building my second solar system

[Dee]

Hi im new to this all but love learning about it, i have a system up and running, it works well in the summer months but needs a generator in winter ran for about 3 hours each week to keep it going, this is what i have running: 4x 200w 12v solar panels, 600w 24v wind turbine, mpt - mppt charge controllers, 3kw gas generator, 4x 12v 200ah lead acid deep cycle batterys, 220v to 24v 70amp charger.
load: 5 port tough switch 24v 60w, 12v router, 2x 12v ip cameras.
i live in the uk and dont think we get the same amount of usable sun as you guys do thats why i need wind and in winter the gas generator , i plan on adding an other wind turbine to it before winter to try and save on gas and the hastle of having to go to it to put in gas, it is very remote, on the top on a mountain, i have more sites like this i need to be off grid, ill get to them but for now can anyone give me any advise on my setup, any help very grateful.

 

[svetz]

Hi Dee,

Welcome to the forums!

... i have a system up and running, it works well in the summer months but needs a generator in winter...

The tilt has a big impact, here's a table of power output at various tilt per month from SAM's PVWatts module:

South facing 2.7 kW array at 30° tilt	South facing 2.6 kW array at 20° tilt	South facing 2.6 kW array at 0° tilt
"Jan" 243.011 "Feb" 315.923 "Mar" 396.212 "Apr" 433.07 "May" 462.228 "Jun" 468.66 "Jul" 504.052 "Aug" 490.079 "Sep" 453.345 "Oct" 409.2 "Nov" 287.756 "Dec" 218.79	"Jan" 212.081 "Feb" 282.571 "Mar" 371.039 "Apr" 421.239 "May" 464.786 "Jun" 478.513 "Jul" 510.114 "Aug" 481.091 "Sep" 427.106 "Oct" 369.243 "Nov" 251.61 "Dec" 188.816	"Jan" 145.836 "Feb" 211.799 "Mar" 317.372 "Apr" 393.583 "May" 466.527 "Jun" 496.351 "Jul" 519.227 "Aug" 459.115 "Sep" 370.822 "Oct" 285.251 "Nov" 173.65 "Dec" 123.863

The more you tilt, the more power you'll get in the winter months (up to a limit). But tilt adds windage, for example my panels are flat as it reduces the down and upward forces on my roof from hurricanes winds.

You can get the insolation numbers for where you live in the UK from the calculator here (scroll down, it's on the left) and see values for various tilt angles.

The other big impact is weather. SAM and PVWatts both factor in your local weather if you can find a compatible weather file. Easy for the U.S., not sure about the UK. Even then they're usually based on where the metering station is, so if you're remote and elevated the data might not be accurate.

... i plan on adding an other wind turbine...

As you live on a mountain it might be a great choice, but you'll probably be interest in this: www.solacity.com/small-wind-turbine-truth/
They can be quite noisy, but not as much as the gas generator.

If you can post pictures! Would love to see your setup!

 

[Dee]

Hi Dee,

Welcome to the forums!



The tilt has a big impact, here's a table of power output at various tilt per month from SAM's PVWatts module:

South facing 2.7 kW array at 30° tilt	South facing 2.6 kW array at 20° tilt	South facing 2.6 kW array at 0° tilt
"Jan" 243.011 "Feb" 315.923 "Mar" 396.212 "Apr" 433.07 "May" 462.228 "Jun" 468.66 "Jul" 504.052 "Aug" 490.079 "Sep" 453.345 "Oct" 409.2 "Nov" 287.756 "Dec" 218.79	"Jan" 212.081 "Feb" 282.571 "Mar" 371.039 "Apr" 421.239 "May" 464.786 "Jun" 478.513 "Jul" 510.114 "Aug" 481.091 "Sep" 427.106 "Oct" 369.243 "Nov" 251.61 "Dec" 188.816	"Jan" 145.836 "Feb" 211.799 "Mar" 317.372 "Apr" 393.583 "May" 466.527 "Jun" 496.351 "Jul" 519.227 "Aug" 459.115 "Sep" 370.822 "Oct" 285.251 "Nov" 173.65 "Dec" 123.863

The more you tilt, the more power you'll get in the winter months (up to a limit). But tilt adds windage, for example my panels are flat as it reduces the down and upward forces on my roof from hurricanes winds.

You can get the insolation numbers for where you live in the UK from the calculator here (scroll down, it's on the left) and see values for various tilt angles.

The other big impact is weather. SAM and PVWatts both factor in your local weather if you can find a compatible weather file. Easy for the U.S., not sure about the UK. Even then they're usually based on where the metering station is, so if you're remote and elevated the data might not be accurate.


As you live on a mountain it might be a great choice, but you'll probably be interest in this: www.solacity.com/small-wind-turbine-truth/
They can be quite noisy, but not as much as the gas generator.

If you can post pictures! Would love to see your setup!

thanks very much for your reply and links they are very good reading, i must get some picks and put them up here, it is a very cheap setup for instance i bought a 220v - 24v 70amp charger normally ment to charge tractor batterys only to find out that it back drained the battery bank so i put in a blocking diode to stop that, or that i had to put a dc step down digital board because when the gen started and was charging it was putting 27v to the 5 port tough switch and burning it out and with the board i was able to limit the amount the kit would get-24v, its fare to say iv made a few mistakes but i have learned alot and i have the bug now and just want to learn as much as i can, its great that i can come on hear and talk with other people that have the same intrests.