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Solar Plans..

Aree Soothsayer

Aree Soothsayer

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Joined
Feb 28, 2021
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27
Yea. I have this idea in my head. With the world like it is I could end up on the streets so I plan to make a safety net. A trailer hauled by a bicycle. I'll use it for camping out and such right now and safety in the future.

I want to set it up with a solar setup that can not only stand alone but easily connect and disconnect to the grid. I saw the resources page and my brain went *faceplant*

Can I get some advise?
 
Welcome to the forums Aree!

I just posted a video on a guy who made a "solar trailer", some have said it's not practical but I don't see why not (thread here: S-Bike).
Connecting it to grid would require a "hybrid" inverter (one that can operate on or off grid).

The FAQ has a lot of simple examples that should help you get started, but as you start diving into it feel free to ask questions on the forums.
 
Thanks but the type of trailer is the camper type I'm gonna live in. Want to be able to run a microwave, small fridge or better a freezer. I saw a link in another post and went bonkers over them.

Trina 400W | SanTan Solar

store.santansolar.com store.santansolar.com
Course then my old math skills kicked in. 50 lbs. 300$ for shipping. 40 inches wide, 80 inches long. To make it worth while I would have to get 2 of them.... 160 inch long. 13 ft bike trailer. x..x

Yea. So.. help?

Edit: I looked at the hybrid inverter link.... AYEEEE!! I've got 1400-2000$ limit for everything.
 
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Welcome and good tidings

Please post more information about your project to facilitate assistance, if you feel comfortable doing so.

I’m very interested in designing solar mobile camping pod for myself too. Good luck with your build.

If the trailer is to be hauled by bicycle, then that sets a relatively restrictive weight/size budget.

Maybe an electric motor could be modded onto the bicycle to help make moving less tiring.

If the solar panels on the trailer feed a bicycle battery then moving could be more facilitated.
 
Now that's a cool concept! I'll have to keep watch on this thread.
Do you have a "base" concept in mind with dimensions?

Probably the best place to start is with an Energy Audit, by understanding your needs you can start to size the system and calculate the costs. Most likely you'll only have room for a couple of panels, so you'll probably have a tight energy budget.

Aree Soothsayer said:
... I looked at the hybrid inverter link.... AYEEEE!! I've got 1400-2000$ limit for everything.
Click to expand...
Probably best to stay away from a hybrid inverter then. Why do you want a grid-tied capability for this application anyway? In retrospect, I think I misunderstood... you don't want grid-tied so you can sell power back to the grid, you just want to be able to get power by plugging into an outlet or from solar? If so, Supervstech's post below is right on target.
 
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Look at will prowse milk crate series of builds.
Cheap, powerful and grid fast charge capable...
 
Basically it'll be a box with wheels. My woodwork skills are ... eeesh. On the top will be panels. In front of it will be a 3 wheeled bike, hopefully electric. The panels can power the bike and stuff inside. When nothing is in use the panels will charge battery storage for night/cloudy/rainy use. However I want to be able to take those panels between now and when the trailer will be used and connect it to the grid of my home. Reducing my power bill. Then if I want to go out camping and get away from it all (or lose my home) I can pop them off the house and onto the trailer and on the road I go.
 
Aree Soothsayer said:
...I want to be able to take those panels between now and when the trailer will be used and connect it to the grid of my home. Reducing my power bill. Then if I want to go out camping and get away from it all (or lose my home) I can pop them off the house and onto the trailer and on the road I go.
Click to expand...

To be grid-tied you'll also need a bidirectional power meter and net-metering agreement (my power company provided and installed the new meter for free); different rules for different places.

No idea if they're any good at all, but there are small microinverters and grid-tied inverters on amazon. The panels have "plug" connectors, but they're meant to be waterproof so a bit difficult to put on/off. You could leave those for use with the grid and use an off-grid inverter for the road rather than get a hybrid. So the basic "house" configuration would be panel->grid-tied-inverter->grid and the "road" configuration panel->solar-charge-controller->battery->off-grid-inverter. Probably want to add some breakers or fuses depending on what's built into what you buy. The FAQ has a bunch of example calculations that should help you size stuff.
 
I am contemplating installing a separate breaker panel in my house that I feed with a solar inverter.
Then I can move circuits to the panel as I increase inverter capacity...
 
If you are going to use a bicycle, I don't think anything like microwave or refrigerator is practical. Maybe if your area is completely flat and your bike has low gears you could transport a heavily loaded trailer with a bicycle. Obviously a lightweight high frequency inverter is more portable. Maybe 1000W works, better to have 2000W.

