Beginners common questions... Need some help...

[cOsMiCTr]

Hello everyone,

I totally need your ideas on this. It is probably discussed somehow somewhere on this forum with a different combination but I wanted to ask your advice on my configuration.
I have 2 x LG LG355N1K-N5 NeON2 355WP solar panels.

My aim is to power up at least my mining rig which needs round about 300w per hour for 12 hours (at least half of the day). Of course system should turn back to utility and in the mean time charge the batteries while supporting the Rig. My Future wish is of course to support it fully but for now 12 hours is better than nothing.

I am Working on 220V environment.

My location is Hamburg/Germany.

I am planning a Hybrid MPPT All in one inverter to power it up. (3000W 60A MPPT) (145 VOC) (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01NBYVPQH/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=AKT0S4ACGVUE3&psc=1)

I also have a lead battery 12V 280ah (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0...le_2?language=en_GB&psc=1&smid=A3F5FPOQCLC71J)

I know it has been asked and answered many many times but I need you opinion on this before I invest in it.

My questions are;

- Are these the right products and fit for future expansions?
- Do I need a Fuse?
- Is LifePo4 worth the money or should I stay on Lead?
- Any specific Cable thickness which I should be aware of?
- Can such an MPPT switch to batteries when they are full and until that time such power from utility? Is there such config possible?
- If you find the config too dumb, can you offer me some other products which would fit more to the LG panels I have?

I hope I have provided enough information so that you can help me with the calculations... Thank you in Advance

 

[Supervstech]

Your two 355W panels if fixed mount aimed best for the majority of sun (check an irradiance chart for your location) I would guess at most 4 hours full sun, so, over 12hours, you might get 4KWh, and the rig will consume 3600 the battery will have some use, but only get charged in the 4 hours of full sun.
you would need to configure the hybrid inverter to switch to grid power as soon as the sun output meets the rig consumption.
I don’t know if that is possible.
Lithium will absorb watts more efficiently from the panels than lead will, and lithium won’t degrade if full charge isn’t met (and it likely will never be met with two panels and a 300WATT load...)

 

[cOsMiCTr]

Thanks for the quick answer....

Is there Hybrid inverters which are capable of doing that?

and you mean Li-Ion batteries? aren't they expensive?

it won't stay at 300W anyways but it is a start

 

[Diysolar123]

well, you have a 24V inverter so you will need more than "a" lead acid battery hehe..

Have you done the math to determine what the payback period would be if you are just trying to offset the cost of running your cryptominer?
Hamburg Germany is quite a bit north (kind of like canada) so your power available is quite limited. Also depending on cloud conditions your regions actual power may not be nearly what you think.

save yourself a lot of trouble and just get lifepo4 batteries ( you will need at least eight of them and it will run around $800-900 USD).
All-in-one unit, cables, disconnects/circuit breakers/fuses/etc...another $1000. So even with your two panels maybe another $1500+ investment at least.
what is your cost of power/kw? In some areas power is very expensive, others not so much.
In addition, some areas have rates that change significantly based on time of day (peak rates 10x the cheap rate); so it may make sense to still buy the battery bank and inverter so that you can fill you battery bank during the "cheap" rate time.

Of course, if you just "want to do it for fun", then dive in!!!

 

[Forbisher]

Thanks for the quick answer....

Is there Hybrid inverters which are capable of doing that?

and you mean Li-Ion batteries? aren't they expensive?

it won't stay at 300W anyways but it is a start

Read this mining thread.
You are going to need a Lot more panels.

Newbie

I want to hook up a mining rig to a solar kit-- I no nothing about solar power- The mining rig is run off a 850 watt power supply- but uses about 7-- watts-- Looking to get a kit- so that I can learn- any suggestions

diysolarforum.com

 

[Forbisher]

Your location is only getting about 3 Sun Hours now.

Your 710watts of panels x 3 is 2,130 watts per day.
2Kwh per day so how much do you pay per Kwh?

Enter Germany and Hamburg to get your sun hours in the link.
4 hours in summer and about 1 hour in winter.

