diy solar

diy solar

Have some questions about my system

GrimQueefer

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Oct 5, 2022
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What's going on guys! This is my first time building a van and I'm currently working on the electric system.
I've created a pretty solid wiring diagram and I'm feeling pretty confident, but I just want to get some advice for the last few things.
So you have an idea of what I'm working with, here's what I've got so far:
  • 200 Watt Solar Starter Kit with 30Amp Solar Charge Controller- Renogy
  • 200AH Deep Cycle Battery - Renogy
  • 1000W Inverter - Renogy
  • Victron Battery Monitor
  • Blue Sea Systems ST Blade Fuse block
  • Main System Switch
  • Negative and Positive Bus Bars
So there's my system in a nutshell, here's a few of my lingering questions!
  1. Is it appropriate to use 2/0 AWG Wire from the positive bus bar to the DC Panel?
  2. What's the appropriate fuse size between the bus bar to the Fuse Block (Fuse block says Max Amps: 100a per block, 30a per circuit)
  3. I plan on using a terminal fuse block on the battery as a fail safe, I'm having a hard time figuring out the fuse size for this?
  4. Renogy recommends an 18amp fuse between the Charge Controller and the panels. Should I use a 20 amp fuse instead?
  5. Is it appropriate to use 5.5 feet of 10 AWG wire between the bus bar to the charge controller? And to consolidate wiring could I use 10 AWG for my DC Loads also?
  6. Does a 150 Amp fuse seem right in between the bus bar and Inverter.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me with this, I've never done anything like this. I really want to make sure I get it right the first time to prevent problems in the future. I have attached a picture of my wiring diagram

EDIT: Looking into it further, my solar panels will be wired in parallel, so I believe I will need two 15AMP fuses.
I also changed the fuse from the bus bar to the inverter to a 115 AMP fuse after looking at Renogy's website.
I think I've also determined a 120amp fuse will work between the fuse block and bus bar, but please double check my work hahaha.. please.
 

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Two panels in series or parallel don’t require a fuse. You can though 100 watt panels have a short circuit amps of about 6 amps meaning it’d they short that’s the max amps they will produce, in parallel that would double to 12 so a 15 amp fuse is what I would use. Renogy is referring to a 20 amp because that’s what the wires can handle 12 awg or 4 mm^2 can handle 20 amps. It is a good thing to have a way to turn off panel power for working on the system. Most use a dc rated breaker.

It looks like your biggest concern is wire sizing and fuse sizing.
You need to find a wire sizing chart or app that you are comfortable with and you can decide what sizes you need.
I like the one from southwire I think there is one from ABYC and others.
Fuses are sized to protect the wire that is connected to them. Usually they are sized at 125% of the continuous amperage expected to prevent unnecessary tripping but but will burn before the the wires overheat.

Two hundred watts of panels will produce about 80 watts x 2 panels x 5 hours is 800 watts per day. This is the best case scenario. Your inverter IF left on all the time has a idle consumption of something like 40 watts. 40 watts x 24 hours is 960 watts per day. You will need to check yours for an exact number.

Lead acid batteries need to be charged at between 0.1 and 0.2 C. 200AH x 0.1 is 20 amps. This is necessary to keep the acid stirred up. That would mean you should have 400 watts of panels to get close to that.

 
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