PV array to power such appliances is rather large. Figure 1000W to power a 600W inverter for 12 minutes/day is 200 Wh. Small refrigerator might use 400 Wh (look up consumer energy labels.) 600Wh/day plus additional loads. A 200W panel might supply that most of the time. A 12V 100 Ah to 270 Ah DIY LiFePO4 would give you some kWh of storage. For bike portable, explody lithium batteries would save weight so long as you could avoid setting them off.

I think small PV for cellphone and LED lamp would be more practical for living out of a bike, and that could travel with you rather than staying at camp where it might be stolen. Propane or gasoline stove. Food that is "canned" in lightweight packaging rather than refrigeration.

If living out of a car or van is within your budget, much easier to make that work.
 
Hedges said:
If you are going to use a bicycle, I don't think anything like microwave or refrigerator is practical. Maybe if your area is completely flat and your bike has low gears you could transport a heavily loaded trailer with a bicycle. Obviously a lightweight high frequency inverter is more portable. Maybe 1000W works, better to have 2000W.

PV array to power such appliances is rather large. Figure 1000W to power a 600W inverter for 12 minutes/day is 200 Wh. Small refrigerator might use 400 Wh (look up consumer energy labels.) 600Wh/day plus additional loads. A 200W panel might supply that most of the time. A 12V 100 Ah to 270 Ah DIY LiFePO4 would give you some kWh of storage. For bike portable, explody lithium batteries would save weight so long as you could avoid setting them off.

I think small PV for cellphone and LED lamp would be more practical for living out of a bike, and that could travel with you rather than staying at camp where it might be stolen. Propane or gasoline stove. Food that is "canned" in lightweight packaging rather than refrigeration.

If living out of a car or van is within your budget, much easier to make that work.
Click to expand...
Nope
 
California.
Since it is a 24v and weight is a limit on how much I can pull I was going to get 2 of those 400w panels.
 
Aree Soothsayer said:
California.
Since it is a 24v and weight is a limit on how much I can pull I was going to get 2 of those 400w panels.
Click to expand...
The panels aren’t the issue.
That inverter will not power USA voltage appliances. Do not choose that one.
Growatt, mpp, and many others make 120V versions that will be in the same weight range, and the same wattage output.
 
Supervstech said:
The panels aren’t the issue.
That inverter will not power USA voltage appliances. Do not choose that one.
Growatt, mpp, and many others make 120V versions that will be in the same weight range, and the same wattage output.
Click to expand...
I just hope the price is similiar
 
Cheaper than the hybrid inverter might be a dedicated grid-tie inverter for home use and dedicated battery inverter for the trailer.
There are some cheap off-brand grid-tie inverters. Also used name-brands. But you have to make sure series string of PV panels produces enough voltage for the grid-tie inverter.

You've discovered that shipping can add 75% to the cost of panels.
Craigslist might have some local.
If somebody can drive to a freight terminal for pickup, that is cheaper than home delivery.
The panels you identified are new and priced at $0.50/watt. Others are cheaper (but less power per square foot or per pound)

Used SanTan 250W Solar Panel | SanTan Solar

store.santansolar.com store.santansolar.com

At $0.20/watt and $50/panel, you could buy more than needed for trailer and connect them to grid-tie inverter.
For the same $700 delivered, instead of 800W that would buy 2000W
 
*tosses the panels and hybrid inverter* Well that is a very nice place to start and so cheap. *..*
I am literally a jump off the deep end, dunno how to swim, in the solar run. I'm so glad I came here for advice.
 
i saw these photos in a review for a flex solar panel

maybe design inspo

note: i did not make

1614643175436.jpeg
1614643185558.jpeg
 
You need to start with weight goals for the trailer. You could very quickly have a trailer that is 500 lbs or more. Then look at how much batteries and solar panels weigh, to decide how much capacity you can build it.

I think it is reasonable to run a laptop, lights, radio, gps, and a hotspot. Unless you are the Hulk, I don't think refrigeration or a microwave is possible.
 
No where near the hulk. Gonna be a mix of muscle and electric. Wiring from the solar system in the trailer will pass through to the bike. Unless I find a real deal on batteries. Then I can have it simply recharge the energy storage on the bike while being separate.,

Edit: Daaamn. I didn't see the one that was like a truck campershell. I wonder if I can do that.
 
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