I have been reading for weeks, maybe months now and the more I read the more confused I get. I am trying to design a system for my office. My office is just a gutted single wide trailer. (old school classroom). I am wanting to power 2 laptops, 2 LED tv's, printer, credit card machines, few phones, and a string of plug in led shop lights. All of this just plugs into 1 surge protector/power strip. Very simple. When everything is on and running, it uses 600watts. (via my killawatt meter). We do not use any of the wiring in the building. Currently we just run an extension cord through a hole in the floor to a generator outside to power everything. Everything is plugged into 1 power strip. I would like to build a solar system to power this. But the more I read, the more confused I get. The generator works great, I'm just tired of dealing with it daily. I would like to come in and start working without having to crank up a generator everyday. I use the office almost daily, but really only 3 days a week I'm there all day. Some days I'm only there for a few hours..
I would like to "over panel" so I can run my load just off the panels, while keeping the batteries charged for mornings, evenings, and night. From my research, it seems 1000-1200 watts of panels will suffice. I plan on keeping the generator for extended times of bad weather. (when its cloudy or rains for a week straight) I want to use the solar as much as reasonably possible. I would also like to be able to use my generator without having to unplug from the solar system. Also, if I need to use the generator, I would like for it to charge the batteries while I do. IE: if its cloudy for a week and my batteries are low, I would like to crank up the generator to power my stuff, but also charge the batteries at the same time. Then when batteries get full, turn off the generator and finish my day on battery power. Something with a grid tie/generator tie function is a must.
Now since its only for an office with out any high draw items or anything that really surges, it seems a 1000 watt inverter would work, but a 2000 watt might be better if I decide to add down the line. But, its never going to be much more than general office equipment. Obviously a Pure Sine Wave is best.
I got excited and purchased 2 batteries. I bought 2 of the ampere time 200ah lithium batteries on amazon. So I have a total of 400ah. That should be a good start. I can always add 2 more if I end up needing more battery run time. After that, I started reading more and got more confused and didn't want to buy anything else until I had a solid plan.
So now I need the rest of the stuff. I have been looking online at wiring diagrams, tutorials, etc and they all seem to be geared for campers and RV's. They have things that I wont need like alternator charging and 12v fuse boxes for appliances that I don't have. Then they get into fues, busbars, shunts, breakers, shut off switches, etc. All I need to power is 1 power strip with several small electronics. That's it. Are there any diagrams available for a simple 1000-1200 watt system? Should I go 12v or 24v? Where and what type of panels should I get? I have plenty of roof space, but installing 12x 100 watt panels seems dumb when I can get the same wattage out of 4x 300 watt panels. What are the benefits of smaller 100-200 watt panels that are available on amazon vs the used panels from santan solar? I understand that santan shipping is quite expensive, but the total price paid per watt can be far less.
Now, as I look though prices of victron charge controllers, inverters, battery monitors, shunts, etc.. It quickly approaches the cost of a solar generator. Just the price of a victron multiplus and a charge controller is almost as much as the bluetti ac200p. Looking at the bluetti ac200p, it look like that will do almost everything I need. It will only accept 700 watts of solar, but that might get me through the day. If needed, I can crank up the generator and charge the bluetti off the generator while I work. I would like something a little more powerful than the ac200p, but for the price it seems like the best bang for my buck. And I dont have to wire a bunch of stuff and deal with fuses, breakers, whatevers....
There's just so many options and I get lost looking at all the diagrams.. What about a solar generator where I just add my own batteries? Does that exist? I guess that's what a modular solar system is. I've looked at the all in one inverter/charge controller/grid tie systems. They look nice, but seems like getting one might be tricky. All the victron stuff plus others is readily available on amazon, but the all in one units seem to have counterfeits.. But they also have inverter/charger combos but would still need a seperate charge controller.. I also don't want to throw down a bunch of money on something that comes out of china with no way of getting a warranty handled if I have problems with it 6 months later. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I would like to "over panel" so I can run my load just off the panels, while keeping the batteries charged for mornings, evenings, and night. From my research, it seems 1000-1200 watts of panels will suffice. I plan on keeping the generator for extended times of bad weather. (when its cloudy or rains for a week straight) I want to use the solar as much as reasonably possible. I would also like to be able to use my generator without having to unplug from the solar system. Also, if I need to use the generator, I would like for it to charge the batteries while I do. IE: if its cloudy for a week and my batteries are low, I would like to crank up the generator to power my stuff, but also charge the batteries at the same time. Then when batteries get full, turn off the generator and finish my day on battery power. Something with a grid tie/generator tie function is a must.
Now since its only for an office with out any high draw items or anything that really surges, it seems a 1000 watt inverter would work, but a 2000 watt might be better if I decide to add down the line. But, its never going to be much more than general office equipment. Obviously a Pure Sine Wave is best.
I got excited and purchased 2 batteries. I bought 2 of the ampere time 200ah lithium batteries on amazon. So I have a total of 400ah. That should be a good start. I can always add 2 more if I end up needing more battery run time. After that, I started reading more and got more confused and didn't want to buy anything else until I had a solid plan.
So now I need the rest of the stuff. I have been looking online at wiring diagrams, tutorials, etc and they all seem to be geared for campers and RV's. They have things that I wont need like alternator charging and 12v fuse boxes for appliances that I don't have. Then they get into fues, busbars, shunts, breakers, shut off switches, etc. All I need to power is 1 power strip with several small electronics. That's it. Are there any diagrams available for a simple 1000-1200 watt system? Should I go 12v or 24v? Where and what type of panels should I get? I have plenty of roof space, but installing 12x 100 watt panels seems dumb when I can get the same wattage out of 4x 300 watt panels. What are the benefits of smaller 100-200 watt panels that are available on amazon vs the used panels from santan solar? I understand that santan shipping is quite expensive, but the total price paid per watt can be far less.
Now, as I look though prices of victron charge controllers, inverters, battery monitors, shunts, etc.. It quickly approaches the cost of a solar generator. Just the price of a victron multiplus and a charge controller is almost as much as the bluetti ac200p. Looking at the bluetti ac200p, it look like that will do almost everything I need. It will only accept 700 watts of solar, but that might get me through the day. If needed, I can crank up the generator and charge the bluetti off the generator while I work. I would like something a little more powerful than the ac200p, but for the price it seems like the best bang for my buck. And I dont have to wire a bunch of stuff and deal with fuses, breakers, whatevers....
There's just so many options and I get lost looking at all the diagrams.. What about a solar generator where I just add my own batteries? Does that exist? I guess that's what a modular solar system is. I've looked at the all in one inverter/charge controller/grid tie systems. They look nice, but seems like getting one might be tricky. All the victron stuff plus others is readily available on amazon, but the all in one units seem to have counterfeits.. But they also have inverter/charger combos but would still need a seperate charge controller.. I also don't want to throw down a bunch of money on something that comes out of china with no way of getting a warranty handled if I have problems with it 6 months later. Any suggestions?
Thanks!