NPhil
Freezing in the dark non-enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2021
- Messages
- 219
(I'm compiling and editing down several comments from the NewPowa thread, hope that's OK)
I have four 100W NewPowa NPA100S-12H panels (now out of stock, evidently), which I have been testing, now and then, for a while. I've not mounted panels yet, but, during about a year-and-a-half of study, purchasing, and tinkering I've come as far as acquiring batteries, a Tracer AN 20A charge controller, an inverter, and assorted other necessities, and making dozens of tests with a pair of the panels, in series, charging a 24V battery. It's working well enough, in San Jose, CA, angled approximately correctly and pointed pretty near due south), to make enough hot water with an electric kettle for a pot of tea, many mornings, with a cup of Ramen for lunch and another pot of tea, when I am so inclined, with two of the panels charging a test battery which is a little too small (7S4P Tesla 2170 cells). As far as I know, the NewPowas are OK. In San Jose, I have never seen them produce more than 85W each, but that is I think good enough for me, and they will fit on my (mini) cargo van. Over time, my plan evolved from 4 panels, to 8, then to 12.
I've just tested on a rainy day and made only 1 pot of tea = 160 WH, plus inverter losses, and some other losses from recharging a 12V backup battery through a DC to DC converter (because the 7S4P test pack sags badly running an 1100W electric kettle, my inverter shuts down at 20.2V, so the pack can't boil a full thermos carafe of hot water without some help, the panels weren't putting out enough, on a cloudy morning, to do that as quickly as I preferred, and I wanted to test 12V to 24V and 24V to 12V charging anyway), I guess around 175 WH total, out of 518 WH (specified) in the pack.
So I think it will scale, to 1200W (really more like 1050, because I've never seen more than 85W from these panels here) from 12 panels (only 4 making power on the road, but 12 when the minivan is stopped and the panels un-stacked), into a 40A Epever Tracer AN, charging around 1.8 KWH of battery pack to start (I can add more later, if the money doesn't run out), delivering 6 Thermos carafes of tea (TCoT might become my standard unit) on a cloudy day.
Maybe 7 TCoT if I really got 100W, but I would have to buy a 50A Epever, which is a bit of a jump in price.
So I'm cutting it fine in a lot of ways, and there is one more- I just got around to adding the weight, and it's easily over 225 lbs (there are assorted aluminum shapes included).
This morning I learned, courtesy of Amazon "AI", of another panel possibility: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ML4V8GQ/
I am not eager to change brands, but, I am enticed by the light weight of these, eh, newcomers, because 225 lbs., seems a lot for the roof of a minivan. I have a cargo van, so I can find the strong points easily, and I just learned that a Transit full size is said, by the Ford sales dept., to carry 420 lbs. up there (although there is, apparently, a treatise somewhere on center of gravity which I have not read, but, maybe that will work out, since I will carry batteries, and other heavy things, low), so, by extrapolation, I should be good for 275 or so. But I might be pushing the limit.
These new panels, apparently, could shave off something like 85 lbs. from my 12 panel stack, and, they are thinner, which helps too. Sadly, they don't appear to match extremely well electrically with my existing panels, but, 85 extra lbs. is a lot to carry on the roof of a minivan.
Anyone think I should take a chance on a couple of them, to see what they are? My budget is somewhat limited.
I have four 100W NewPowa NPA100S-12H panels (now out of stock, evidently), which I have been testing, now and then, for a while. I've not mounted panels yet, but, during about a year-and-a-half of study, purchasing, and tinkering I've come as far as acquiring batteries, a Tracer AN 20A charge controller, an inverter, and assorted other necessities, and making dozens of tests with a pair of the panels, in series, charging a 24V battery. It's working well enough, in San Jose, CA, angled approximately correctly and pointed pretty near due south), to make enough hot water with an electric kettle for a pot of tea, many mornings, with a cup of Ramen for lunch and another pot of tea, when I am so inclined, with two of the panels charging a test battery which is a little too small (7S4P Tesla 2170 cells). As far as I know, the NewPowas are OK. In San Jose, I have never seen them produce more than 85W each, but that is I think good enough for me, and they will fit on my (mini) cargo van. Over time, my plan evolved from 4 panels, to 8, then to 12.
I've just tested on a rainy day and made only 1 pot of tea = 160 WH, plus inverter losses, and some other losses from recharging a 12V backup battery through a DC to DC converter (because the 7S4P test pack sags badly running an 1100W electric kettle, my inverter shuts down at 20.2V, so the pack can't boil a full thermos carafe of hot water without some help, the panels weren't putting out enough, on a cloudy morning, to do that as quickly as I preferred, and I wanted to test 12V to 24V and 24V to 12V charging anyway), I guess around 175 WH total, out of 518 WH (specified) in the pack.
So I think it will scale, to 1200W (really more like 1050, because I've never seen more than 85W from these panels here) from 12 panels (only 4 making power on the road, but 12 when the minivan is stopped and the panels un-stacked), into a 40A Epever Tracer AN, charging around 1.8 KWH of battery pack to start (I can add more later, if the money doesn't run out), delivering 6 Thermos carafes of tea (TCoT might become my standard unit) on a cloudy day.
Maybe 7 TCoT if I really got 100W, but I would have to buy a 50A Epever, which is a bit of a jump in price.
So I'm cutting it fine in a lot of ways, and there is one more- I just got around to adding the weight, and it's easily over 225 lbs (there are assorted aluminum shapes included).
This morning I learned, courtesy of Amazon "AI", of another panel possibility: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ML4V8GQ/
I am not eager to change brands, but, I am enticed by the light weight of these, eh, newcomers, because 225 lbs., seems a lot for the roof of a minivan. I have a cargo van, so I can find the strong points easily, and I just learned that a Transit full size is said, by the Ford sales dept., to carry 420 lbs. up there (although there is, apparently, a treatise somewhere on center of gravity which I have not read, but, maybe that will work out, since I will carry batteries, and other heavy things, low), so, by extrapolation, I should be good for 275 or so. But I might be pushing the limit.
These new panels, apparently, could shave off something like 85 lbs. from my 12 panel stack, and, they are thinner, which helps too. Sadly, they don't appear to match extremely well electrically with my existing panels, but, 85 extra lbs. is a lot to carry on the roof of a minivan.
Anyone think I should take a chance on a couple of them, to see what they are? My budget is somewhat limited.