Solar Irradiance Calculator

www.solarelectricityhandbook.com

Hello everyone,

I totally need your ideas on this. It is probably discussed somehow somewhere on this forum with a different combination but I wanted to ask your advice on my configuration.
I have 2 x LG LG355N1K-N5 NeON2 355WP solar panels.

My aim is to power up at least my mining rig which needs round about 300w per hour for 12 hours (at least half of the day). Of course system should turn back to utility and in the mean time charge the batteries while supporting the Rig. My Future wish is of course to support it fully but for now 12 hours is better than nothing.

I am Working on 220V environment.

My location is Hamburg/Germany.

I am planning a Hybrid MPPT All in one inverter to power it up. (3000W 60A MPPT) (145 VOC) (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01NBYVPQH/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=AKT0S4ACGVUE3&psc=1)

I also have a lead battery 12V 280ah (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0...le_2?language=en_GB&psc=1&smid=A3F5FPOQCLC71J)

I know it has been asked and answered many many times but I need you opinion on this before I invest in it.

My questions are;

- Are these the right products and fit for future expansions?
- Do I need a Fuse?
- Is LifePo4 worth the money or should I stay on Lead?
- Any specific Cable thickness which I should be aware of?
- Can such an MPPT switch to batteries when they are full and until that time such power from utility? Is there such config possible?
- If you find the config too dumb, can you offer me some other products which would fit more to the LG panels I have?

I hope I have provided enough information so that you can help me with the calculations... Thank you in Advance

 

[chrisski]

I was a small time miner and looked at solar to power a small piece of mining equipment, and it dI’d not make sense. A gas generator is much cheaper. Gas is not that hard to move in and out especially if its only 300 watts. Gas is also cheap compared to solar.

I was only looking at 80 watts. To get that to run reliably through most of the day, I’d need 400 watts of panels, which were angled at 30 degrees, and I would move those into the sun at morning, noon, and evening. I needed all those panels to get the amps flowing above six early enough.

This would have run the little basically from sunrise to sunset, with power coming from the battery for a couple hours after sunrise, to a couple hours before sunset. So, I had to have 320 watt hours of battery saved up, and then the solar panels would push the rest.

I showed talked about this to someone who was successful in mining, and he could not believe someone would even consider that when you could hook that up to an car in idle and run all day long.

Based off what I went through for 80 watts, to make your system work, you’d need twice as many panels and twice the battery power. Calculation may show different. Also, what can make this even harder is a motor can require an inverter several times the motors rating to cover start up surge.

 

[Forbisher]

Gas in Germany is $5.50 gal
Also I really doubt if he wants to deal with a noisy, stinky generator.
Idling a car all day is really stupid.

I was a small time miner and looked at solar to power a small piece of mining equipment, and it dI’d not make sense. A gas generator is much cheaper. Gas is not that hard to move in and out especially if its only 300 watts. Gas is also cheap compared to solar.

I was only looking at 80 watts. To get that to run reliably through most of the day, I’d need 400 watts of panels, which were angled at 30 degrees, and I would move those into the sun at morning, noon, and evening. I needed all those panels to get the amps flowing above six early enough.

This would have run the little basically from sunrise to sunset, with power coming from the battery for a couple hours after sunrise, to a couple hours before sunset. So, I had to have 320 watt hours of battery saved up, and then the solar panels would push the rest.

I showed talked about this to someone who was successful in mining, and he could not believe someone would even consider that when you could hook that up to an car in idle and run all day long.

Based off what I went through for 80 watts, to make your system work, you’d need twice as many panels and twice the battery power. Calculation may show different. Also, what can make this even harder is a motor can require an inverter several times the motors rating to cover start up surge.

 

[chrisski]

Gas in Germany is $5.50 gal
Also I really doubt if he wants to deal with a noisy, stinky generator.
Idling a car all day is really stupid.

I hope it works for him. I did look at gas, battery, and solar, and it always came back to gas being the best way to go, even if gas is $6+ per gallon. For me, I would not be in the same area day after day, so walking this equipment to remote sites played a part in that decision.

