Hi folks,
Recently discovered this forum, so much great information here, and everyone seems so helpful!
Before I get into my question, some background about our setup:
About seven years ago we built an off-grid house in eastern Ontario (Canada). We DIY'd the solar setup, and have added to it over time, but we currently have:
Conext XW6048 Inverter (w/ the accessories: SCP, Combox, AGS, and Battery Monitor incl. shunt)
6500W Canadian Solar panels -> Conext MPPT80-600 (this array is south east facing)
6080W LG Neon Bifacial -> Conext MPPT80-600 (this array is south west facing)
48V Rolls battery bank @ 1445Ah (so ~700Ah usable)
Kohler 14kW (14RESA) propane generator - it's oversized but was what was available with a warranty for being used off-grid
We over-paneled each charge controller to try to eek out as much energy as we can in winter (Nov/Dev are the worst months), though eventually I would like to replace the charge controllers with the new Conext MPPT100's to capture more energy at the top end as well. We keep the panels fixed at 60' (winter angle) because at that angle in summer we still make way more power than we use, though they are adjustable (ground mounted).
We use about 16kWh / day for our loads.
My question:
Right now I am considering replacing our lead acid bank with lifepo4 batteries, like so many of you are doing (the 3.2V 280Ah cells look great!), as our lead acid batteries are aging. I was hoping to increase our usable capacity for more days of autonomy in winter, so that we run our generator as little as possible.
I am just curious how much battery capacity would be considered "too much" with our current hardware? Ideally I would assemble at least four (4) 280Ah, 48V batteries (4p 16s is I think how you put it here?) for a total capacity (@48v) of 1120Ah, of which we could use ~900Ah (80% of 1120Ah).
Assuming, on a good day, an average charge rate of 130A from our charge controllers, this would be charging the batteries at ~0.1C (i think??) Is this workable? Do I want too much capacity? Can I have more capacity?
Appreciate any opinions or insight anyone can provide!
Thanks!
Recently discovered this forum, so much great information here, and everyone seems so helpful!
Before I get into my question, some background about our setup:
About seven years ago we built an off-grid house in eastern Ontario (Canada). We DIY'd the solar setup, and have added to it over time, but we currently have:
Conext XW6048 Inverter (w/ the accessories: SCP, Combox, AGS, and Battery Monitor incl. shunt)
6500W Canadian Solar panels -> Conext MPPT80-600 (this array is south east facing)
6080W LG Neon Bifacial -> Conext MPPT80-600 (this array is south west facing)
48V Rolls battery bank @ 1445Ah (so ~700Ah usable)
Kohler 14kW (14RESA) propane generator - it's oversized but was what was available with a warranty for being used off-grid
We over-paneled each charge controller to try to eek out as much energy as we can in winter (Nov/Dev are the worst months), though eventually I would like to replace the charge controllers with the new Conext MPPT100's to capture more energy at the top end as well. We keep the panels fixed at 60' (winter angle) because at that angle in summer we still make way more power than we use, though they are adjustable (ground mounted).
We use about 16kWh / day for our loads.
My question:
Right now I am considering replacing our lead acid bank with lifepo4 batteries, like so many of you are doing (the 3.2V 280Ah cells look great!), as our lead acid batteries are aging. I was hoping to increase our usable capacity for more days of autonomy in winter, so that we run our generator as little as possible.
I am just curious how much battery capacity would be considered "too much" with our current hardware? Ideally I would assemble at least four (4) 280Ah, 48V batteries (4p 16s is I think how you put it here?) for a total capacity (@48v) of 1120Ah, of which we could use ~900Ah (80% of 1120Ah).
Assuming, on a good day, an average charge rate of 130A from our charge controllers, this would be charging the batteries at ~0.1C (i think??) Is this workable? Do I want too much capacity? Can I have more capacity?
Appreciate any opinions or insight anyone can provide!
Thanks!