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Condo Window "Fun Solar" Project - What's your advice?

NYCsolar

NYCsolar

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Sep 7, 2020
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Hi - I am wanting to experiment with solar energy and put a panel in my condo window. My purpose is to power some nighttime bedside lamps and a reading lamp. Nothing serious, mainly fun...edutainment!

I've selected the Renogy 30 watt monocrystalline panel ( https://www.renogy.com/30-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-solar-panel-new-edition/ ) primarily because it fits within the window mullions.

Will get the Renogy CTRL-WNDPG10 Wanderer charge controller and their Bluetooth module so I can monitor it. ( https://www.renogy.com/wanderer-10a-pwm-charge-controller/ )

Was wondering about where to store the energy from the solar panel? Looking mostly for quality and ease of energy use, I thought the Jackery 160 power station was good ( https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-160-portable-power-station ).

Would love advice / thoughts / experience / ideas from more experienced folks on my proposed setup...

THANKS!
 
I might also add to my original post, would polycrystalline be better for NYC weather?
 
If it is inside you will not get much power from it however if it is out sid it will work. Just watch this vid for our solar Queen.:giggle:
 
Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.
 
NYCsolar said:
Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.
Click to expand...

I think nighttime led lamps are a very reasonable ambition.

More DIY would be to dump the Jackery, add a LiFePO4 battery, some LED lights and you are in business.

I have one of these for $50:


It’s little brother is $30.
 
JoeHam said:
I think nighttime led lamps are a very reasonable ambition.

More DIY would be to dump the Jackery, add a LiFePO4 battery, some LED lights and you are in business.

I have one of these for $50:


It’s little brother is $30.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion - So do you trust the LiFePO4 battery for indoor use? I guess I'm not familiar with it, so would love to hear how you use this battery.

I just ordered my 30w panel by Rich Solar and the Renogy Controller with bluetooth dongle, because I have to know what's going on when I'm one room away! Should be here on Sunday or Monday!
 
NYCsolar said:
Thanks for the suggestion - So do you trust the LiFePO4 battery for indoor use? I guess I'm not familiar with it, so would love to hear how you use this battery.

I just ordered my 30w panel by Rich Solar and the Renogy Controller with bluetooth dongle, because I have to know what's going on when I'm one room away! Should be here on Sunday or Monday!
Click to expand...
You do not need a controller if you are using a Jackery as there is a built in controller.
Jackery actually uses the dangerous Li ion type batteries and not the safe LFP batteries but they are well protected with a bms and other voltage protections.
Indoors in the same temp as you is the best place for LFP batteries.
 
Last edited:
NYCsolar said:
Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.
Click to expand...
Can you mount a small frame outside your window to hold the panel?
 
svetz said:
Can you mount a small frame outside your window to hold the panel?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately the condo rules don't allow attachment of anything to the window system which, as a part of the building's enclosure, is owned by the association. It's OK by me as I want the exterior to stay looking good for property values. So I'm just tinkering with solar for fun and "edutainment."
 
Am researching the fuses required for my setup.

I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.
  1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse?
  2. If I get a LiFePO4 battery (no power station) I assume a fuse is required, so shouldn't the fuse be sized according to the battery's ampHour rating?
Appreciate the forum's on-going wisdom!
--Kevin
 

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Actually fuses or breakers protect your wires, not your devices.

With properly sized wire I think you would be fine with one of these:

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

I won’t even answer any Jackery questions as I blatantly try to steer you to the DIY method. ?

The education alone is worth it!
 
NYCsolar said:
Am researching the fuses required for my setup.

I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.
  1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse?
  2. If I get a LiFePO4 battery (no power station) I assume a fuse is required, so shouldn't the fuse be sized according to the battery's ampHour rating?
Appreciate the forum's on-going wisdom!
--Kevin
Click to expand...
You are talking about a small panel, inside your condo by a window, correct?
 
JoeHam said:
Actually fuses or breakers protect your wires, not your devices.

With properly sized wire I think you would be fine with one of these:

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com

I won’t even answer any Jackery questions as I blatantly try to steer you to the DIY method. ?

The education alone is worth it!
Click to expand...
That might be overkill for my purposes as the one panel is only 30w! But I will look into DC circuit breakers -- thanks!
 
NYCsolar said:
I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.
  1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse
Click to expand...
Once again If you get a Jackery you do not use that Renogy charge controller as the Jackery already has one.
You won't need a fuse so just plug the panel in.
You are gonna be lucky to get 10 watts out of that 30 watt panel through the window.
60 or 100 watt panel would be recommended.
 
MBR said:
Once again If you get a Jackery you do not use that Renogy charge controller as the Jackery already has one.
You won't need a fuse so just plug the panel in.
You are gonna be lucky to get 10 watts out of that 30 watt panel through the window.
60 or 100 watt panel would be recommended.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I didn't see your earlier reply, with great info! It's good to know the Jackery has a built-in charge controller--thanks much!

I do expect the results to be 1/3 as I watched a video recommended by @PsychoticEpisode above and understand the reduction in effectiveness through the glass. I thought I'd start small and see if it will even work.

Do you think the Westinghouse iGen160s Portable Power Station 155Wh is essentially the same as the Jackery 160?
 
Thank you for the info. I went ahead and ordered the Jackery. Now I have to research how to get the raw cables from the panel into their 8mm pin input.
 
dmholmes said:
I use this.
Click to expand...
Do you know if the Jackery DC input is male or female? It's hard to tell from the photos... Based on the link you sent I assume the Jackery receives an 8mm male into its 8mm female port. Just want to confirm before I order...

THANKS!
 
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