diy solar

diy solar

New to solar

JuiceBox

New Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2024
Messages
2
Location
Ohio
Will my system components work well together. Trying to supply food trailer with power for faucets, instant hot water tank, led lights, deep freezer will be main component constantly in use.

-Renogy 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter charger 12v dc to 120v ac
-1600W Flexible Solar Panels, with 50A Charge Controller 2 × 800 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel Kit for 12-24V Battery Charging
-ECO-WORTHY 12V 300AH (2 Pack 150AH)Lithium
 
Will my system components work well together. Trying to supply food trailer with power for faucets, instant hot water tank, led lights, deep freezer will be main component constantly in use.

-Renogy 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter charger 12v dc to 120v ac
-1600W Flexible Solar Panels, with 50A Charge Controller 2 × 800 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel Kit for 12-24V Battery Charging
-ECO-WORTHY 12V 300AH (2 Pack 150AH)Lithium
Add up wattage of all the stuff its going to run. Instant hot water is probably alot.

50A charge controller can only bring in about 700watts, so youll likely be going backwards, running off batteries
 
I hope the On-demand hot water is propane...with power just for the controls.
12v systems are best for lower wattage, I use mine for the 1-2kW stuff.
1600WPV /12v = 133 amps - I have some flexible PV on my RV, they have never produced full rated output for me.
as seneysolar recommended, first add up all the loads, get a total power required, then report back and we will help you to work out what you will need to run those loads. There is a power audit spreadsheet in the resources section of the forum to help get you started.
I run deep freezers, they don't take a lot of power per day, a water pump for your sink could be a 12v RV pump (low power) or it could be a 1/2Hp jet pump (high start up power required) so we need to know a lot more detail to be able to help.
 
Dunno. I’m pretty sure you have made some buying mistakes. Need your watts demand. Easy to get. Volts * amps=watts. All should be on your equipment.
 
I have a list of things that people new to DIY solar should do.

1) DO NOT BUY ANYTHING YET!

2) Get a good intro book - Solar for Dummies is one. A book on basic electrical theory would also be good.

3) Find a friend who does this for a living, buy him dinner and pick his brain. Ideally a solar installer, but an electrician, electrical engineer or solar industry person are also good options.

4) DON'T BUY ANYTHING YET! I don't care if you see a great deal; it's probably not, and even if it is, you will probably find it incompatible with what you are doing.

5) Once you have the background, go on to a forum like this one and ask general questions. Read the FAQ. You'll learn a lot.

6) If you still really, really want to buy something, you can buy a 12V panel, 12V MPPT charge controller, 12V battery and 12V inverter. Make them small and cheap because you'll probably damage them. Also get a good meter with DC inductive sensor. Build it and put some simple loads on it. Again you'll learn a lot.

7) Start planning your system. Calculate your loads. Buy a Kill-a-Watt or similar plug in meter to get accurate energy requirements for air conditioners, refrigerators etc. Come up with total solar watts, total storage kilowatt-hours, peak output power and average output energy.

8) Publish your ideas on a forum like this one and get feedback.

9) Anything you get off the web - check it against a real person before you rely on that advice.

After all that, if you still want to proceed, THEN start buying stuff.
 
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