Hello from SoCal

[BowerBoy9]

I am a relative newcomer to solar power systems and I stumbled upon this forum. It looks great and I look forward to learning a lot from more experienced members.

 

[hwy17]

Welcome, you can begin rearranging your mind to only see 48 volt systems now.

 

[BowerBoy9]

I'll start right away!

 

[Hedges]

Welcome.

55Volts is living in the past. That's about typical for a nominal 48V battery.
High Voltage batteries (around 400V) are the future.

But 48V systems are about equally suitable for most home sized systems, and equipment is readily available.

OP - what would you like PV to do for you?

 

[BowerBoy9]

For now, a very basic system to run a small chest freezer, battery chargers, a few lights etc for grid-down backup.
In the future, perhaps a complete off-grid system for a modest house far, far away from California.

 

[Hedges]

Chest freezers don't have defrost, so quite low power. But figure whatever startup surge is 5x rating on nameplate.

Look for low no-load consumption inverter. Or one that has a "search" mode, turns off, wakes up periodically to check for loads. That might not work for a fridge with defrost timer, but should be fine for yours.
Victron has inverters from 100W to 10,000W. most need separate SCC. Or select an AIO/hybrid.
(I suggest only MPPT SCC, not PWM. Except for small system with lead-acid battery.

AGM batteries are simple and robust, so long as not charged with too high voltage, and not completely drained and left that way. Good for 300 to 700 cycles to 70% DoD, suitable for grid-backup. That's what I have for whole-house backup.

There are LiFePO4 batteries with lower purchase price than AGM, also worth considering these days.
Best to have BMS for whatever operating voltage, 12, 24, or 48V, rather than multiple lithium batteries in series.
Here's a very low cost 50 Ah 48V battery:

Cheapest 48v 50ah battery I've found so far. $409.99 free shipping

eBay is weird with their deals, you really have to look at every single listing that a seller has. On a separate listing, as a single unit they are still at the lower price- HERE And DC House is $364

diysolarforum.com

 

[BowerBoy9]

Chest freezers don't have defrost, so quite low power. But figure whatever startup surge is 5x rating on nameplate.

Look for low no-load consumption inverter. Or one that has a "search" mode, turns off, wakes up periodically to check for loads. That might not work for a fridge with defrost timer, but should be fine for yours.
Victron has inverters from 100W to 10,000W. most need separate SCC. Or select an AIO/hybrid.
(I suggest only MPPT SCC, not PWM. Except for small system with lead-acid battery.

AGM batteries are simple and robust, so long as not charged with too high voltage, and not completely drained and left that way. Good for 300 to 700 cycles to 70% DoD, suitable for grid-backup. That's what I have for whole-house backup.

There are LiFePO4 batteries with lower purchase price than AGM, also worth considering these days.
Best to have BMS for whatever operating voltage, 12, 24, or 48V, rather than multiple lithium batteries in series.
Here's a very low cost 50 Ah 48V battery:

Cheapest 48v 50ah battery I've found so far. $409.99 free shipping

eBay is weird with their deals, you really have to look at every single listing that a seller has. On a separate listing, as a single unit they are still at the lower price- HERE And DC House is $364

diysolarforum.com

Thanks for the suggestions on the freezer. That thing can be a little fickle. I am running an MPPT controller.

 

[Louis_8]

Welcome to the forum BowerBoy! Looks like you're already putting the forum to good use, good luck to your projects