Where to begin? (Outdoor kitchen)

[Esutherliv]

So, I'm finally taking the plunge into small Solar projects for outbuildings.

The Current plan is a simple (hopefully) Cheap Conversion of a Steel Carport into an outdoor/kitchen Grill area. About the only thing I would need to power is some cheap Amazon LED Shop lights, a consumer radio, and probably charging ports for phones and the like.

The problem is, the day hours in the summer it's about 90-130f so most or really any events will be late into the night. Like 20:00-0:00/01:00
The other issue is I regularly get 125mph winds in a Special Wind Zone so I would have to go with a Beefed up Setup or possible off building set up. Also get Hail storms quite often

~ 12v system
Radio about 10w
Lights about 100w total
Small Water pump for sink 90w
60w USB Charger

The idea is to grab a cheaper 500w Sine inverter so I have some wiggle room but never really go over 200w MAYBE 300w. I'm thinking one of the Amazon Special 400w Deals and 2-200ah or 300ah lifepo4 batteries, a box to put them in and put it all in a closet in the carport. but I'm concerned if it would run for 4-6 hours or would I need a beefier set up?

 

[rmaddy]

Do a full energy audit so you know what you really need.

System Energy Audit and Sizing Spread Sheet

To get the spreadsheet, click on the orange button at the top of this page. This sheet is intended to help you plan your system. Fill it out down to the last decimal place, look at the results..... and then make your best guess;) Notes...

diysolarforum.com

 

[Esutherliv]

Do a full energy audit so you know what you really need.

System Energy Audit and Sizing Spread Sheet

To get the spreadsheet, click on the orange button at the top of this page. This sheet is intended to help you plan your system. Fill it out down to the last decimal place, look at the results..... and then make your best guess;) Notes...

diysolarforum.com

The problem is I'm doing the planning for the whole thing from scratch. as in I'll be ordering almost all the parts in 1 go, and the area has no power and would require about 300m of extension cable to get to it. As well as all the references I'm finding are For RV with a Generator, a Boat ALSO with a Generator or "Full off grid prepper for your personal compound" and not much towards Outdoor Kitchen that's going to get used, but not every day. It would basically be for a beefed up Covered Parking Spot Conversion.

 

[rmaddy]

I'm not sure what your reply has to do with doing an energy audit. If you don't know how much power you need then you can't know how much battery, solar, and inverter you need.

The spreadsheet helps you list out each item needing power. You enter how many watts it uses and how long you need to run it each day. Once you enter all of your power needs it helps you determine how much battery and solar you need and what sized inverter will work. From there you can begin a proper shopping list of parts. The idea is to work it all out before you buy anything for the electrical system. That way you only buy things once and you only buy what will actually meet your needs.

 

[Rednecktek]

Yeah, the Power Audit is going to tell you 1: How big the inverter needs to be, 2: how much battery capacity you need, and 3: how much panel you need to charge those batteries up. You've got some rough numbers already, now you just need to figure out the run time and do the math.

It looks like you're looking at ~260w of full load. Just as a rough napkin math lets say your parties go until 2am and dusk is at 6pm, so that's 8 hours of run time for a party. 260w * 8hr = 2080Wh, * 1.15 for 85% inverter efficiency and you're looking at 2392Wh. Divide that by a 12v based system and you get about 200Ah of battery to feed that.

Now for the recharge: The average is 4 hours of sunlight and you'll need to produce at least 2400Wh of power in that time, so 2400Wh / 4Hr of sun = 600w of panels bare minimum.

So, rough napkin math says 200Ah of LFP OR 400Ah of Lead Acid and 600w of panel on a 50a MPPT charge controller with a 400w+ Pure Sine inverter.

That help?

 

[Esutherliv]

Thank you both. After hunting down most the numbers, yeah, the thing says 6 panels and 400wh for overhead.

As for sun, I'm in the middle of New Mexico with zero over head obstructions outside that the building I'm going to use has the longest slope facing dead south. Think Middle of an open field.

 

[Rednecktek]

Mind you that's napkin math. If you start the party earlier or run later it gets bigger for the batteries, panels, and controller.

 

[Esutherliv]

Mind you that's napkin math. If you start the party earlier or run later it gets bigger for the batteries, panels, and controller.

yeah, I'm looking at an 800w with a 400 or 600ah set up for now, I'll just run my Harbor Freight Generator until then.

 

[camelCase]

Sounds like the perfect use case for a Bluetti or Jackery solar generator. Lots less fuss and you can take it inside out of the weather when you're not using it.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Sounds like the perfect use case for a Bluetti or Jackery solar generator

What?
The dollars and amp hours aren’t gonna work out. I don’t have any data to confirm but I think lifespan won’t be great either.
“See that plastic tote over there? There’s water running in the background. I’m gonna show you something right now!”

 

[12VoltInstalls]

yeah, I'm looking at an 800w with a 400 or 600ah set up for now, I'll just run my Harbor Freight Generator until then.

800W to 400Ah is a better match for daily recharge if you go two days in a row, or three.

 

[camelCase]

What?
The dollars and amp hours aren’t gonna work out. I don’t have any data to confirm but I think lifespan won’t be great either.
“See that plastic tote over there? There’s water running in the background. I’m gonna show you something right now!”

The OP said, "About the only thing I would need to power is some cheap Amazon LED Shop lights, a consumer radio, and probably charging ports for phones and the like." He also said the usage pattern would last about 3 hours. I just don't see where he needs 200 or 300ah of storage.

 

[Rednecktek]

Like 20:00-0:00/01:00

OK, so 5 hours. I was napkin mathing.

 

[rmaddy]

yeah, I'm looking at an 800w with a 400 or 600ah set up for now, I'll just run my Harbor Freight Generator until then.

This seems like way more than you should need given the things you listed in the OP.

Can you post a screenshot of the relevant portion of the energy audit? Either you ended up adding a lot more loads to your list or you entered incorrect numbers and came up with the wrong answer.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

just don't see where he needs 200 or 300ah of storage

Because he wants a dependable system with wiggle room. That gives him a no-fail system and low-dollar input with room for growth and flexible usage.

500w Sine inverter so I have some wiggle room

The Giandel 600W has USB port and is pure sine so your radio doesn’t drop dead on you.