Unique opportunity, need advice.

[Pi Curio]

I have a unique opportunity to sell my old-ish batteries, cells and some components that would enable me to upgrade my system storage and inverter but I'm in dilema.

With the amount i'd get for these components and current cell prices, I could afford to build 24V 304Ah LFP battery and get a 3200W inverter.

The concern I have, is that I can Install only 800w of solar for now and don't know is this enough to keep the battery healthy.

Is this a problem for a battery of this size?

Is there any advice you could give me in this regard, appreciated.

Thanks

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

As long as you keep the battery within its usage parameters (say 3.0V to 3.5V per cell) you're fine. Unlike lead-acid, you don't need to keep the battery fully charged all the time, and there is no issue having the battery at lower state of charge for longer periods of time.

 

[Steve_S]

With 800W of Solar Panel and being in Croatia at 45 degrees Lattitude put you in a similar position as I am, so your winter generation likely sucks too... If you had a really good Solar Controller & and an adjustable rack with hi performance panels it could "keep up" on sunny days.

Just did a Solar Overhaul for a neighbour, due to his situation we installed 2x Q-Cell 405W panels on a manually adjustable pole mount and it works surprisingly well but still falls short and he is running with 24V/350AH.

Thing is, 800W of panel may be able to provide 30-35A charge when in optimal position which is polite on the battery pack.

 

[Pi Curio]

This helped a lot to make a much more informed decision.

I've arranged to meet with the buyer tomorrow, so we can test everything before making the trade.

Thank you for taking the time guys, truly appreciated!

 

[Dagoth Ur Does Solar]

there is no issue having the battery at lower state of charge for longer periods of time.

If anything, this should prolong the life of the batteries, I would think.

 

[Pi Curio]

With 800W of Solar Panel and being in Croatia at 45 degrees Lattitude put you in a similar position as I am, so your winter generation likely sucks too... If you had a really good Solar Controller & and an adjustable rack with hi performance panels it could "keep up" on sunny days.

Just did a Solar Overhaul for a neighbour, due to his situation we installed 2x Q-Cell 405W panels on a manually adjustable pole mount and it works surprisingly well but still falls short and he is running with 24V/350AH.

Thing is, 800W of panel may be able to provide 30-35A charge when in optimal position which is polite on the battery pack.

Yeah, winter and solar don't mix well here, but summer rocks

I've read your posts mentioning the performance of the Q-Cell 405W panels on less-than-ideal solar days, very interesting to say the least! Just need to find the store that sells these in low quantities here in Europe. ?

Interestingly enough, I've ended up with two Victron 100/20 SCCs so depending on what's available at the 400W front, it could make for a nice twin combo for my 24V system. It would certainly make the most of the individual panels, keep things nice and cool, and address the shading in winter as much as technically possible.

Guess at some point, I should probably consider getting a LiFePO4 charger for the winter period to keep the battery cycled.

 

[Steve_S]

I installed 2 of the Q-405's attached to a Midnite KIDD SCC that takes 150V and those two panels are its max limit.
There are various kinds of panels out there and some are far better at shade & cloud handling than others. Many people don't even consider these point and just buy "whatever is cheapest" without realizing that they can be handicapping their production. I live deep inside the Arboreal forest and have no interest in cutting my old growth trees, so shading is party of my reality BUT I am also fortunate that I picked my property well. I'm on a Granite ridge 520m above a point where 3 valleys connect with full southern exposure in my open area.

I had the chance to see the latest Q-Cell BIG Mono-facial panels - Goodness me, I was so tempted... 2 men to handle each one of those babies.

 

[Pi Curio]

I installed 2 of the Q-405's attached to a Midnite KIDD SCC that takes 150V and those two panels are its max limit.
There are various kinds of panels out there and some are far better at shade & cloud handling than others. Many people don't even consider these point and just buy "whatever is cheapest" without realizing that they can be handicapping their production.

True.

I live deep inside the Arboreal forest and have no interest in cutting my old growth trees, so shading is party of my reality BUT I am also fortunate that I picked my property well. I'm on a Granite ridge 520m above a point where 3 valleys connect with full southern exposure in my open area.

Sounds amazing. Living the dream!

Croatia is tiny in comparison to vast Canada, so remote areas aren't a thing here but if I get the opportunity, I'll move to a rural area in a heartbeat. Cities are overrated hehe.

I had the chance to see the latest Q-Cell BIG Mono-facial panels - Goodness me, I was so tempted... 2 men to handle each one of those babies.

Wattage?

 

[Steve_S]

They had the new 480 Monofacials and the 550W? Bi Facials but I didn't bother with the bifacials (not my interest).
I'm up near Algonquin Park in Ontario - Lots of wildlife and not too many HOOMANS except for those (*&#*@_)($# weekender tourists but I am well away from "those hoomans"... Hoomans is a Tip to StarTrek...

 

[Larry-Cleveland]

I checked out Algonquin Park. So beautiful. Only an 8 hour drive so I added it to my List of places to see.