diy solar

diy solar

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  • Post in thread: SHOW ME YOUR MEGAWATTS!

    From an Axpert MAX II, QET: (02749400f Supposedly this is Wh so nearly 2.75MWh - comes from 2 solar arrays (I have 3) and is recorded since June 2021 although one of the arrays was installed in mid 2022. The Midnight solar charge controller reads 62MWh - it has been installed for a few years...
  • Post in thread: Voltronic Inverter Home assistant Monitoring

    I have designed a box that works with the Voltronic range of inverters (any that support Watchpower - that uses the MAX communication protocol). It is totally standalone - it uses an ESP32. It plugs into, and is powered from, the comms port on the inverter. It controls and monitors auto start...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    I have a flat panel system in North East Spain that I've had running for the last 17 years. It's a single 2x1.5 metre panel flat on the roof (at about 15 degrees angle) and pointing south. It heats a 160 litre tank. We have free hot water for at least 10 months a year. I also have a 4 panel...
  • Post in thread: Advice please for SHW experiment

    I use a central heating circulation pump which is more than adequate. My 'controller' does a lot more than just the solar hot water, it is a complete control system for the greenhouse. It controls watering, grow lights, cooling fans as well as the hot water solar system and links to a heat-pump...
  • Post in thread: Are my old AGM batteries worth anything? Where do I dispose of them?

    If your lithium batteries don't have a BMS then you should add one so there is a way to manage the batteries and not overcharge them. I don't have much knowledge of that but there are others that do. One possibility is http://electrodacus.com/ Inverters don't really have the ability to know...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    I don't think you will get enough heat transfer just by running the pipes in parallel. I think the delta would drop off too quickly so you would get an initial amount of hot water then it would go cold. With solar water you really do need to accumulate in a tank for it to be of any real use...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    Ok, so you have a recirculating system so there is movement of water - this helps. So, here is an idea, buy a roll of uninsulated soft copper pipe and roll it around one of the hot water pipes - thinner pipe will be easier to manipulate. The return pipe would be better as it is cooler due to...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    Good luck, for a differential controller you will find several Arduino and ESP projects that are easy to make.
  • Post in thread: Thermal Energy Storage

    ..there is no such thing as a disaster. Just ways to learn how not to do things.
  • Post in thread: Thermal Energy Storage

    With 40kW of panels what are you doing with all the energy generated? Storing in batteries? As many solar batteries are fully charged well before the solar energy is unavailable the excess is effectively wasted. A system to use the 'unused' energy to run an air to water heat-pump would be my...
  • Post in thread: Are my old AGM batteries worth anything? Where do I dispose of them?

    Sounds like bad luck - I have a set of AGM that are 15 years old and still working - I retired them to lighter duties about 18 months ago (they now run my greenhouse) but until then they were working well. They do have value, take them to a scrap yard and they should pay you for them based on...
  • Post in thread: Are my old AGM batteries worth anything? Where do I dispose of them?

    For a new system I now choose lithium batteries every time for several reasons; Zero maintenance Much higher maximum discharge %age Can add extra capacity in the future if needed Can communicate with the batteries to read their SOC etc. The downside is only really for fully automated systems...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    I guess your existing tank has an internal heat exchanger and the heat pump. One way would be to use this single heat exchanger for both the heat pump and solar water heating. Adding a mixer valve on one side and a common exit on the other you could then control the mixing valve depending on...
  • Post in thread: Why can't i get high temps?

    How are you controlling your pump? From what I read it sounds like just with a thermostat so it's on or off. I built my own controller and use a central heating circulating pump. To maximise solar gain I control the pump by turning it on and off with varying duration depending on the temperature...
  • Post in thread: Solar hot water system, help choosing right approach

    What make/model/power inverter do you have?
  • Post in thread: Advice please for SHW experiment

    I manage to keep the temperature above 10 degrees minimum. The temperature here is typically around 5C overnight in winter. We do occasionally drop to 2C but it's rare. The water in the tanks can easily reach 50C, sometimes more, on a sunny day. My greenhouse is roughly 4.5 x 2.5 metres.
  • Post in thread: Advice please for SHW experiment

    I have something similar. I use 2 x 100 Litre ex electric water tanks plus a 50 litre top feed tank mounted upside down so it's open as a drain back tank. I have a hot water panel on the roof of a shed and all the tanks/pump etc. in the shed next to the greenhouse. The 100 litre tanks are in...
  • Post in thread: Are my old AGM batteries worth anything? Where do I dispose of them?

    OK, so the inverter you have must be the MS4848 with one of the ME- remote controls - the only one they say works with Lithium is the ME-RC so I guess it's that one. You don't say you have the ME-BMK battery monitor so I guess not but from the picture it looks like a shunt to measure dc current...
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