New Setup: Help Wanted

[ericblair81]

So I am new to this, and I was able to get a pretty good deal some portable solar panel kits for RVs.

Here is what I have:
8 120W Portable Solar Panel Kits (link). 960W total

I was able to get them for 50$ a kit, and at that price I thought I would figure out something cool to do with them.

FYI. I have plenty of roof space in the direct sunlight.

I was originally thinking I could get a few portable power stations, and I could utilize this setup to charge them if my power were to go out

Would you recommend taking this a step further and tying this into the grid to reduce my monthly energy bill? It is worth mentioning that I can get more of these kits at roughly the same price.
- Is it feasible to set up a solar panel array with these kits that could put a dent in my energy bill?
- If so would you recommend me purchasing more to increase my wattage?
- Is it an issue that these kits are 18V output and most inverters that I have seen are 12V?

I was just hoping for some input from the community regarding whether or not creating an array of these kits is worth my effort

Thanks in advance

 

[chrisski]

- Is it an issue that these kits are 18V output and most inverters that I have seen are 12V?

In general, that’s perfect provided you get a charge controller to step down the voltage to 12 volts and a battery to charge. Depending on the controller, multiple panels can be connected to one.

Edit: you got an awesome deal on the portable panels.

 

[ericblair81]

Thanks. They are open box overstock/surplus. I want to buy more because they are a good deal, but I don't really have a game plan for what to do with them so here I am

Am I losing energy by stepping the voltage down from 18V to 12V?

 

[chrisski]

Am I losing energy by stepping the voltage down from 18V to 12V?

Get an MPPT SCC and you won’t. Also you can set hem up 2s4p, or possibly 4s2p. Buy another and set up 3s3p.

Volts in x amps in = volts out x amps out

Watts in 18 volts, 36 volts or 48 volts = watts out 12 volts

With an insignificant loss

 

[Bossrox]

So I am new to this, and I was able to get a pretty good deal some portable solar panel kits for RVs.

Here is what I have:
8 120W Portable Solar Panel Kits (link). 960W total

I was able to get them for 50$ a kit, and at that price I thought I would figure out something cool to do with them.

FYI. I have plenty of roof space in the direct sunlight.

I was originally thinking I could get a few portable power stations, and I could utilize this setup to charge them if my power were to go out

Would you recommend taking this a step further and tying this into the grid to reduce my monthly energy bill? It is worth mentioning that I can get more of these kits at roughly the same price.
- Is it feasible to set up a solar panel array with these kits that could put a dent in my energy bill?
- If so would you recommend me purchasing more to increase my wattage?
- Is it an issue that these kits are 18V output and most inverters that I have seen are 12V?

I was just hoping for some input from the community regarding whether or not creating an array of these kits is worth my effort

Thanks in advance

With a system that meager, your not going to impact your electric bill that much & grid tie requires permits & UL rated gear so it wouldn't be worth the effort to pursue that but you could always use your system to run certain circuits in your house. just need the right gear to make that happen & no permits needed.

 

[Generis]

Get an EcoFlow or jackery or something similar, charge that with these panels. and then use that for some electrical loads instead of the grid. that's going to be the only way to make something of those tiny panels.

 

[chrisski]

Would you recommend taking this a step further and tying this into the grid to reduce my monthly energy bill?

If your ultimate goal is reducing an energy bill this is not it. I use 900 watts of portable panels for my RV and the production from that is quite well. I estimate you can get between 2 kWh - 10 kWh per day with the 8 panels you have. At my rates, $.34 to $1.70 per day saved.

I was originally thinking I could get a few portable power stations, and I could utilize this setup to charge them if my power were to go out

These stations are quite pricey to keep as back up. If you want to do this, get a kWh requirement and max wattage with a power audit. I made a home made power station to cook with a crockpot once a week, 1 kWh - 2 kWh worth. This will take 110+ years for me to payback.