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New Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2020
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- 2
Hey All, Thanks in advance!
I've installed a small system to power 3 security lights, 3 IP cameras, network switch and access point into an old box trailer. One item we had to work around is the battery selection. We have batteries from school buses as our storage, they're free and can have as many as we need. I didn't know how to calculate storage capacity on these so I designed the system with 6 guessing that would be overkill and thought it could run the system for 3 days without sun. The panels are 175w x 6 in a 3x2 array wired to a Victron 150/70 MPPT charger. The network and IP cameras run 24/7 and the security lights 210w are dusk till dawn. Installed April 2020. Everything has been well except for the last week, the inverter shuts down at 2am, everyday. It stays off for an hour or so and comes back on for 10 min, off hour, on 10 min, etc until dawn. Then it stays on. I haven't been on site at that time and I don't have remote monitoring set up yet. By the time I get there at 10 am the battery voltage is at 12.4-12.6. One thing I do know, the panels are flat on the roof and it's in a very dirty environment. Looking for some basic input as to system design and expected capacity/run time.
Example of batteries
I've installed a small system to power 3 security lights, 3 IP cameras, network switch and access point into an old box trailer. One item we had to work around is the battery selection. We have batteries from school buses as our storage, they're free and can have as many as we need. I didn't know how to calculate storage capacity on these so I designed the system with 6 guessing that would be overkill and thought it could run the system for 3 days without sun. The panels are 175w x 6 in a 3x2 array wired to a Victron 150/70 MPPT charger. The network and IP cameras run 24/7 and the security lights 210w are dusk till dawn. Installed April 2020. Everything has been well except for the last week, the inverter shuts down at 2am, everyday. It stays off for an hour or so and comes back on for 10 min, off hour, on 10 min, etc until dawn. Then it stays on. I haven't been on site at that time and I don't have remote monitoring set up yet. By the time I get there at 10 am the battery voltage is at 12.4-12.6. One thing I do know, the panels are flat on the roof and it's in a very dirty environment. Looking for some basic input as to system design and expected capacity/run time.
Example of batteries