Totally new and not a clue - solar system to run garden lights or balcony solar system , help please.

[Fluff34567]

Hello all,

Newbie after some basic advice...... long story to explain it all- sorry.

I'm located in central Europe and had an idea to buy some used solar panels and a battery to power a string of LED lights to light up the garden.

I have the lights its a 30m string of 4w LED bulbs total of 60 bulbs / 240w, i could reduce it down to 120w , I haven't measured the actual power draw but I'm a bit sceptical about the 4w as they are a bit dim.. measurement at a later stage!

After the initial rush of excitement and after picking up 2 used 265w panels I realised to power a 240w or even 120w load for about 6-8 hours will take a huge stack of lead acid batteries or a large lipo battery that will cost a fortune.

The lights are 220v so I need an inverter as well.
I have 2 options as I see it.


Get some class B lipo batteries and build a pack myself - still expensive.


What capacity would I need 280ah??

Option 2:

Forget the lights being powered by solar and use the 2 panels to supplement my house power.

In Europe " balcony solar kits" are popular. The panels are normally connected to a combined micro inverter/ charge controller and the 220v from the inverter is simply plugged into a house electric socket.

The idea is any power from the panels will be used up by any running appliances in the house and supplement to normal mains power supply.


My question is has anyone done this as a DIY kit using separate components ? I haven't seen the specs or a brand none of an all in unit yet.


Sorry for the rambling on!

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Three grp 27 or grp 31 fla’s will just about do that given good enough sun everyday to recharge. About 2000Wh

But what are chances of seeing what the rectified voltage of the LED light strings is? Often, these will be nominal 12V and you can DC power them without using an inverter and LED DC rectifying power supply.

That’s something I would explore. LEDs are all DC, so AC is not required if you have DC 12V or sometimes 24VDC.

 

[Fluff34567]

Thank you for the reply, I had to search what grp 27 and 31 was

For the LED its a normal light string but using LED screw in bulbs, same as LED replacements for standard Philips bulbs . I can see if it lights up from a 12v supply but I'm doubting it will.

I also have a normal traditional LED strip, that's also running from 220v AC through a rectifier unit and output is 220v dc- that I know won't light up from 12-36v DC

 

[StuartV]

Hi, So with your bulb string, if on for 8 hours a night, that just under 2kw of electricity.

Thinking about the cost of a solar charge controller (SCC), inverter, wiring and everything else that goes with solar, its going to get quite expensive for all the equipment. Do these lights have to be on all night?

The battery - 12.8V times 100Ah = 1280watts, so you would need 2 x 12.8V batteries if going LiFePo4, more if going another chemistry type of battery.

If you want to power your home with solar, I dont recommend plugging in the output of your inverter in to a plug socket....big badaboom!

SCC - you need to get the VoC info from the back of the panels, and the Amp info, basically all the info from the back panel sticker. Go to https://www.victronenergy.com/mppt-calculator and put in your solar panel details. This page will the recommend a SCC for you. You dont have to buy a victron SCC, but at least it'll advise of what size controller you'll need.

Inverter - Well, if its just to power your lights, maybe a 300W or 500W inverter. If you want to power more items in your home, think about maybe a 1Kw inverter. The bigger the inverter and more you want to power, the more solar and possibly more batteries you will need.

Hope this makes sense and helps ?

 

[Fluff34567]

Hi Stuart, many thanks for info and input. I can cut the bulbs by half and reduce the hours if needed.. quick thought is a 280ah battery would work.. Need to calculate that though.

For the power socket it's fairly common here, loads of kits which are plug n play. I found an advert that had the specs
https://www.enfsolar.com/pv/inverter-datasheet/9539 solar panels>inverter> power socket, done.

 

[StuartV]

With that inverter you've linked to, it outputs AC current. Those type of inverters are used mostly for grid tied solar panels, feeding back to the grid, so you wont be able to use a battery with them.

Maybe have a look at All In One systems (AIO). they have a SCC intergrated, as well as the inverter. You just connect your battery, then panels, and away you go. These can often be connected to AC (mains power) so to charge the battery, but some can also feed back to the grid (will probably need a pro install tho & certificates).

I started off with a 1Kw iconica AIO and a 12V battery. But found out I needed a more powerful AIO, so upgraded to a 3Kw AIO with 2 x 12V batteries as its a 24V system.

 

[Fluff34567]

Thi Stuart, there is a confusion somewhere . I see I wasn't too clear in some of my replies.

I have 2 options.

Option 1 bank of batteries for the lights exclusively.

Option 2. If Option 1 is not realistic/ too expensive then I will probably connect the used panels to the house using the grid tie inverter.

I was after options/ advice/ thoughts for option 1.

 

[Fluff34567]

Which VW is it ??

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Which VW is it ??

??? 1969 Westfalia?