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Wondering why're many people still building 12/24v system ?

N

new off grid

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Joined
Jan 27, 2020
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80
Greeting all,
Noticing lots of people here still think about building a new/huge system @ 12 or 24v
is it no debate that 48v is the only way to go ? it's everything better !
unless the new system is very small, sub 500w or upgrading from an even smaller one
Am I missing anything ?
happy harvesting ppl,
 
Last edited:
David in nh said:
its a trap you start building a 12v system . thinking you are only going to use it for emergency's
you know a few 12v lights and rv stuff .
then once you hooked , it builds slowly until you look at it and say what the heck have done
Click to expand...
So most RV folks got to stick with 12v with huge amp/cables to deal with ?
 
new off grid said:
Greeting all,
Noticing lots of people here still think about building a new/huge system @ 12 or 24v
is it no debate that 48v is the only way to go ? it's everything better !
unless the new system is very small, sub 500w or upgrading from a even smaller one
Am I missing anything ?
happy harvesting ppl,
Click to expand...
Use cases exist for the different battery voltages. Even 48vDC as a standard may be replaced in the near future with much higher voltages.
 
RVs can be tricky. Many small RVs cant fit enough Solar to runs 48 volt system. The large ones that can, have to run 2 or 3 48/12/30 amp converters to run jacks and levelling systems. But can run panels in series make 48v work.

I'm running 24 volts, easier to convert back down to 12 for jacks. I have one 330 watt panel so far, with plans to add some small panels but will never exceed 40 volts of solar. Hoping to fit another 3-400 watts of mixed small panels on the truck camper roof.
 
Dooug said:
RVs can be tricky. Many small RVs cant fit enough Solar to runs 48 volt system. The large ones that can, have to run 2 or 3 48/12/30 amp converters to run jacks and levelling systems. But can run panels in series make 48v work.

I'm running 24 volts, easier to convert back down to 12 for jacks. I have one 330 watt panel so far, with plans to add some small panels but will never exceed 40 volts of solar. Hoping to fit another 3-400 watts of mixed small panels on the truck camper roof.
Click to expand...
good to know
it's time to up standard for RV's electrical system
thx friend,
 
new off grid said:
Greeting all,
Noticing lots of people here still think about building a new/huge system @ 12 or 24v
is it no debate that 48v is the only way to go ? it's everything better !
unless the new system is very small, sub 500w or upgrading from an even smaller one
Am I missing anything ?
happy harvesting ppl,
Click to expand...

For my wife and I the choice to build a 12v system comes down to simplicity of life. We both prefer to be outdoors, and our electrical needs are a fraction of what is considered normal in the world today. We spend weeks enjoying tent camping with a portable 200w panels / 100 ah system that actually exceeds our needs.
The system we are designing for our new property will be 12v. It can power everything we need, so I see no point in calculating losses of inverters... blah, blah, blah..... Reading through the forums here, what stands out to me is the issues and frustrations with AIO's and inverters, along with buggy firmware updates. Sounds like a lot of headaches I don't want.
To each their own I suppose. It took lots of planning, fore thought and finding exactly what we needed in a property as far as lay of the land vs. building site, and natural resources to off set power needs.
 
I started with 12v, and upgraded to 24v since al I needed to do was add two more AGM batteries. Easier on the wallet than going 48v with a single battery, as I have read 12v in series is not a great idea for 48v use. Small 2k system though, if I expand then I will consider selling everything and getting 48v equipment.
 
new off grid said:
way to go friend
less demand. small system, make sense
but others building a big, 5kw plus is another story
Click to expand...
Sorta depends on how many inverters, PV and the battery bank capacity. My system is 24vDC. I run 2-3kW AIO's at 120vAC to 2-separate manual transfer control panels that handles the majority of my home loads, so 6kW. My battery bank is approaching 15kWh and my 3 PV Arrays are 4000w. I could easily add another inverter to this for dedicated 240vAC loads.
 
Sparks-n-Splinters said:
The system we are designing for our new property will be 12v. It can power everything we need, so I see no point in calculating losses of inverters... blah, blah, blah..... Reading through the forums here, what stands out to me is the issues and frustrations with AIO's and inverters, along with buggy firmware updates. Sounds like a lot of headaches I don't want.
Click to expand...
Your comment echo's something I've observed over my years of dabbling into this and helping others set up or keep thier systems going. Until recently, I was a self employed electrical contractor for that last some odd 30 years.

