4

jonescosmos:


You still haven't mentioned whether your setup is On-Grid or Off-Grid.

For the panels, let's use a common logic. If 4 panels could give you 4.25kwh, 6 panels will give (6x4.25)/4 = Approx 6.4kwh.
So with your experience with your setup so far, 6 Panels of daytime energy of 6.4kwh should be able to float your battery of 4.8kw in 5hrs.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR CONNECTION IS 3S2P (3 panels in series in 2 places or strings, then you parallel the 2 strings)

In all fairness to your setup, I must be blunt to inform you that your battery might have been affected by a prolonged undercharging.
Thus the reason for not lasting long enough with a load of 500w.

You will need to charge the batteries with an AC source (Charge till Full SOC), Observe how long it lasts with your 500w load after this, then you can judge the status of the batteries.

Thanks again for all you do. I understand that i have to get 2 more panels and connect all as directed..

I'm currently charging the batteries with AC and I have attached a photo of the charge status.. My question now is the 40A the charging current or is it the current in the battery as shown on the inverter screen? I have observed for a while if the 40A will increase as the battery charges but it's been stagnant, sedomly fluctuating between 40/41A so I guess it's the charging current, which I believe it's quite on the highside

nicodemusic:


Thanks again for all you do. I understand that i have to get 2 more panels and connect all as directed..

I'm currently charging the batteries with AC and I have attached a photo of the charge status.. My question now is the 40A the charging current or is it the current in the battery as shown on the inverter screen? I have observed for a while if the 40A will increase as the battery charges but it's been stagnant, sedomly fluctuating between 40/41A so I guess it's the charging current, which I believe it's quite on the highside

Try to reduce the AC charge rate of your inverter to 20A max so that you don't evaporate your distilled water and endanger the batteries further.
Please note that your Charge Amperage is meant to reduce to 0A as your battery charges. Once you hit 0A, it is assumed that your battery is full and no longer taking charge.

jonescosmos:


Try to reduce the AC charge rate of your inverter to 20A max so that you don't evaporate your distilled water and endanger the batteries further.
Please note that your Charge Amperage is meant to reduce to 0A as your battery charges. Once you hit 0A, it is assumed that your battery is full and no longer taking charge.

I can't seem to find where to reduce the charging current as the [Enter] button on the inverter does not prompt any menu.

The batteries are Quanta Dry Cell..

I noticed the voltage getting higher and the current getting lower from 41A to 40A and now 39A. Perhaps the battery bank is very weak and the inverter is charging it aggressively based on the 3phase charging protocol.. I'll keep monitoring till as much as my fuel can take tonight and tomorrow I will continue.. Note: phcn is not available so it's steady generator so I'm charging it tonight with the generator and I hope this doesn't have a bad effect on the batteries.

yemi2plus:


What brand of inverter is this? Felicity?

It's PZ.. Front view attached

nicodemusic:


I can't seem to find where to reduce the charging current as the [Enter] button on the inverter does not prompt any menu.

The batteries are Quanta Dry Cell..

I noticed the voltage getting higher and the current getting lower from 41A to 40A and now 39A. Perhaps the battery bank is very weak and the inverter is charging it aggressively based on the 3phase charging protocol.. I'll keep monitoring till as much as my fuel can take tonight and tomorrow I will continue.. Note: phcn is not available so it's steady generator so I'm charging it tonight with the generator and I hope this doesn't have a bad effect on the batteries.

Press the Enter Button and Hold it.
What brand of inverter is it, do you have the manual?
Rising Voltage and Dropping Amperage during charge is very normal.

jonescosmos:



Press the Enter Button and Hold it.
What brand of inverter is it, do you have the manual?
Rising Voltage and Dropping Amperage during charge is very normal.

Yes, the manual says hold for 10 seconds but I've held all the buttons for 100 seconds and no adjustable options come up. I can only view events but can't edit or adjust any..

nicodemusic:


Yes, the manual says hold for 10 seconds but I've held all the buttons for 100 seconds and no adjustable options come up. I can only view events but can't edit or adjust any..

Inverter Brand

jonescosmos:


Nope.
SPDs are attached to the PV inputs and AC input only.
AC inputs and Outputs, PV inputs and Batteries all have breakers respectively.

Would you have advised otherwise?

No

nicodemusic:


It's PZ.. Front view attached

Unfortunately there is no known brand as PZ, I found out this website with their office in Benin City, Edo State https://www.pzenergytech.com/

This is just a rebranded Voltronic Entry Point Inverter. I'm afraid you might not be able to change any settings on the unit.
Please contact the seller or the company via that website to provide support to reduce the charge rate.