 

[Forbisher]

I hope it works for him. I did look at gas, battery, and solar, and it always came back to gas being the best way to go, even if gas is $6+ per gallon. For me, I would not be in the same area day after day, so walking this equipment to remote sites played a part in that decision.

How much do you think gas generator power costs per Kwh? Include generator maintainance cost and life time.
Nobody is walking their solar system.
OP gets 1 Sun Hour in the winter.

 

[chrisski]

How much do you think gas generator power costs per Kwh? Include generator maintainance cost and life time.
Nobody is walking their solar system.
OP gets 1 Sun Hour in the winter.

So what do you think is the most effective way to power a 300 watt device both in winter and summer?

 

[Supervstech]

So what do you think is the most effective way to power a 300 watt device both in winter and summer?

The grid...

7200Wh per day is a LOT of batteries, and with only 1 to 3 hours of solar at your latitude, it will be OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive to use solar. Figure 7 to 10KW or more in panels, and since you need continuous power, 24KWh of battery...

Maybe wind?

 

[Forbisher]

Lol
The OP is mining crypto as in bitcoin not gold.

I was a small time miner and looked at solar to power a small piece of mining equipment, and it dI’d not make sense. A gas generator is much cheaper. Gas is not that hard to move in and out especially if its only 300 watts. Gas is also cheap compared to solar.

I was only looking at 80 watts. To get that to run reliably through most of the day, I’d need 400 watts of panels, which were angled at 30 degrees, and I would move those into the sun at morning, noon, and evening. I needed all those panels to get the amps flowing above six early enough.

This would have run the little basically from sunrise to sunset, with power coming from the battery for a couple hours after sunrise, to a couple hours before sunset. So, I had to have 320 watt hours of battery saved up, and then the solar panels would push the rest.

I showed talked about this to s

 

[chrisski]

Crypto mining is certainly something I have no experience in. I would guess 300 watts would run the equipment.

The 80 watts I mentioned was a tiny water pump, which is totally unsuited to move any amount of material to have any chance of finding gold worth paying for enough gas to a make the three hour drive, never mind any other cost.

 

[cOsMiCTr]

My costs per kWh is 4,98 Cent

Not that bad actually.... and fyi, we are not allowed to run cars on idle in the living areas Germany... It will also be connected to a 20w Helium Miner... But it is not a comparison to a mining rig at all.

I have a flat roof which I can not use for solar panels sadly but my house can have sun all day long. The Panels will be facing south directly...

My advantage is also to use the wind. It is pretty windy here also... It can add up energy at night as well...

 

[cOsMiCTr]

According to @Will Prowse s Video for sizing a solar system, for 300w for 12 hours a day, I need 3600wh

which means I need 2 x 12v 150ah LiFePO4 Batteries... Am I correct? (which costs around 2400 Euro....

wow......

 

[Forbisher]

My costs per kWh is 4,98 Cent

Not that bad actually.... and fyi, we are not allowed to run cars on idle in the living areas Germany... It will also be connected to a 20w Helium Miner... But it is not a comparison to a mining rig at all.

I have a flat roof which I can not use for solar panels sadly but my house can have sun all day long. The Panels will be facing south directly...

My advantage is also to use the wind. It is pretty windy here also... It can add up energy at night as well...

Is 4,98 Cent a weird way of saying 5 cents per Kwh?
If so your location is only getting about 3 Sun Hours a day now so your 710watts of panels is producing 2,130 watts per day.

2Kwh per day at 5 cents is saving you a huge 10 cents a day.

I thought Germany was like 30 cents Kwh?

 

[cOsMiCTr]

Sorry, got the wrong data to copy.... 29 Cent/kWh

 

[Forbisher]

Sorry, got the wrong data to copy.... 29 Cent/kWh

Ok as I thought 30 cents Kwh so make that a 60 cent a day savings instead of 10 cents for your 710 watts panels.

In your winter the 710w will produce about 1 Kwh a day.

 

[cOsMiCTr]

Which means, the return of investment is way longer than almost 10-15 years if you include other parts in to the expenses.