I'm working on my first build and I have a few questions for more experienced people and am looking for some guidance. Here is some background of what I am dealing with:
I appreciate the help and let me know if you need any additional information.
Thanks!
- This is for a semi-permanent 27' long 1979 Swiss Colony trailer that has sat up in the mountains of Colorado for over 25 years. A roof and deck have been put up over and next to the trailer, so it sort of has a cabin feel to it, but in theory the trailer could still be pulled out someday.
- There are 110v outlets and appliances like an AC unit, but according to my dad none of it worked when they got the trailer and he doesn't think it is possible to reconnect that system at this point.
- My dad previously had a couple of small solar panels (5w and 15w I believe) that he used to charge 3 AGM batteries that were used to power some interior lights, a water pump, and well that's about it. They used all very sparingly as they would run out of charge if they left any on for too long.
- Those solar panels were blown off the roof last year and broke so there is currently no electrical power at all.
- My gf and I will only be visiting the trailer maybe one weekend a month and probably only staying for at most 4 or 5 days in a row but most of the time it will be arrive friday evening leave sunday afternoon type of trips.
- I would like to build a system that can power the internal lights (which I plan on replacing with LED lights) and the water pump, and can also be used to provide some power for recharging phones, lanterns, tool batteries, other electronics, etc. when we are up there. Maybe in a few years we could even have it power a microwave and run the refrigerator off of electric instead of propane.
- I do think it would be really cool if what I build can keep a basic video monitoring system up and running when we aren't there so we can see often wildlife like moose or bears wander by. This would be especially cool if it could work over winter as the trailer is inaccessible from about September to May.
- I plan on replacing just about all of the original components and I'm using Will's "Classic 400-watt Solar Package" as a guide, although for cost I may only start with 200-watts of panels with the plan of adding two more down the line.
- I'm hoping to keep the total cost of the system under $1400 in this first iteration.
- Questions about SOK batteries:
- Due to the cold that can occur in early fall and late spring when nearly at 10,000 feet in Colorado, how helpful would the heated battery option be?
- How helpful do you think an SOK where I could change out individual cells would be over a cheaper battery without this ability?
- If I get one with Bluetooth, does this negate the need for a battery monitor or bluetooth shunt?
- Battery Size vs Solar panel array size
- There are some tall lodgepole pines that limit the amount of sunlight received each day. My hope is to someday have maybe two sets of 4x100w panel arrays on the roof, and at least 200Ah of battery storage, but for now, I'm thinking I need to stick to one of the following two options:
- A 200Ah lower quality LiFPbattery and only two 100w panels
- A 100Ah SOK battery and possibly four 100w panels, although might start with just two
- There are some tall lodgepole pines that limit the amount of sunlight received each day. My hope is to someday have maybe two sets of 4x100w panel arrays on the roof, and at least 200Ah of battery storage, but for now, I'm thinking I need to stick to one of the following two options:
- Since this is a semi-permanent structure, should I be looking at making this a 24v or 48v system instead of 12v, or the fact that I am primarily looking to power 12v appliances and an inverter make 12v the best option?
- Should I replace the existing fuse block or not? It's old, but nothing is labeled and part of me wants to just leave everything connected to it as is and just plug in the power
- Given the presence of the trees and the lack of consistent sunshine across the roof, recommendations on how to connect the solar panel array?
I appreciate the help and let me know if you need any additional information.
Thanks!
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