Part of what I did was solar, mostly off grid. During that time I bumped into many people with impossible systems. What I mean is that "on paper" they didn't have enough system but somehow they were getting along just fine. My point is that a lot people adjust and get by with whatever size system they have.

Still I do think that folks really should start off with 48v whenever possible.
 
OzSolar said:
Your comment echo's something I've observed over my years of dabbling into this and helping others set up or keep thier systems going. Until recently, I was a self employed electrical contractor for that last some odd 30 years.

Part of what I did was solar, mostly off grid. During that time I bumped into many people with impossible systems. What I mean is that "on paper" they didn't have enough system but somehow they were getting along just fine. My point is that a lot people adjust and get by with whatever size system they have.

Still I do think that folks really should start off with 48v whenever possible.
Click to expand...
that's exactly friend,
48 is way to go for the new build, unless impossible
 
Mattb4 said:
Sorta depends on how many inverters, PV and the battery bank capacity. My system is 24vDC. I run 2-3kW AIO's at 120vAC to 2-separate manual transfer control panels that handles the majority of my home loads, so 6kW. My battery bank is approaching 15kWh and my 3 PV Arrays are 4000w. I could easily add another inverter to this for dedicated 240vAC loads.
Click to expand...
kindda load you got there
when did you build your system ?
good to hear it's still handle your needs well
 
Sparks-n-Splinters said:
For my wife and I the choice to build a 12v system comes down to simplicity of life. We both prefer to be outdoors, and our electrical needs are a fraction of what is considered normal in the world today. We spend weeks enjoying tent camping with a portable 200w panels / 100 ah system that actually exceeds our needs.
The system we are designing for our new property will be 12v. It can power everything we need, so I see no point in calculating losses of inverters... blah, blah, blah..... Reading through the forums here, what stands out to me is the issues and frustrations with AIO's and inverters, along with buggy firmware updates. Sounds like a lot of headaches I don't want.
To each their own I suppose. It took lots of planning, fore thought and finding exactly what we needed in a property as far as lay of the land vs. building site, and natural resources to off set power needs.
Click to expand...
I could not agree more! My wife and I just upgraded to 200ah of LiFePO4 after 5 years on 215ah of lead acid. We have 400 watts of panels. The. Idea was to be 100 percent off grid and self reliant. So far so good.. We run a knife making and sheath and holster business on the same 12v system. I'm astonished at what some people think they need.
 
OzSolar said:
Your comment echo's something I've observed over my years of dabbling into this and helping others set up or keep thier systems going. Until recently, I was a self employed electrical contractor for that last some odd 30 years.

Part of what I did was solar, mostly off grid. During that time I bumped into many people with impossible systems. What I mean is that "on paper" they didn't have enough system but somehow they were getting along just fine. My point is that a lot people adjust and get by with whatever size system they have.

Still I do think that folks really should start off with 48v whenever possible.
Click to expand...
My career was in building restoration and maintenance/ land management. I do agree with you regarding the impossible systems. After all my years fixing/ maintaining others assets, my aim was the middle ground. A simple system that performs with little maintenance or user input accented by natural resources of the right piece of land. Thankfully today's technology makes it a reality.
 
Primal1 said:
I could not agree more! My wife and I just upgraded to 200ah of LiFePO4 after 5 years on 215ah of lead acid. We have 400 watts of panels. The. Idea was to be 100 percent off grid and self reliant. So far so good.. We run a knife making and sheath and holster business on the same 12v system. I'm astonished at what some people think they need.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear it! I bet the upgrade in the batteries made life even better!
 
My trailer is half 12volt. I need lights, USB ports, jack, brakes, fridge, stereo, slides, thermostats, awnings, all in 12 volt. It doesn't make sense to need to buy multiple 48 to 12v converters to run or start these things and then constantly have the inefficiency there.

At some point I may want to run a/c off solar and then it would make sense....but that's a lot of problems and cost to be introduced for only air conditioning.
 
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