12v or 24v

[quadna71]

Fast forward 9 months and the only progress made is lighting and the battery. I bought 6 sticks (LED lights) that run on 110v and have so far installed two of them over the work bench. For the battery, I picked up an Anker 767 in July and intend to use it as a dual-purpose unit. For day-to-day use it’ll live in the shed and be the power behind that system and connected to panels on the roof. But occasionally it’ll be pulled to bring along on camping trips, beach trips, tailgating, etc. Seemed like the best fiscal decision for me to accomplish multiple uses. Now we can run crock pots while tailgating, the occasional short air conditioning stint in the camper (it has a soft start), and even run the pellet smoker on the beach. It will also negate the need for a solar controller and a power inverter in the shed. I already picked up two 10’ aluminum super struts from a local supplier for the roof as well as some quickbolt mounts for securing it to the roof.

Next is wiring the shed w/outlets and building a shelf for the power bank. The last piece of the puzzle will likely be the panels as well as mounting them up top. Slow going, but as it’s just a space for working on small side projects, I only a little progress at a time.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Well this is just for the roof of my shed, lights and garage door opener are likely the largest loads it’ll see, and the inverter will only be used occasionally to charge up my 60v lawn equipment batteries. I think I’ll keep it simple and stick with 12v. Man you guys are smarter at this stuff than I’ll ever be!!!

eventually you will want either a fridge for the beer...or a cooler for the wine racks... this takes more power... go with the 24.. charge controllers can handle more, wiring and cables are cheaper for the same size 24 volt system and if you go with a 1st tier MPPT solar charge controller it will handle the larger cheaper panels (60 or 72 cell units) like you can buy for your house. these means you can get used solar panels from any of the many sources and save moeny.

the realized savings between the cheaper wiring requirements, and the cheaper 9house size/style) solar panels will pay for the more expensive MPPT SCC. not to mention if you do decide as i suggested to get a beer fridge or a wine cooler you will have less issues powering them....

 

[quadna71]

While I agree that more power-consuming items might come along, I don’t think they will be anything that is 24/7 consumption like a fridge or cooler. Those items are in the garage and my shed is mainly for storing stuff as well as a workbench for fixing things that break. It’s not even insulated so a heater or air conditioner won’t be happening either.

The portable power bank should replace the SCC as well as the inverter so at this point my only real decision is which panels and the final configuration of them.

I do have a sweet spot of input for the power bank. It can accept solar inputs between 11v and 60v. If between 11v and 32v, it will charge at a 10A rate. If between 32v and 60v it will step up to a 20A rate. Pretty sure I don’t need the faster 20A charge rate but if the higher voltages will make my solar panel choice decision easier then that is the route I will go. But I can’t configure it any way that would allow for greater than 60V at peak output.

 

[quadna71]

I do like the idea of getting used panels for a cost savings. I’ve never looked into getting used residential panels. I guess I thought they might have been much higher voltage than I could use. Time to do a little digging - thanks for the ideas!

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

I do like the idea of getting used panels for a cost savings. I’ve never looked into getting used residential panels. I guess I thought they might have been much higher voltage than I could use. Time to do a little digging - thanks for the ideas!

if it can do 60 volts then look for panels that put out 48~54 volts, that gives you some head room for when the panels are cold and put out higher voltage. that or do the actual math. all panels are different so you would need to get the specs off of the back of the panel and then do the temp offset calculations.